tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723077228948447528.post8979704726881864817..comments2024-03-27T19:07:19.133-04:00Comments on The Silver Key: Exploring the wondrous myth of King ArthurBrian Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05563309422791320114noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723077228948447528.post-9374529639816930362012-02-18T03:12:12.307-05:002012-02-18T03:12:12.307-05:00It is a 'historical Arthur' setting, so Co...It is a 'historical Arthur' setting, so Cornwell's work is more similar to it, though it is a somewhat more magical world than Cornwell's.Robertnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723077228948447528.post-31830479606664185382012-02-13T20:26:48.903-05:002012-02-13T20:26:48.903-05:00I have not read the Pendragon Cycle. Is it closer ...I have not read the Pendragon Cycle. Is it closer to Cornwell, or White?Brian Murphyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05563309422791320114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723077228948447528.post-48773205349496058462012-02-12T08:55:11.791-05:002012-02-12T08:55:11.791-05:00Have you read Stephen Lawhead's Pendragon Cycl...Have you read Stephen Lawhead's <i>Pendragon Cycle</i>? I recommend it, if you haven't.Robertnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723077228948447528.post-23570503359650738472011-11-19T18:54:09.657-05:002011-11-19T18:54:09.657-05:00Always nice to find a fellow Arthurian legend fan....Always nice to find a fellow Arthurian legend fan. I hope you do more posts like this! I read your requirement categories with interest, as I'm writing my own Arthurian legend series (centered on Guinevere) and I meet almost all your requirements. My books aren't published yet, but if you can stand a late Celtic/very early Dark Ages setting, you might want to check out my site: nicolealexanderauthor.com.Nicole Alexanderhttp://nicolealexanderauthor.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723077228948447528.post-47683559976733508222008-12-26T09:34:00.000-05:002008-12-26T09:34:00.000-05:00Hi Mr. Baron, thanks for stopping by. I'm glad to ...Hi Mr. Baron, thanks for stopping by. I'm glad to find another kindred spirit with a similar love of the Arthurian myths in all their forms. I'll have to add your fine blog to my roll.Brian Murphyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05563309422791320114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723077228948447528.post-8492934841120426292008-12-21T18:31:00.000-05:002008-12-21T18:31:00.000-05:00Brian,I in the middle of a blog series examining t...Brian,<BR/><BR/>I in the middle of a blog series examining the paladin, and in today's blog entry the topic is the Arthurian mythos. I wrote my blog earlier in the day, and I just found your entry. In my blog, I mention that any work that atempts to tackle the Arthurian myths need to include the following:<BR/><BR/>1. The birth of Arthur and the legitimacy of his blood line<BR/>2. Merlin<BR/>3. Excalibur<BR/>4. Lancelot & Guinevere<BR/>5. The Quest for the Holy Grail<BR/>6. Sir Tristan and the Belle Isolde<BR/>7. Christianity and Pagan religions (the rise of one and the fall of the other)<BR/>8. Mordred and the downfall of Arthur<BR/><BR/>Very similar to your list. Upon reading your blog, I am going to add Camelot/Foundation of the Round Table to my list, as I agree with you on this point.<BR/><BR/>Link: http://grumblingrognard.blogspot.com/2008/12/paladin-p3a-arthurian-mythos.htmlMr Baronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07502432352346301026noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723077228948447528.post-83000959461644304082008-05-13T20:52:00.000-04:002008-05-13T20:52:00.000-04:00Hi James, thanks for the info. Kind of funny how s...Hi James, thanks for the info. Kind of funny how sheep-stealing is lumped in with rape, burgulary, and ambush :). <BR/><BR/>I do find it very odd how someone with such a laundry list of crimes would choose to devote so much of his time and energies to <I>Le Morte D'Arthur.</I> He obviously understood and wrote very lucidly about right vs. wrong and the struggle against lawlessness and darkness, but for whatever reason chose to follow a very different path. Not exactly the Arthurian ideal, was Malory.Brian Murphyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05563309422791320114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723077228948447528.post-15137354127805526642008-05-13T20:44:00.000-04:002008-05-13T20:44:00.000-04:00Hi Terry, I've actually managed to avoid watching ...Hi Terry, I've actually managed to avoid watching The Sword in the Stone all these years, so perhaps that has worked to my advantage.<BR/><BR/>If you can't bring yourself to read the entirety of <I>The Once and Future King</I>, may I suggest you read book IV, "The Candle in the Wind." It sounds like you have been turned off by book I, "The Sword in the Stone," in which Merlin educates the young Arthur by showing him the behavior of certain animals and insects and how it relates to human characteristics. It is allegorical, and while I don't mind this, the book gets much darker, much more tragic, and far more powerful as it progresses to book IV, which is a must-read for any fans of Arthurian literature, in my opinion.Brian Murphyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05563309422791320114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723077228948447528.post-23356713259991514092008-05-13T12:43:00.000-04:002008-05-13T12:43:00.000-04:00It's been years since I studied Mallory, but this ...It's been years since I studied Mallory, but this section from Wikipedia at least jibes with my memories:<BR/><BR/>"Twice elected to a seat in Parliament, he also accrued a long list of criminal charges during the 1450s, including burglary, rape, sheep stealing, and attempting to ambush the Duke of Buckingham. He escaped from jail on two occasions, once by fighting his way out with a variety of weapons and by swimming a moat. Malory was imprisoned at several locations in London, but he was occasionally out on bail. He was never brought to trial for the charges that had been levelled against him. In the 1460s he was at least once pardoned by King Henry VI, but more often, he was specifically excluded from pardon by both Henry VI and his rival and successor, Edward IV. It can be construed from comments Malory makes at the ends of sections of his narrative that he composed at least part of his work while in prison."