A fair few of the women in Welsh are the daughters/sisters of giants, ie Branwen, Olwen and Guinevere, or otherwise strange, sometimes immortal, inhuman beings, like Rhiannon and Arianrhod, and I think that means in adaptations, they deserve to be tall. Taller than the mortal men they take, or are forced to take, as husbands, towering other folks as they walk through a village or face their subjects, taller than the tallest man in the court. Let them visibly stick out as otherworldly! As magical beings!
I'd say the only exception should probably be Blodeuwedd, who I think Gwydion would purposely make to be smaller than her husband because he's lame.
tbh I prefer translated medieval and renaissance texts to modern Arthurian legend retellings. sorryyyyyyyy. many of them are straight ass, somehow lacking the nuisance and pizzazz of a text written 1,000 years ago and copied by hand for several centuries.
opening some of these retellings and shaking my head disapprovingly like ‘he would not fucking say that. I mean, his characterization varies wildly from text to text but I know in my soul that is not something that guy would say. vibe is all wrong.’
btw speaking of manuscripts did you all know that you can just go to this website that lists all the lancelot-grail manuscripts that exist and links to views for most of them, all of which are available for free to look at online!!! you can just go browsing and find your favorite arthurian characters :) a little hard to navigate + definitely helpful if you happen to know medieval french LOL but regardless you too can peruse medieval arthurian manuscripts for free whenever you want
in the furthest right column it also will tell you which manuscripts are illustrated and how much illustrations they have so you can easily see which ones have pictures (because some of them don’t.) this manuscript is one that i found that has pretty large and very high quality illustrations if you would like a place to start :)
Brand "New" List of Additions to the Arthurian Preservation Project Archive
In time, all books will be added to my Retellings List or Medieval Literature List respectively, and possibly a third page for handbooks/informational resources. Retellings may be under construction for a bit as I reformat to accommodate the influx in links. There are some duplicates—Alan Lupack's and Mike Ashley's anthologies occasionally contain a one-off story I've otherwise included in an individual volume of collected works by the author.
Links connect to corresponding PDFs on my Google drive where they can be read and downloaded for free. But if you like what I do, consider supporting me on Ko-Fi. I haven't yet read these listings in full; I cannot attest to their content or quality. A big thank you to @wandrenowle for the help collecting!
Modern Retellings
Merlin in Love by Aaron Hill (1790) — Opera about Merlin & his love interest Columbine.
The Fortunate Island by Max Adeler (1882) — A family shipwrecks on an island only to discover its populated with Arthurian knights, including Dinadan, Bleoberis, & Agravaine.
Sir Marrok by Allen French (1902) — Werewolf knight.
The Story of Sir Galahad by Mary Blackwell Stirling (1908) — Illustrated retelling of Malory's Grail Quest.
The Story of Parzival by Mary Blackwell Stirling (1911) — Illustrated retelling of Eschenbach's Parzival.
Stories From King Arthur and His Round Table by Beatrice Clay (1913) — Illustrated retelling of Malory.
Cloud Castle and Other Papers by Edward Thomas (1922) — Contains two Arthurian entries: the story Bronwen The Welsh Idyll about Agravaine & his lady Bronwen, & the essay Isoud about the Prose Tristan.
Collected Poems by Rolfe Humphries (1924-1966) — Contains Dream of Rhonabwy about Owain & Arthur's chess game, A Brecon Version about Essylt/Trystan, Under Craig y Ddynas about Arthur's "sleeping" warriors, & The Return of Peredwr about the Grail Hero's arrival to court.
Peronnik the Fool by George Moore (1926) — The quest for the Holy Grail based on Breton folklore.
The Merriest Knight by Theodore Goodridge Roberts (1946-2001) — Anthology of short stories all about Dinadan.
The Eagles Have Flown by Henry Treece (1954) — A third Arthurian novel from Treece detailing the rivalry between Artos & Medrawt, with illustrations this time.
