Beginner’s Guide to Medieval Arthuriana
Just starting out at a loss for where to begin?
Here’s a guide for introductory Medieval texts and informational resources ordered from most newbie friendly to complex. Guidebooks and encyclopedias are listed last.
All PDFs link to my Google drive and can be found on my blog. This post will be updated as needed.
Pre-Existing Resources
Hi-Lo Arthuriana
♡ Loathly Lady Master Post ♡
Medieval Literature by Language
Retellings by Date
Films by Date
TV Shows by Date
Documentaries by Date
Arthurian Preservation Project
The Camelot Project
If this guide was helpful for you, please consider supporting me on Ko-Fi!
Medieval Literature
Page (No Knowledge Required)
The Vulgate Cycle | Navigation Guide | Vulgate Reader
Culhwch and Olwen
The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle
The Marriage of Sir Gawain
Sir Gawain and The Green Knight
The Welsh Triads
Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory
Squire (Base Knowledge Recommended)
The Mabinogion
Four Arthurian Romances by Chrétien de Troyes
King Artus | scan by @jewishlancelot
Morien
Knight (Extensive Knowledge Recommended)
The History of The King's of Britain by Geoffrey of Monmouth
Alliterative Morte
Here Be Dragons (Weird or Arthurian Adjacent)
The Crop-Eared Dog
Perceforest | A Perceforest Reader | PDF courtesy of @sickfreaksirkay
Wigalois | Vidvilt
Guingamor, Lanval, Tyolet, & Bisclarevet by Marie of France
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
Grail Quest
Peredur (The Mabinogion)
The Story of the Grail + 4 Continuations by Chrétien de Troyes
Parzival by Wolfram von Eschenbach
The Crown by Heinrich von dem Türlin (Diu Crône)
The High Book of The Grail (Perlesvaus)
The History of The Holy Grail (Vulgate)
The Quest for The Holy Grail Part I (Post-Vulgate)
The Quest for The Holy Grail Part II (Post-Vulgate)
Merlin and The Grail by Robert de Boron
The Legend of The Grail | PDF courtesy of @sickfreaksirkay
Lancelot Texts
Knight of The Cart by Chretien de Troyes
Lanzelet by Ulrich von Zatzikhoven
Spanish Lancelot Ballads
Gawain Texts
Sir Gawain and The Green Knight
The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle
The Marriage of Sir Gawain
Sir Gawain and The Lady of Lys
The Knight of The Two Swords
The Turk and Sir Gawain
Perilous Graveyard | scan by @jewishlancelot
Tristan/Isolde Texts
Béroul & Les Folies
Prose Tristan (The Camelot Project)
Tristan and The Round Table (La Tavola Ritonda) | Italian Name Guide
The Romance of Tristan
Tristan and Iseult by Gottfried von Strassburg
Byelorussian Tristan
Educational/Informational Resources
Encyclopedias & Handbooks
Warriors of Arthur by John Matthews, Bob Stewart, & Richard Hook
The Arthurian Companion by Phyllis Ann Karr
The New Arthurian Encyclopedia by Norris J. Lacy
The Arthurian Handbook by Norris J. Lacy & Geoffrey Ashe
The Arthurian Name Dictionary by Christopher W. Bruce
Essays & Guides
A Companion to Chrétien de Troyes edited by Joan Tasker & Norris J. Lacy
A Companion to Malory edited by Elizabeth Archibald
A Companion to The Lancelot-Grail Cycle edited by Carol Dover
Arthur in Welsh Medieval Literature by O. J. Padel
Diu Crône and The Medieval Arthurian Cycle by Neil Thomas
Wirnt von Gravenberg's Wigalois: Intertextuality & Interpretation by Neil Thomas
The Legend of Sir Lancelot du Lac by Jessie Weston
The Legend of Sir Gawain by Jessie Weston
672 notes
·
View notes
No, Sir Galahad is not in the Bible, and I never said he was.
OK, so in my series of posts and lectures about my work on Neil Gaiman's Chivalry, I pointed out that Sir Galahad's first appearance in Arthurian fiction was in the Vulgate, and that his name was originally spelled Galaad. Therefore the spelling in Neil Gaiman's Chivalry is correct, and Galahad is a later variant spelling.
Someone recently took me to task for saying this meant that I claimed Sir Galahad was in the Bible, and yet Sir Galahad appears nowhere in the Bible.
I never said Sir Galahad was in the Bible.
I said he was in the Vulgate.
Vulgate means "common version" in Latin.
The confusion here stems from the word "vulgate" which often refers to the 4th century Latin translation of the Bible commonly known as the Vulgate Bible.
But "vulgate" is also a term used to refer to The Lancelot-Grail Cycle, a 13th century French Arthurian cycle which is also known as the Vulgate or Vulgate Cycle -i.e. common version. Later translations of this work are known as Post-Vulgate.
Specifically, Galahad or Galaad appears in the Vulgate Queste del Saint Graal.
Happy to help.
Chivalry is available wherever fine books are sold, and you can come see me at the San Diego Comic Con Museum on October 4 where I will be signing and lecturing and showing art. Thanks.
2K notes
·
View notes
A few things which are “canon” somewhere for people who are worried they’re stretching it too far
Arthur was killed by a giant cat.
Arthur killed the cat.
Arthur didn’t fight the cat. Kay did.
Kay and Bedivere use salmon as taxis.
Lucan is half giant, half lion. (This Lucan, Lucano in the original Italian, is evil and not related to Bedivere).
King Arthur raided the land of the dead.
The human knight Caradoc Briefbras has three half siblings: a dog, a horse, and a pig.
A large portion of Arthur’s troops was killed a while before Camlann by his nephew’s attack ravens in self-defense. Arthur and said nephew were playing chess at the time and neither did much to stop it.
Merlin retired peacefully and went to live in the countryside with Taliesin.
Wherever Arthur walks, plants die. They don’t grow back for years.
Arthur had a spunky (half?) brother who died in battle after making a mysterious oath.
Dagonet is more or less able to run the kingdom when Arthur is gone. His biggest error is overspending on mercenaries.
Guinevere has an evil almost identical twin half-sister.
Hector beat up all the best knights except for Galahad while possessed by a demon.
Gawain plays tennis.
Gawain has used a chessboard as a weapon.
Near the start of his reign, Arthur left Lot in charge of the kingdom and went on a quest with a sassy parrot.
Gawain or Galahad succeeded Arthur as king.
498 notes
·
View notes
NEIL GAIMAN'S CHIVALRY WINS THE EISNER AWARD
Very happy to announce that NEIL GAIMAN'S CHIVALRY won the Eisner Award for Best Adaptation from Another Medium at last night's ceremony at San Diego Comic Con. Presenter was Batman producer Michael Uslan.
We're incredibly grateful and pleased, and no one is more surprised than I am.
This book is for all ages, it is gentle, it is a fairy story, it is about an old lady and a knight in shining armor, and the kind of King Arthur who lives in my dreams and not in blockbuster movies, and I am so grateful it has been so well-received.
I waited decades for this.
I cannot thank you all enough.
Neil Gaiman's Chivalry is based on an original short story by Neil Gaiman. Adapted and illustrated by me. Lettering by Todd Klein and me. Published by Dark Horse Comics. Editor Daniel Chabon.
Photo courtesy Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award winner Scott Dunbier.
3K notes
·
View notes