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[books 2016] The Death of King Arthur
Feb. 7th, 2016 06:03 pm7. The Death of King Arthur translated by Simon Armitage
This is one of the middle English treatments of the King Arthur legend that I never got to in the brief time that I thought I was going to be a scholar of Arthurian themes (before I discovered the Anglo-Saxons). I'd forgotten about it but when I bought my copy of Armitage's rendition of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, this was sitting next to it.
It's definitely on the B team of middle English works for a reason - like many a modern epic fantasy, the battle scenes are too long and there's too much macho posturing. But it's use of history and geography is - very medieval, and the end - from Arthur's vision and the use of the medieval idea of the wheel of fate to the final battle with Mordred - is very good indeed.
By far the best thing about it is Armitage's treatment. He keeps the alliteration and much of the verse structure, conserving much of the feel of the original, but makes it really very accessible.
This is one of the middle English treatments of the King Arthur legend that I never got to in the brief time that I thought I was going to be a scholar of Arthurian themes (before I discovered the Anglo-Saxons). I'd forgotten about it but when I bought my copy of Armitage's rendition of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, this was sitting next to it.
It's definitely on the B team of middle English works for a reason - like many a modern epic fantasy, the battle scenes are too long and there's too much macho posturing. But it's use of history and geography is - very medieval, and the end - from Arthur's vision and the use of the medieval idea of the wheel of fate to the final battle with Mordred - is very good indeed.
By far the best thing about it is Armitage's treatment. He keeps the alliteration and much of the verse structure, conserving much of the feel of the original, but makes it really very accessible.