Launcelot, my Brother by Dorothy James Roberts (1954) — The fall of Camelot from Bors perspective, as a brother of Launcelot.
To the Chapel Perilous by Naomi Mitchison (1955) — Two rival journalists report about the goings on in Camelot.
The Pagan King by Edison Marshall (1959) — Historical fiction from the perspective of Pagan King Arthur.
Kinsmen of the Grail by Dorothy James Roberts (1963) — The Grail Quest but Gawain is Perceval's step dad.
Stories of King Arthur by Blanche Winder (1968) — Illustrated retelling of Malory.
Drustan the Wanderer by Anna Taylor (1971) — Retelling of Essylt/Drustan.
Merlin's Ring by H. Warner Munn (1974) Gwalchmai is a godson of Merlin's that uses his ring to travel through the magical & real worlds.
Lionors, Arthur's Uncrowned Queen by Barbara Ferry Johnson (1975) — Story of Arthur's sweetheart & mother of his son, Loholt.
Gawain and The Green Knight by Y. R. Ponsor (1979) — Illustrated prose retelling of SGATGK poem.
Firelord (#1), Beloved Exile (#2), The Lovers: Trystan and Yseult (#3) by Parke Godwin (pseudonym Kate Hawks) (1980-1999) — Book 1 Arthur, book 2 Guinevere, book 3 Trystan/Yseult.
Bride of the Spear by Kathleen Herbert (1982) — "Historical" romance retelling of Teneu/Owain.
Invitation to Camelot edited by Parke Godwin (1988) — Anthology of assorted Arthurian stories from authors like Phyllis Ann Karr & Sharan Newman.
Arthur, The Greatest King - An Anthology of Modern Arthurian Poems by Alan Lupack (1988) — Anthology of modern Arthurian poetry by various authors including E. A. Robinson, William Morris, C. S. Lewis, & Ralph Waldo Emerson.
The White Raven by Diana L Paxson (1988) — "Historical" romance retelling of Drustan/Esseilte.
Merlin Dreams by Peter Dickinson (1988) — Illustrated by Alan Lee.
The Pendragon Chronicles edited by Mike Ashley (1990) — An anthology of Arthurian stories, including some translations such as the Lady of the Fountain, and retellings by John Steinbeck & Phyllis Ann Karr.
Grails: Quest of the Dawn edited by Richard Gilliam (1992-1994) — Anthology of Grail Quest stories.
The Merlin Chronicles edited by Mike Ashley (1995) — Anthology about Merlin from authors like Theodore Goodridge Roberts & Phyllis Ann Karr.
The Chronicles of the Holy Grail edited by Mike Ashley (1996) — Anthology about the Holy Grail from authors like Cherith Baldry & Phyllis Ann Karr.
The Chronicles of the Round Table edited by Mike Ashley (1997) — Anthology of assorted Arthurian stories from authors like Cherith Baldry & Phyllis Ann Karr.
Sleepless Knights by Mark H Williams (2013) — 1,500 years have passed but Lucan the Butler’s still on the clock.
