In this book, Marijane Osborn translates into modern English nine lively medieval verse romances, in a form that both reflects the original and makes the romances inviting to a modern audience. All nine tales contain elements of magic: shapeshifters, powerful fairies, trees that are portals to another world, and enchanted clothing and armor. Many of the tales also feature powerful women characters, while others include representations of “Saracens.” The tales address issues of enduring interest and concern, and also address sexuality, agency, and identity formation in unexpected ways.
Starting with the European roots of romance, Dr Barron devotes the main body of his book to a detailed study of the English corpus. He discusses its rich variety of forms in the later Middle Ages, concluding that the English romances show their own conception of the romantic `mode'.
Maya Banks, the New York Times bestselling author of romance and romantic suspense has captivated readers with her steamy Scottish historical novels, perfect for fans of Julie Garwood. Never Seduce a Scot features a remarkable woman whose rare gift teaches a gruff Scottish warrior how to listen with his heart. Eveline Armstrong is fiercely loved and protected by her powerful clan, but outsiders consider her “touched.” Beautiful, fey, with a level, intent gaze, she doesn’t speak. No one, not even her family, knows that she cannot hear. Content with her life of seclusion, Eveline has taught herself to read lips and allows the outside world to view her as daft. But when an arranged marriage into a rival clan makes Graeme Montgomery her husband, Eveline accepts her duty—unprepared for the delights to come. Graeme is a rugged warrior with a voice so deep and powerful that his new bride can hear it, and hands and kisses so tender and skilled that he stirs her deepest passions. Graeme is intrigued by the mysterious Eveline, whose silent lips are ripe with temptation and whose bright, intelligent eyes can see into his soul. As intimacy deepens, he learns her secret. But when clan rivalries and dark deeds threaten the wife he has only begun to cherish, the Scottish warrior will move heaven and earth to save the woman who has awakened his heart to the beautiful song of a rare and magical love.
An examination of if and how medieval romance was performed, uniquely uniting the perspective of a scholar and practitioner. Although English medieval minstrels performed gestes, a genre closely related to romance, often playing the harp or the fiddle, the question of if, and how, Middle English romance was performed has been hotly debated. Here, the performance tradition is explored by combining textual, historical and musicological scholarship with practical experience from a noted musician. Using previously unrecognised evidence, the author reconstructs a realistic model of minstrel performance, showing how a simple melody can interact with the text, and vice versa. She argues that elements in Middle English romance which may seem simplistic or repetitive may in fact be incomplete, as missing an integral musical dimension; metrical irregularities, for example, may be relics of sophisticated rhythmic variation that make sense only with music. Overall, the study offers both a more accurate comprehension of minstrel performance, and a deeper appreciation of the romances themselves. Linda Marie Zaerr is Professor of Medieval Studies at Boise State University.
This Companion presents fifteen original and engaging essays by leading scholars on one of the most influential genres of Western literature. Chapters describe the origins of early verse romance in twelfth-century French and Anglo-Norman courts and analyze the evolution of verse and prose romance in France, Germany, England, Italy, and Spain throughout the Middle Ages. The volume introduces a rich array of traditions and texts and offers fresh perspectives on the manuscript context of romance, the relationship of romance to other genres, popular romance in urban contexts, romance as mirror of familiar and social tensions, and the representation of courtly love, chivalry, 'other' worlds and gender roles. Together the essays demonstrate that European romances not only helped to promulgate the ideals of elite societies in formation, but also held those values up for questioning. An introduction, a chronology and a bibliography of texts and translations complete this lively, useful overview.
Published in 1995: These three 14th century medieval Greek romances, which are presented here for the first time in English translation, form part of a curious and previously neglected corner of literature.
They were the bestsellers of their time; in the late medieval period, a number of shorter romances and tales, such as Floire et Blancheflor, Partonopeus de Blois, Valentine and Orson and many others, enjoyed striking popularity across different regions of Europe. This essay collection gathers together contributions from across Europe, to examine the complex processes by which medieval romances were adapted across European borders. By examining how the content, form and broader contextualisation of individual romances were altered by the transition from one region to another, the essays address the role translators, narrators, editors and compilers played in adapting the tales to different cultural and codicological settings. In this context, they discuss not only the shifting plotlines of the tales, but also the points at which the generic features of the texts shift in response to changing cultural codes. In doing so, they raise wider questions concerning the links between genre, manuscript form, cultural assimilation and the popularity of certain romance texts in different cultural communities.
In this book, Marijane Osborn translates into modern English nine lively medieval verse romances, in a form that both reflects the original and makes the romances inviting to a modern audience. All nine tales contain elements of magic: shapeshifters, powerful fairies, trees that are portals to another world, and enchanted clothing and armor. Many of the tales also feature powerful women characters, while others include representations of “Saracens.” The tales address issues of enduring interest and concern, and also address sexuality, agency, and identity formation in unexpected ways.
Be swept away by four thrilling medieval romances by the "Queen of Medieval Romance", each featuring a defiant lady at odds with a persistent and powerful knight. Sparks fly in these battles of wills, but passion will win the day. In One Knight's Return, Melissande is compelled by her overlord to marry a rough knight just home from crusade - the alternative is to surrender her family holding completely. She knows the kind of knight who will hold her heart, and Quinn de Sayerne isn't it. Quinn, on the other hand, knows what it's like to risk everything and is determined to make their arranged marriage into a real oneÑno matter what the cost to his beautiful wife's pride. In The Scoundrel, Evangeline will do anything to retrieve the relic stolen from the chapel in her family holding, even seduce the thief himself to capture the prize. Gawain has always lived outside the law, a charming rebel protecting his own advantage, but Evangeline's devotion to Inverfyre makes him question is choices. If he changed his ways, could this beguiling, brilliant, maddening woman come to love him? In The Rose Red Bride, Erik abducts Vivienne to avenge himself against his wicked brother. Fueled by anger, he expects little of his captive except a sonÑbut Vivienne is precisely the woman to take Erik's cause once she learns his story. If Vivienne can ensure that Erik's stolen legacy is regained, will her embittered but honorable husband find room in his heart for her? In The Warrior's Prize, Elizabeth challenges Rafael to change his ways, skeptical that the mercenary who nearly cost her brother his life is capable of redemption. But Rafael sees his comrade's sister as an angel sent to save him, and when he realizes that she's in peril of being claimed by the Fae king himself, Rafael will pay any price to save the only maiden bold enough to challenge him. But will his all be enough for Elizabeth? Indulge in four sweeping medieval romances to warm a winter's night!
