This text presents a comprehensive dictionary of characters, places, objects and themes found in the legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Information is drawn from significant Arthurian sources between Gildas's "De Excidio Britanniae" (c.540) and Tennyson's 19th-century "Idylls of the King". The book contains names extracted from over 250 original Arthurian texts and includes information on characters such as Lancelot and Gawain, places such as Camelot and Camlann, objects such as Excalibur and the Holy Grail and themes such as the Sword in the Stone and the beheading game. Each entry provides a description of the name, including possible origins or historical basis of the name, and major characters and themes are discussed extensively and their evolution through the series of texts is traced.
Biography
Christopher W. Bruce
"...extremely invaluable...a fascinating read and a very useful reference tool...that most large and public libraries should have." -- Reference Books Bulletin
"Serious students of the Arthurian legends will find this a useful and informative resource." -- School Library Journal
"...a valuable tool for study and enjoyment of an already-essential myth of our cilivization and greatly to be recommended to individual readers and libraries alike." -- Arthuriana
"An excellent companion to The New Arthurian Encyclopedia... It includes all the characters and places; for the major Arthurian texts, the work is comprehensive." -- Booklist/RBB
"Even experienced students of Arthurian literature will find plenty of new discoveries in Bruce's dictionary. Here the unbelievably wide "world" of Arthurian romance that William Caxton marveled at in 1483 is itemized in fascinating, specific detail. The book should be a gold mine for future Arthurian novelists as well as treasure for the inquisitive scholar." -- Jennifer R. Goodman, Texas A&M University, Speculum
