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The Knightly Tale of Golagros and Gawane

Ralph Hanna editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Scottish Text Society

Published:16th Oct '08

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

The Knightly Tale of Golagros and Gawane cover

New edition, with full apparatus, of an important medieval Arthurian romance. The Knightly Tale of Golagros and Gawane, the finest of all Older Scots romances, was written during the last quarter of the fifteenth century. It uses the thirteen-line alliterative stanza to vivid effect. Its greatest sophistication, however, lies in its thematic engagement with matters of sovereignty and chivalry, in its persistent interest in negotiated exchanges rather than outright warfare, and in its moving depictions of the limitations of anaristocratic ethos fundamentally dedicated to destructive violence. For this new edition, the text has been re-edited from the sole witness, the version published by Scotland's first printers, Chepman and Myllar, in 1508. The introduction and notes show how the poet works from two Arthurian adventures he derived from a prose continuation of the Old French Perceval, following a Scottish tradition of rehandling prose material into verse. They also reveal, however, the poem's extensive knowledge of an earlier romance likely composed on the borders of north-western England, The Awntyrs of Arthur at the Tarn Wadling, and thus situate Golagros against traditions both French and English. Beyond this, much light is shed on early print culture in Scotland. RALPH HANNA is Professor of Palaeography at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Keble College.

This is a fine edition for a fine poem, a pleasure to read and an important step in bringing the work to a wider audience. * NOTES AND QUERIES *
Clearly an important, thoughtful, and up-to-date edition that will attract scholars invested in the textual witness of medieval Scottish culture. * THE MEDIEVAL REVIEW *
In addition to students of Arthurian literature, those interested in the early his¬tory of the Scottish press, and particularly in Chepman and Myllar, the first known printers doing business in Scotland, will benefit from this volume. * JOURNAL OF ENGLISH & GERMANIC PHILOLOGY *
[An] excellent edition. * YEAR'S WORK IN ENGLISH STUDIES *
A superb edition. * SPECULUM *

ISBN: 9781897976296

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 670g

192 pages