Retrato do autor
18 Works 259 Membros 6 Críticas

Obras por Daniel Mersey

Etiquetado

Conhecimento Comum

Data de nascimento
1974
Sexo
male
Nacionalidade
UK
Educação
University of York

Membros

Críticas

A great introduction to the legend of King Arthur,with a good further reading list and places to visit.
 
Assinalado
JosephKingman | 2 outras críticas | Jul 17, 2021 |
Through History, there have been some figures, men and women, who have surpassed the boundaries of recorded time and galloped all the way through into the realm of legend. None has been more discussed and adored than Arthur, or at least, the warlord who provided the inspiration for the Arthurian Cycle and became the immortal symbol of a nation and one of the greatest heroes mankind has created. Who was he? What did he do during the age of his leadership? We don’t know for sure. Did he exist at all? Even this is a much-disputed subject. And yet, most of us hardly care whether Arthur, Merlin, Lancelot, Guinevere, Morgan actually walked on this Earth. It wouldn’t make any difference, they have achieved immortality until mankind exists no more. Still, the questions about Arthur and everyone associated with him are still going strong and, even though some small secrets have been uncovered, the mystery remains. This very interesting book by Daniel Mersey tries to provide some clues for the historical basis of King Arthur and describes the way he inspired Literature, Music, Art and Cinema.

Mersey traces Arthur’s roots all the way back to the Roman times, from Julius Caesar’s campaign in Britain, the decline of the Romans in the Albion, the disputes between the warlords, the coming of the Christian religion. What impressed me most was the number of tales created on Arthur and his knights that have their roots on many different countries. I didn’t know, and I admit I could never imagine, that there are tales from Greece and Cyprus, dating back to the 8th century AD, which contain references to Arthur, Lancelot and Gawain, while stories centered on Morgan and Mordred can be found in a number of countries of the Balkan region.

Mersey refers to the most important Medieval biographers and their contribution to the creation and spreading of Arthur’s saga, along with the influence of Chretien De Troyes and Thomas Malory on turning Arthur and his Knights into a tale alive through hundreds of centuries. There is a very interesting chapter focusing on the impact of Arthur as a Celtic hero, his role as a figure of power, peace and benevolence in Wales, Ireland and Scotland, and even further. We move on to the different candidates of Arthur’s actual identity and the many ways in which his stories have inspired some of the best moments in Art and Cinema.

The book closes with references to today’s research and questions about Arthur, Camelot and the legendary quest for the Grail and the Round Table, the symbols of justice, equality and prosperity. Will we ever know for sure who this great man was? Will we achieve to discover the end of the myth and the beginning of History? The odds are against it, but I think that each one of us has a personal view about Arthur in their minds, and this is how the legend goes on. Mersey’s contribution in the quest for answers is one of the best.

P.S. And I, for once, tend to believe that Arthur is sleeping in his cave, but our world is too frustrating for him to wake up...
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
AmaliaGavea | Jul 15, 2018 |
Pros: quick summaries of notable stories, timeline of when stories were written, interesting text boxes with additional information, mentions alternate spellings/versions

Cons: as mentioned in the introduction there are too many knights and stories to cover them all

As with the other books in Osprey’s Myths and Legends series, this is a great introduction if you’re interested in Arthurian Legends. The author, Daniel Mersey, wrote a volume on King Arthur, and this volume on the knights is meant to accompany it in fleshing out the legends.

The book has entertaining synopses of several of the earliest legends about Arthur’s knights, told by Chretien de Troyes and his contemporaries in the late 12th Century. There are several stories about Lancelot and Gawain, as well as Tristan and Isolde, Yvain, Erec, Balin and Beaumains.

If you don’t know much about the knights, this is a fantastic introduction, with text boxes breaking up the stories that have added information regarding where different characters were popular, alternate spellings, which ones potentially came first, etc. The literary timeline’s also great, showing when the different stories were written.

It’s an attractive edition with reprints of several images that accompanied older editions of the stories as well as new illustrations by Alan Lathwell.

Of course, with such a slim volume a lot is going to be left out. The author mentions that in his introduction and includes a supplementary reading and watching list (including preferred translations for the texts) for those who want to learn more.
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
Strider66 | 1 outra crítica | Jan 13, 2015 |

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Estatísticas

Obras
18
Membros
259
Popularidade
#88,671
Avaliação
3.8
Críticas
6
ISBN
40
Línguas
1

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