Monday, June 22, 2026 · 天火 · tianmu.org
Arthurian and Heroic Tradition
English Arthurian, Beowulf, chivalric, and heroic literary inheritance, including Malory and later English-language retellings.
✦ ─── ⟐ ─── ✦
Texts
King Arthur — Tales of the Round Table — Andrew LangKing Arthur: Tales of the Round Table — Andrew Lang's 1902 retelling: a prose narrative of the complete Arthurian cycle drawn from Malory, from Arthur's birth to the passing to Avalon — written for younger readers but faithful to the tragic arc of the legend.Le Morte d'Arthur — Sir Thomas MaloryLe Morte d'Arthur — Sir Thomas Malory's fifteenth-century prose compilation of Arthurian legend, edited by H. Oskar Sommer (1889): the complete cycle from Arthur's birth through the quest of the Holy Grail to the final battle and the passing of Arthur — the foundational English prose epic.Stories from the Faerie Queene — Mary MacleodStories from the Faerie Queene retold by Mary Macleod (1910) — the allegorical adventures of Spenser's knights and heroines retold in clear prose narrative, covering the Knights of Holiness, Temperance, Chastity, Friendship, Justice, and Courtesy.The Champions of the Round Table — Howard PyleThe Champions of the Round Table by Howard Pyle (1905) — retelling of the Arthurian cycle focusing on Lancelot, Percival, and Tristram, the second book in Pyle's celebrated four-volume King Arthur series illustrated by the author.The Story of Beowulf — Strafford RiggsThe Story of Beowulf retold by Strafford Riggs (1933) — a vigorous prose retelling of the Old English epic, following Beowulf from his swimming contest with Breca through the killing of Grendel and Grendel's mother to the final dragon-fight, decorated by Henry Pitz.