This deluxe puzzle book will whisk you away on a stunning journey through the intrigues of the Arthurian court, taking in the characters that have enchanted audiences for nearly a thousand years. All the rich, dramatic stories of the Round Table are interwoven to create 120 of the best puzzles ever, in varying levels of difficulty. No puzzle enthusiast will be able to resist this gorgeously illustrated mix of folklore, legend, and history.
The history of Muslims in China spans more than fourteen centuries and cannot be exhaustively analyzed in a single work. Notwithstanding the inevitable limitations of space, The Other Middle Kingdom will attempt to present this often overlooked chapter of Chinese history, which has been revalued by scholars from various academic disciplines only in recent years.
Annotated bibliography of the Arthurian legend in modern English-language fiction, not only in literary texts, but in television, music, and art. The legend of Arthur has been a source of fascination for writers and artists in English since the fifteenth century, when Thomas Malory drew together for the first time in English a variety of Arthurian stories from a number of sources to form the Morte Darthur. It increased in popularity during the Victorian era, when after Tennyson's treatment of the legend, not only authors and dramatists, but painters, musicians, and film-makers found a sourceof inspiration in the Arthurian material. This interdisciplinary, annotated bibliography lists the Arthurian legend in modern English-language fiction, from 1500 to 2000, including literary texts, film, television, music, visual art, and games. It will prove an invaluable source of reference for students of literary and visual arts, general readers, collectors, librarians, and cultural historians--indeed, by anyone interested in the history of the waysin which Camelot has figured in post-medieval English-speaking cultures. ANN F. HOWEY is Assistant Professor at Brock University, Canada; STEPHEN R. REIMER is Associate Professor at the University of Alberta, Canada
Ranging from Chretien de Troyes to Shakespeare, this study proposes that the chivalric romance is characterized by a centerless structure, self-conscious fictionality and a propensity for irony. The form is tied to historical reality, yet represents the archetype of imaginative literature, declaring its fictional status without claiming to embody fixed truths. Through use of irony, the chivalric romance precludes conclusive interpretations, inviting readers to inhabit multifold fantasy worlds while uncompromisingly showing that an ideal world is only a fiction. Thus the reader is enjoined to confront the suspension of truth in their own lives.
"Elaine of Corbenic," based on Malory's "Le Morte D'Arthur," is the story of Launcelot and the Fisher King's daughter, who bore him the son who would one day find the Grail. Offering the poetry of medieval legend, it speaks also to contemporary themes of love, betrayal, abandonment, and the quest for meaning.
One of the earliest great stories of English literature after ?Beowulf?, ?Sir Gawain? is the strange tale of a green knight on a green horse, who rudely interrupts King Arthur's Round Table festivities one Yuletide, challenging the knights to a wager. Simon Armitrage, one of Britain's leading poets, has produced an inventive and groundbreaking translation that " helps] liberate ?Gawain ?from academia" (?Sunday Telegraph?).
Security studies in the twenty-first century entail a paradigm shift from the traditional concerns of national defense (military security) to other dimensions, namely the economic, environmental, and human security of nations. After September 11, the traditional notion of security takes on an anti-terrorist connotation, giving a new salience to homeland security. This study is a coherent explication of comprehensive security in the above-named dimensions.