Medieval Literature
Three Arthurian Romances (Caradoc, The Knight with The Sword, The Perilous Graveyard) [This is on the Internet Archive & cannot be downloaded. If someone could help with that, lmk!] translated by Ross G. Arthur
Le Bel Inconnu (The Fair Unknown) translated by Colleen P. Donagher
Segurant The Knight of the Dragon (Portuguese) edited by Emanuele Arioli
An Anglo-Norman Reader by Jane Bliss
Stanzaic Morte Arthur / Alliterative Morte Arthure edited by Larry D. Benson
Sir Perceval de Galles / Ywain and Gawain edited by Mary Flowers Braswell
Sir Gawain: Eleven Romances and Tales edited by Thomas Hahn
Prose Merlin edited by John Conlee
The Middle English Breton Lays edited by Eve Sailsbury & Anne Laskaya
Il Ciclo Di Guiron Le Courtois Volumes 1-7 (Italian)
Wace's Roman de Brut / Layamon's Brut by Robert Wace & Eugene Mason
Arthurian Literature by Women edited by Alan Lupack & Barbara Tepa Lupack
Handbooks
Studies in the Fairy Mythology of Arthurian Romance by Lucy Allen Paton (1960)
A Companion to the Gawain-Poet edited by Derek Brewer (1990)
The Mammoth Book of King Arthur edited by Mike Ashley (2005)
A Bibliography of Modern Arthuriana 1500-2000 by Ann F. Howey & Stephen R. Reimer (2006)
A List of all the lesser-known sorcerers/sorceresses in Arthuriana
A.K.A. Everyone who's not Merlin, Morgan le Fay or Ninianne/Vivien/Nimue. 'Cuz they're oversaturated
Cerridwen (Welsh Mythology)
Taliesin the Bard (Welsh Mythology)
Ambrosius Aurelianus (Historia Brittonum)
Uther Pendragon (The Welsh Triads)
Menw ap Teirgwaedd (Welsh Mythology)
King Arthur (?) (Welsh Mythology)
The Nine Witches of Ystawingun (Pa Gur)
The Nine Witches of Caer Lloyw (Peredur)
Orddu the Witch (Culhwch and Olwen)
King Bladdud (Historia Regum Britanniae, The Faerie Queene)
The Nine Sisters of Avalon (sans Morgan) (Vita Merlini) [Names: Mazoe, Moronoe, Gliten, Gliton, Glitonea, Tyronoe, Thiten, Thitis]
Queen Ganieda (Vita Merlini)
Queen Guinevere (De Ortu Waluuanii/Enfances Gauvain)
King Melwas (Welsh Mythology)
King Valerin (Lanzelet)
Malduc (Lanzelet)
Tristan (The Welsh Triads)
Iseult the Elder (and possibly Iseult the Fair herself) (Tristan and Isolde)
Thessala (Cliges)
Eliavres (Perceval - 1st continuation)
The Maiden of the White Hands (Le Bel Inconnu)
Mabon the Enchanter/Mabon ap Modron (Le Bel Inconnu, Prose Tristan, Post Vulgate)
Evraine (Le Bel Inconnu)
Tryamour (Lanval/Launfal)
Klingsor (Parzival)
Kundry (Parzival)
The Artisan of Cluse (?) (Daniel von dem Bluhenden Tal)
Giramphiel (Diu Crone)
Gansguoter (Diu Crone)
Enfeidas (Diu Crone)
Fairy L'Orgueilleux (L'Atre Perilleux)
Queen Morgause of Orkney (L'Atre Perilleux)
King Celidoine (Vulgate Estoire de Graal)
Guinebal (Vulgate Merlin)
Master Elias of Toulouse and his fellow clerks (?) (Vulgate Lancelot)
Vortigern's Clerks (Vulgate Merlin)
Arthur's Clerks (Historia Regum Britanniae, Vulgate Lancelot)
Lady Camille (Vulgate Lancelot)
The False Guinevere (Vulgate Lancelot)
Brisen (Vulgate Lancelot, Le Morte D'Arthur)
Sebile (Vulgate Lancelot, Le Propheties de Merlin, Perceforest)
The Queen of Northgallis (Le Propheties de Merlin, Le Morte D'Arthur)
The Queen of Sorestan (Vulgate Lancelot)
The Queen of Eastland (Le Morte D'Arthur)
The Queen of the Out Islands (Le Morte D'Arthur)
The Lady of Avalon (Le Propheties de Merlin)
Queen Crisea (Post Vulgate Queste del Saint Graal)
Tanabos the Enchanter (Post Vulgate Queste del Saint Graal)
Darnant the Enchanter (Perceforest)
Corose (Perceforest)
Queen Lydore (Perceforest)
Bruiant the Faithless (Perceforest)
King Aroes (Perceforest)
King Nagor (Perceforest)
Hellawes (Le Morte D'Arthur)
Annowre/Elergia (Le Morte D'Arthur, La Tavola Ritonda)
Lynette (and possibly Lyonesse) (Le Morte D'Arthur)
Pulzella Gaia (Pulzella Gaia)
Sir Fellone (La Tavola Ritonda)
The Green Knight (Bredbeddle ver.) (King Arthur and King Cornwall)
King Cornwall (King Arthur and King Cornwall)
Archimago (The Faerie Queene)
Acrasia (The Faerie Queene)
Busirane (The Faerie Queene)
Duessa (The Faerie Queene)
Caelia (The Faerie Queene, Tom a Lincoln)
Merlindia (Memorial das Proezas da Segunda Tavola Redonda)
Telorique (Memorial das Proezas da Segunda Tavola Redonda)
Notes:
This list is tentative and subject to change. More will included as necessary. If you are viewing a reblog, please check the original post for an up-to-date list.