<BR/><BR/>Take that as you will. I'll see if I can find some more precise information, though none may exist outside of academic tomes.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723077228948447528.post-38300312476520928952008-05-13T11:15:00.000-04:002008-05-13T11:15:00.000-04:00Brian, I have to addmit that I've stalled out on W...Brian, I have to addmit that I've stalled out on Whyte and not read the entire book. I think I end up associating it too much in my mind with the twee Disney-movie version of the story. Also it smacks a bit too much of 20th century allegory for me (I've never been a big fan of allegory when I can smell it), though I may be being unfair to Whyte in that regard. I really ought to give it another try.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723077228948447528.post-90505873365462591872008-05-12T19:34:00.000-04:002008-05-12T19:34:00.000-04:00Hey Wulfgar, I've also wondered what happened to t...Hey Wulfgar, I've also wondered what happened to the sword Arthur pulled from the stone. Did he just kick it to the curb when the Lady of the Lake granted him Excalibur?<BR/><BR/>Not to mention that pulling a sword from an anvil and a stone is a much more impressive feat than some moistened bink lobbing a scimitar at you :).Brian Murphyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05563309422791320114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723077228948447528.post-32733992029951732312008-05-12T19:31:00.000-04:002008-05-12T19:31:00.000-04:00Hi Terry, thanks for all the great recommendations...Hi Terry, thanks for all the great recommendations. I've never read (nor heard of) Housman's work, but seeing how highly you recommend it and how interesting it sounds I'll have to pick it up.<BR/><BR/>I read the first of Stewart's books (<I>The Crystal Cave</I>) and liked it quite a bit, but I lost momentum on reading the rest of the series somehow.<BR/><BR/>As for Arthurian poetry, the only stuff I've read is Tennyson's <I>Idylls of the King,</I> and not all of it, but just selections. But it was excellent. <BR/><BR/>I also have sitting on my shelf unread <I>Excalibur</I>, a collection of 25 short stories by a host of authors about the history and manifestations of Excalibur throughout time. It's edited by Richard Gilliam, Martin Greenberg, and Edward Kramer, as is the two volume <I>Grails: Quests of the Dawn</I>, and <I>Grails: Visitations of the Night</I>.<BR/><BR/>Are you not a fan of <I>The Once and Future King</I>? I think it's so well done and easily one of my favorite books.Brian Murphyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05563309422791320114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723077228948447528.post-85353263487925096652008-05-12T19:19:00.000-04:002008-05-12T19:19:00.000-04:00Hi James, thanks for stopping by The Silver Key.In...Hi James, thanks for stopping by The Silver Key.<BR/><BR/>Interesting observation on Malory--while I have heard that he was in trouble with the law, I didn't stop to ponder whether that experience may have colored his perception of monarchies and made its way into <I>Le Morte D'Arthur.</I> It makes sense though. I'd like to know what he was imprisoned for and whether he was considered (or personally felt) unjustly punished. That would certainly lend credence to your belief.Brian Murphyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05563309422791320114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723077228948447528.post-82646667203541552282008-05-12T10:27:00.000-04:002008-05-12T10:27:00.000-04:00I think the most common approach to the story was ...I think the most common approach to the story was that the Sword in the Stone and Excalibur are 2 different swords. Of course some treatments have them one and the same.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723077228948447528.post-3048028733130086532008-05-12T09:19:00.000-04:002008-05-12T09:19:00.000-04:00Another great post!I too favour the Vinaver versio...Another great post!<BR/><BR/>I too favour the Vinaver version of Malory. I'd argue with your high placement of Whyte though...to me the greatest prose version of the Arthurian story in the 20th century is Clemence Housman's _The Life of Sir Aglovale de Galis_. It's pretty obscure, but you can likely still get a copy of the edition published fairly recently by Green Knight press (the former owners of the _Pendragon_ game license actually). It centers on a fairly peripheral knight of Arthur's court, but is heart-wrenchingly moving and has all of the main themes you'd expect in an Arthurian tale (especially that of redemption and the search for truth in an imperfect world). It's also written in the mode of Malory. I highly recommend picking up a copy if you can find it.<BR/><BR/>I also love Mary Stewart's "Merlin" chronicles. Probably my favourite 'pseudo-historical' take on the cycle.<BR/><BR/>And if you want to delve into the realm of modern poetry I'd recommend Charles Williams' (of Inklings fame) "Taliessin" cycle (though if you're like me you'll also need his oddly named essay on the Matter of Britain "Arthurian Torso" as well as C. S. Lewis' commentary on the poems: "Williams & the Arthuriad" to make full sense of everything.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723077228948447528.post-88415850337793855722008-05-11T23:42:00.000-04:002008-05-11T23:42:00.000-04:00Malory fought in the Wars of the Roses and was cha...Malory fought in the Wars of the Roses and was charged and imprisoned several times for his actions during that time. While I'm not one to engage in amateur psychology on a man long dead, I nevertheless think it quite likely that <I>Le Morte D'Arthur</I> was, at least in part, a commentary on the virtues and flaws of monarchy and on the impossibility of finding an ideal man to wear the crown.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.com