The only available English translation of The Romance of Reynard the Fox, this age-old tale is an oblique critique of medieval society and its institutions. The animals, endowed with human vices and fewer virtues, play out a thinly disguised social comedy in which all the orders from nobility to peasantry are lampooned. Full of shrewd observation of rural life and animal behavior, this new translation offers an enlightening introduction and clear notes that involve the reader in the social, historical, and literary context of the work.

The Romance of Reynard the Fox (The ^AWorld's Classics)

Business & Money

Owen, D.D.R.

Economics

Oxford University Press

The vision of hell;: Infernal journeys in medieval French literature

Barnes&Noble

This fascinating new biography tells the story of one of the most influential figures of the twelfth century, Eleanor of Aquitaine, successively queen of France and of England. Her marriage at fifteen to the young Louis VII was later annulled on the grounds of consanguinity. After her divorce, she eluded rival pretenders to marry Henry II, then Count of Anjou and Duke of Normandy. Having campaigned in England to assert his claim to the throne, Henry realized his ambition following the death of King Stephen in 1154. Eleanor thereby became the queen of potentially the most powerful leader in Europe, whose empire stretched from the Scottish borders to the Pyrenees. Eleanor bore Henry eight children, two of them future kings of England - Richard Coeur-de-Lion (the Lionheart) and John. Her behaviour and political motives have always been open to question, not least her siding with her children against Henry. Believed by some to have been the prime mover in the affair, she supported rebellion against their father. As a result, although the revolt collapsed, Eleanor was kept in close custody in England for much of the next sixteen years. Then, after Henry's death, she lent her unflagging support to his successors Richard and, later, John. Professor Owen's portrait aims to separate the true historical Eleanor from the Eleanor of legend. In tracing her life story he examines her part in public affairs during the reigns of Louis, Henry, Richard and John, and her role as a literary and cultural patron at the time of the great intellectual revival known as the Twelfth-Century Renaissance. Even in her own day, Eleanor caught the imagination of chroniclers and other writers; and the final parts of Professor Owen's biography follow the development of the legend that built up around her life before considering her possible use as a role-model in the epic and romance of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.

Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen and Legend

Biographies & Memoirs

Leaders & Notable People

Blackwell Pub.

The Evolution of the Grail Legend

Oliver & Boyd

Illustrated in color and B/W. 205p. Index. Further reading.

The Legend of Roland: A Pageant of the Middle Ages

Phaidon [Distributed in the U.S. by Praeger, New York

Noble lovers

Literature & Fiction

Phaidon

Noble Lovers

Arts & Photography

Themes

New York University Press

William the Lion, 1143-1214: Kingship and Culture

Tuckwell Press, Ltd.

This biography reviews the known facts of the life of William the Lion, Scotland's longest reigning king, and presents them within the broad context of the country's early history and culture. While much of the story centres on the often brittle relationship with the English Plantagenets, Scotland emerges as a European power, respected not least for its now largely forgotten cultural flowering. This is demonstrated in the later chapters by an examination of a body of hiterto undervalued texts, notably a skit on the Grail legend. Set in Scotland, the romance was probably composed by a St Andrews' bishop for the court circle, and can claim to be the country's earliest surviving vernacular work. This interdisciplinary approach, by juxtaposing established facts with literary interpretations, offers historians and the general reader with a new and more rounded view of both the domestic conditions and the reputation abroad of William the Lion's Scotland. D.D.R. Owen is the author of "Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen and Legend".

Historical

This scholarly work argues that a single mythological figure can be found throughout Greek, Celtic, and European Literature. Dubbed "The Wandering Giant," this intriguing character appears as the estranged outsider, frightening townspeople and garnering a unique perspective on civilization. This study traces the importance of the giant, and offers original insights into many of the western canon's most recognizable works.

The Wandering Giant in Literature

History & Criticism

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