The list discounts Saints and other Christian Holy Persons (such as Galahad). It also discounts characters with "superpowers" (such as Kay and Gawain). In general, the focus is on "Spellcasters"/Magic as an art or skill (Admittedly, the line is very murky).
Fairies (and Goddesses) are included due to the Medieval writers' efforts to rationalize such figures as enchantresses and sorceresses
The reblog chain is one of the things that makes Tumblr unlike anywhere else. All the notes on reblogs are attributed to the original post, no matter which branch people actually liked or reblogged. We want to keep encouraging conversations, and give contributors the recognition they deserve.
Soon, you'll be able to like, reblog, or reply to any part of a reblog chain, and that note will go to that reblog's author. Each reblog will have its own counts, instead of one aggregated number from every version of the post. And yes, you’ll be able to like multiple posts in one chain.
If a reblog doesn't add anything, the love flows up to the last person in the chain who did. Your post doesn't lose notes just because people spread it quietly.
Past notes will stay on the original post — we're only changing what happens from here on out. Retroactively re-attributing all of them would be... a lot.
This is just the beginning. More changes are coming as we keep building this out – stay tuned!
A blogger works incredibly hard on a piece of art or writing and posts it. A popular blogger finds it and reblogs with the comment "This is amazing!" That should be a good thing for the artist! Now this would steal all reblogs, comments, tags, engagements, everything, from the original artist if the popular reblogger simply forgot to hold their tongue?
If this goes through I will simply have to never leave another comment on a post. Even if it feels helpful to have on the chain. Even if I have something genuinely good to say. Because that will steal the post from the author.
And even if I do that, then I wonder how many of my own engagements and notes I'll lose for every person who comments "lol" on a post of mine.
And I typically LIKE when people add comments with substance! Now I have to hate that because it hacks my post in half?
And the absolute headache of trekking through every single reblog chain to look at the tags on content I make. Come on...
In light of the discussions about how much of Arthurian Legend strips the Welsh origins from or outright rewrites the cultural history of the legends, perhaps it's a good time to get the Welsh adaptations we do have some more notoriety.
For example, there's a short film retelling the story of Culhwch ac Olwen in Welsh! I think it could be a great tool to expose people to the Welsh legends in the Welsh language. I've streamed it in the Arthurian Theater Discord Server before, but it would be awesome to get it subtitled in both Welsh and English for accessibility.
Some other Welsh media I have includes The Boy Merlin (1979), The Mabinogion (1984) and Y Mabinogi (2003). Honorable mention to Arthur of the Britons (1972-1973) as well as Arthur & Merlin (2015) which takes large inspiration from the Welsh stories and has a website with more detail. Furthermore there's a Welsh-language film in production called Hold Excalibur I'll be keeping an eye on.
