King Arthur

by Norma L. Goodrich

Overview

The many readers who are enthralled with the enduring legend of Camelot will be drawn to this fascinating book, which "may become the definitive work in the effort to prove the historical authenticity of King Arthur."—UPI

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780060971823
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	01/28/1989
Series:	Harper Perennial
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	5.31(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.93(d)

About the Author

Norma Lorre Goodrich, Ph.D., K.C., FSA Scot, has been teaching for forty-five years and is a professor emeritus at the Claremont Colleges. She is the author of King Arthur, Guinevere, Merlin, Heroines, Priestesses, Ancient Myths, and Medieval Myths. She lives in Claremont, California, with her husband.

Editorial Reviews

Behind the romantic legends of a chivalrous King Arthur and the courtly amours of his circle lies a real historical figure. While scholars have been in general agreement on this point since the 1960s, Goodrich (Ancient Myths makes an intriguing if highly conjectural case that Arthur was a king in prehistoric Britain. She builds a portrait of an Arthur who successfully staved off sea invasions before leaving the coast of Britain in a.d. 542 to be ferried to a secret island for surgery or burial. Goodrich sifts evidence that supports the existence of an actual Queen Guinivere and her vassal Lancelot; she substantiates Perceval's wedding and inauguration at the Grail Castle, which may have been an educational institution for princelings. Her closely argued study draws on fresh readings of medieval French and German texts. The investigation unfolds as a detective story that will grip Arthurian enthusiasts, Anglophiles and history buffs. (April)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Though Goodrich asserts that hers ``is the first book to have explored very minutely and in the original languages both the historical and literary material concerning King Arthur,'' numerous Arthurian scholars have written similarly researched books with similar conclusions. Goodrich assumes ancient authors were accurate, and she has made the following findings: the real Arthur operated ``between what is now Scotland and what is now England,'' rather than in the South; he died near Douglas; and Avalon was St. Patrick's Isle, near Man. Her romantic sensibilities skate over the treacherous evidence and find geographic certainties everywhere. Despite these drawbacks, this is enjoyable reading for the public library patron interested in King Arthur. Don Fry, Poynter Inst. for Media Studies, St. Petersburg, Fla.

Library Journal