This witty and accessible book traces the history of Arthurian romance from medieval to modern times, explaining its enduring appeal.

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• Traces the history of Arthurian romance from medieval to modern times.
  
• Covers art and films as well as the great literary works of Arthurian romance.
  
• Draws out the changing political, moral and emotional uses of the story.
  
• Explains the enduring appeal of the Arthurian legend.
  
• Written by an author with vast knowledge of medieval literature.

Derek Pearsall is Gurney Professor of English, Emeritus, at Harvard University and Honorary Research Professor at the University of York. His previous publications include a study of Landscapes and Seasons of the Medieval World (with Elizabeth Salter, 1973), a history of Old English and Middle English Poetry (1977), editions of Piers Plowman (1978) and Chaucer’s Nun’s Priest’s Tale (1983), a critical study of The Canterbury Tales (1985), The Life of Geoffrey Chaucer (Blackwell Publishing, 1992), and Chaucer to Spenser: An Anthology (Blackwell Publishing, 1999).