Some retellings that focus on pre-French Arthurian Legends include:
Arthur the Bear of Britain by Edward Frankland (1944)
The Eagles Have Flown by Henry Treece (1954)
The Great Captains by Henry Treece (1956)
The Pagan King by Edison Marshall (1959)
The Green Man by Henry Treece (1966)
Drustan the Wanderer by Anna Taylor (1971)
Arthur of the Britons by Rex Edwards (1975)
The Pendragon by Catherine Christian (1979)
Bride of the Spear by Kathleen Herbert (1982)
Tales From the Mabinogion Gwyn Thomas, Kevin Crossley-Holland, & Margaret Jones (1982)
The Quest for Olwen by Gwyn Thomas, Kevin Crossley-Holland, & Margaret Jones (1988)
The Tale of Taliesin by Gwyn Thomas, Kevin Crossley-Holland, & Margaret Jones (1992)
(Note: I have NOT read everything on this list and don't necessarily recommend them all; some are real stinkers, but they exist. Secondly, I've excluded anything incorporating characters from Chrétien de Troyes's romances or later French texts, such as Lancelot and Agravain. Therefore, Bernard Cornwell's Warlord Chronicles, Gillian Bradshaw's Down the Long Wind, and Persia Woolley's Guinevere trilogies are out! I've especially excluded all Bedwyr/Lancelot hybrid abominations, so Mary Stewart's Arthurian Saga and Joan Wolf's The Road to Avalon don't count either.)
If anyone knows of more Welsh Arthurian media not mentioned here, please let me know so we can track them down!
I've been working on that post about Little People in Arthuriana by collecting and reading lots of articles and documenting the portrayals in Medieval Literature, Modern Retellings, as well as Film/TV; it's... disheartening. So I just watched Willow (1988) and not only is this what Hobbiton from LOTR should've looked like, but why can't we have characters like this in Arthuriana? When there are plenty of examples of kings and queens and knights and ladies with dwarfism right in the source material to utilize?
I know this movie was an outlier and many of the negative Arthurian examples also come from the 80s, but this proves it's possible to do better. Meanwhile Disney deleted the Willow TV show (also archived at the above link for your viewing pleasure) and just released a remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Bad enough to rehash the story at all, but not only did they fail to hire Little actors to play the Dwarfs, they didn't hire actors at all and used CGI. For a "live action" remake.
I tend to include gifs on a lot of my posts. Yet for this, making gifs of Little People in Arthurian legend feels like furthering the exploitation. They're unanimously neglected and depicted as nefarious bad guys or lackeys, often unnamed and without lines. Sometimes they're even physically assaulted on screen. Perhaps the Little man in Knightriders (1981) is a neutral-positive exception, but he's very much a background character.
I don't really have a point here besides wishing I had a positive alternative to highlight, which I usually strive to suggest whenever I make a critical post, but there isn't one. And that's a huge bummer.
i never feel particularly fond of arthur as a character but like holy shit he kind of just has the worst life ever. made king at sixteen and basically disowned by your adopted father when it happens, now there’s weird tension with your brother because he tried to be king first and like obviously, that’s just how he is, but he’s probably always going to be resentful deep down that his little brother is king and he’s not. you didn’t even want to be king but you have to unite this giant geographical land mass and every kingdom in it obviously rebels against you and everyone wants to kill you. in the meantime you have to do all of this bureaucratic work and these tests to prove you really did pull the sword out of the stone because no one believes this kind of shy sixteen year old commoner is the son of the late king and you have no idea what’s going on with your parentage. some people are calling you a bastard. what would you even know about this. what would you even know about what happened to your mother. you keep having to fight these battles with people who want specifically you dead. why does everything always have to be solved in blood? you marry this pretty girl and your advisor tells you she’ll cheat on you. you don’t know if you can trust anything he says. you hope you can’t. he tells you also your son will murder you. what are you even supposed to do. kings are supposed to have an heir. but also you had a son with some random woman that you don’t even remember and now that kid is going to kill you. you try to kill him. what else can you do. it’s heinous. you order the killing of infants. why does everything have to be solved in blood. who knows if you even solved that problem. your knights are feuding constantly. the ones you are related to are kind of feuding the most. you remember your wife is supposed to cheat on you with one of these knights. your advisor disappears because of some woman he’s in love with. guess you can’t trust the people you love. guess you have to keep dealing in blood. you didn’t even want to be king but you thought you could at least make things better. you were supposed to make things better. why do the knights keep bringing back corpses. is your son still alive? who are tristan and iseult? you thought iseult was married to a king. your wife is supposed to cheat on you. maybe the grail quest will make it better. maybe your best knight lancelot will do the grail quest and make it better. maybe your sister’s sons can help you.
