Greg Stafford
07-04-2017, 12:58 AM
I've just finished reading a quite wonderful book titled Perceforest
written by that oh so prolific Medieval author Anonymous
It is the history of Pre-Arthurian Britain
It starts with Alexander the Great (yes, that Alexander the Great) and many of his men landing in Britain, where the descendants of the Trojans have grown weak and lax
Darnant the Enchanter has risen to prominence, with his horrible clan of rapist knights
Alexander and his henchmen adventure, and Alexander leaves two brothers in charge as Kings of England (as the book calls it) and Scotland
There follows a whole lot of really interesting and very diverse stories of various knights, including the kings and their families
Diverse, such as:
the first published version of Sleeping Beauty
A child born with a crossbow and arrow in his hand, who avenges his father at age three
A generations-long quest against a giant boar
A knight who is turned into a bear and keeps on knighting
The lion-killing, giant-killing, double-lance using knight Lyonor, who founds Lyonesse
In fact, a lot of founding of Arthurian places
and lots of stories of the ancestors of Arthurian characters
And lots and lots (almost too much, frankly) stories of how knights are inspired in their prowess by True Love
Without being spoilers, the story includes the long struggle against Darnantes, the arrival of Sir Julius Caesar and his war against the British, other invasions
The original is 1,000,000 words long!
This is shorter, with the translator reducing the narrative is many many places
But it is a huge book
And pretty pricey too--$85 for my copy
The stories almost seemed modern compared to most of the Medieval literature that I have read
I may just read it again, just for pleasure, and to cement some of these tales in my head to turn them into scenarios
written by that oh so prolific Medieval author Anonymous
It is the history of Pre-Arthurian Britain
It starts with Alexander the Great (yes, that Alexander the Great) and many of his men landing in Britain, where the descendants of the Trojans have grown weak and lax
Darnant the Enchanter has risen to prominence, with his horrible clan of rapist knights
Alexander and his henchmen adventure, and Alexander leaves two brothers in charge as Kings of England (as the book calls it) and Scotland
There follows a whole lot of really interesting and very diverse stories of various knights, including the kings and their families
Diverse, such as:
the first published version of Sleeping Beauty
A child born with a crossbow and arrow in his hand, who avenges his father at age three
A generations-long quest against a giant boar
A knight who is turned into a bear and keeps on knighting
The lion-killing, giant-killing, double-lance using knight Lyonor, who founds Lyonesse
In fact, a lot of founding of Arthurian places
and lots of stories of the ancestors of Arthurian characters
And lots and lots (almost too much, frankly) stories of how knights are inspired in their prowess by True Love
Without being spoilers, the story includes the long struggle against Darnantes, the arrival of Sir Julius Caesar and his war against the British, other invasions
The original is 1,000,000 words long!
This is shorter, with the translator reducing the narrative is many many places
But it is a huge book
And pretty pricey too--$85 for my copy
The stories almost seemed modern compared to most of the Medieval literature that I have read
I may just read it again, just for pleasure, and to cement some of these tales in my head to turn them into scenarios