- Publisher: Unbound
- Year: 2021
- Format: Hardback
- Pages: 232pp
- Illustrated: Yes
- Dimensions: 240x159mm
- Condition: New
- Weight: 0.5kg
- ISBN: 9781783529087
- Product code: 531705
King Arthur's Death
The Alliterative Morte Arthure
Michael Smith New Hardback Illustrated
Postscript summary
The Middle English poem Morte Arthure offers ‘an acute observation of the loneliness of kingship and the folly of pride’ as it describes the legendary king’s refusal of demands from Roman emissaries and his pursuit of war against foes abroad, which he wins at the expense of his power at home. This translation uses the alliterative scheme of the original, with illustrations that reflect the text’s dark humour.
Product information
Full publisher description
King Arthur's Death (commonly referred to as the Alliterative Morte Arthure) is a Middle English poem that was written in Lincolnshire at the end of the fourteenth century. A source work for Malory's later Morte d'Arthur, it is an epic tale which documents the horrors of war, the loneliness of kingship and the terrible price paid for arrogance.
This magnificent poem tells of the arrival of emissaries from Imperial Rome demanding that Arthur pays his dues as a subject. It is Arthur's refusal to accept these demands, and the premise of foreign domination, which leads him on a quest to confront his foes and challenge them for command of his lands.
Yet his venture is not without cost. His decision to leave Mordred at home to watch over his realm and guard Guinevere, his queen, proves to be a costly one. Though Arthur defeats the Romans, events in Britain draw him back where he must now face Mordred for control of his kingdom - a conflict ultimately fatal to the pair of them.
Combining heroic action, probing insight into human frailty and a great attention to contemporary detail, King Arthur's Death is not only a lesson in effective kingship, it is also an astonishing mirror on our own times, highlighting the folly of letting stubborn dogma drive political decisions.
This magnificent poem tells of the arrival of emissaries from Imperial Rome demanding that Arthur pays his dues as a subject. It is Arthur's refusal to accept these demands, and the premise of foreign domination, which leads him on a quest to confront his foes and challenge them for command of his lands.
Yet his venture is not without cost. His decision to leave Mordred at home to watch over his realm and guard Guinevere, his queen, proves to be a costly one. Though Arthur defeats the Romans, events in Britain draw him back where he must now face Mordred for control of his kingdom - a conflict ultimately fatal to the pair of them.
Combining heroic action, probing insight into human frailty and a great attention to contemporary detail, King Arthur's Death is not only a lesson in effective kingship, it is also an astonishing mirror on our own times, highlighting the folly of letting stubborn dogma drive political decisions.
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531705
King Arthur's Death
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<p>The Middle English poem <i>Morte Arthure</i> offers ‘an acute observation of the loneliness of kingship and the folly of pride’ as it describes the legendary king’s refusal of demands from Roman emissaries and his pursuit of war against foes abroad, which he wins at the expense of his power at home. This translation uses the alliterative scheme of the original, with illustrations that reflect the text’s dark humour.</p>
Hardback
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productId:144877
bic_code:DC, DSBB, DSC
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£18.99
Michael Smith
General
240x159mm
Unbound
No
Hardback