Have a high interest in Arthurian Legend but low readability?
Here's a collection of adapted or abridged books to help ease you into the literary tradition. This list is ordered from simplest to most complex, beginning with picture books and ending with "translations" of Middle English texts into modern English or abridged versions of longer texts such as the Vulgate. Books in a series are numbered.
As always, if the book is still in print, I link to the Internet Archive to read, Goodreads to learn more, or where you can purchase. Supporting living authors is very important! Otherwise, enjoy a PDF, on me, to keep the legacy of these authors alive.
Updated 24/Sept/2025
Picture Books
Merlin Dreams by Peter Dickinson & Alan Lee (1988)
Young Merlin (Young Series #1) by Robert D San Souci & Jamichael Henterly (1989)
Tales From the Mabinogion Gwyn Thomas, Kevin Crossley-Holland, & Margaret Jones (1992)
Sir Gawain and The Loathly Lady by Selina Hastings & Juan Wijngaard (1985)
The Quest for Olwen by Gwyn Thomas, Kevin Crossley-Holland, & Margaret Jones (1988)
The Kitchen Knight by Margaret Hodges & Trina Schart Hyman (1990)
The Knights of the Round Table by Lee Ann Bortolussi & Piero Cattaneo (1991)
Sir Gawain and The Green Knight by Selina Hastings & Juan Wijngaard (1991)
The Tale of Taliesin by Gwyn Thomas, Kevin Crossley-Holland, & Margaret Jones (1992)
Young Guinevere (Young Series #2) by Robert D San Souci & Jamichael Henterly (1992)
The Knight with The Lion by John Howe (1996)
Young Lancelot (Young Series #3) by Robert D San Souci & Jamichael Henterly (1996)
Young Arthur (Young Series #4) by Robert D San Souci & Jamichael Henterly (1997)
Sir Gawain and The Green Knight by Michael Morpurgo & Michael Foreman (2004)
Perceval: King Arthur's Knight of The Holy Grail by John Perkins & Gennady Spirin (2007)
Comics
Prince Valiant by Hal Foster & many others (1937-present)
Camelot 3000 by Brian Bolland and Mike W. Barr (1982-1985)
Arthur, King of Time and Space by Paul Gadzikowski (2004-2014)
Tristan & Isolde: The Warrior and The Princess by Jeff Limke (2008)
Muppets King Arthur by Paul Benjamin & Patrick Storick (2010)
Children's Chapter Books
The Adventures of Sir Lancelot the Great (The Knights' Tales #1) by Gerald Morris (2009)
The Adventures of Sir Givret the Short (The Knights' Tales #2) by Gerald Morris (2009)
The Adventures of Sir Gawain the True (The Knights' Tales #3) by Gerald Morris (2013)
The Adventures of Sir Balin the Ill-Fated (The Knights' Tales #4) by Gerald Morris (2013)
The Legends of King Arthur: Merlin, Magic, and Dragons (#1-#10) by Tracey Mayhew (2020)
Intermediate Retellings
The Idylls of The King by Alfred Lord Tennyson (1859)
The Story of King Arthur and His Knights (#1) by Howard Pyle (1903)
The Story of the Champions of The Round Table (#2) by Howard Pyle (1905)
The Story of Sir Launcelot and His Companions (#3) by Howard Pyle (1907)
The Story of The Grail and The Passing of Arthur (#4) by Howard Pyle (1910)
Hero Myths & Legends of the British Race by M. I. Ebbutts (1910)
The Squire’s Tale (The Squire’s Tales #1) by Gerald Morris (1998)
The Squire, His Knight, and His Lady (The Squire’s Tales #2) by Gerald Morris (1999)
The Savage Damsel and The Dwarf (The Squire’s Tales #3) by Gerald Morris (2000)
Parsifal’s Page (The Squire’s Tales #4) by Gerald Morris (2001)
The Ballad of Sir Dinadan (The Squire’s Tales #5) by Gerald Morris (2003)
The Princess, The Crone, and The Dung-Cart Knight (The Squire’s Tales #6) by Gerald Morris (2004)
The Lioness and Her Knight (The Squire’s Tales #7) by Gerald Morris (2005)
The Quest of The Fair Unknown (The Squire’s Tales #8) by Gerald Morris (2006)
The Squire’s Quest (The Squire’s Tales #9) by Gerald Morris (2009)
The Legend of The King (The Squire’s Tales #10) by Gerald Morris (2010)
Abridged Medieval Literature Translations
Sir Gawain and The Green Knight (Unrepresented #1) by Jessie Weston (1889)
I was reading the English translation of the Tavola Ritonda today and could not help myself when I saw the bit where Dinadan made fun of Eros/Cupid lol
i was going to make a joke about how it’s funny that all the arthurian knights are kind of all like living with their own respective genres like gawain is living in a black comedy while lancelot is in a horror movie (he thinks he’s in a romantic drama). but like lowkey this is a quasi legitimate reading of the text??? considering how like le morte in particular draws a lot from vulgate which in turn draws from like chretien de troyes and tristan romances and stanzaic morte etc and so many different sources. so it literally is like the knights a little bit are all in their own universes and mismatched amalgamations of their previous iterations stuck together into one narrative? insane
Here’s a guide for introductory Medieval texts and informational resources ordered from most newbie friendly to complex. Guidebooks and encyclopedias are listed last.
All PDFs link to Google drive and can be found at @arthurianpreservationproject. This post will be updated as needed.
Pre-Existing Resources
Medieval Literature by Language
Retellings by Date
Films by Date
TV Shows by Date
Documentaries by Date
If this guide was helpful for you, please consider supporting me on Ko-Fi!
Updated: 20/Sept/2025
Medieval Literature
Page (No Knowledge Required)
The Vulgate Cycle | Navigation Guide | Vulgate Reader (French)
The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle (Middle English)
The Marriage of Sir Gawain (Middle English)
Sir Gawain and The Green Knight (Middle English)
Sir Lanval (French) | Sir Launfal (Middle English) | Janual (Norse)
The Welsh Triads (Welsh)
Le Morte d'Arthur (abridged version by Keith Baines)
Le Morte d'Arthur (academic version by Dr. Dorsey Armstrong) (Middle English)
Squire (Base Knowledge Recommended)
Owain (Welsh) | Yvain (French) | Iwein (German) | Ywain (Middle English) | Íven (Icelandic) | Ivan (Swedish)
What geography (eg the Wastelands, the forest of Broceliande, etc) in Arthuriana are you most interested in exploring in your writing or art? How do you visualize it? What modern landscapes inspire your vision of it?
i think what interests me the most (not that it necessarily translate in my nearly non existent writing or art lol) is the lack of geographic specificity if that makes sense? people go places in ways that make little to no sense, walewein gets to india somehow, the forest of broceliande is as big as you need it to be, castles and maidens just happen to be on the road whenever the story needs a castle or a maiden, the sea is there when you need it to be and not there when you dont wanna deal with it, etc. something i watched (shamefully) only recently that reminded me of this fluid and dreamlike way to convey geographical space is the movie the fall (2006). obviously when it comes to the actual description of landscape that are present in the text they mostly show the kind of landscapes youd find in the british isles and in continental europe, but i like sort of stretching this blurry sense of geography and distance as subordinate to the story to an extreme and imagining the landscapes as very varied with biomes found a bit all over the world
okay this is only vaguely an answer to the prompt but in terms of vibes i want to invoke what dark romanticism paintings do. particularly like, arnold bocklin and ferdinand keller, thats what the landscapes of arthuriana should look like in my head:
