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The motif of death and dying traced through over a thousand years of the English Arthurian tradition. It is arguably the tragic end to Arthur's kingdom which gives the myth its exceptional resonance and power. The essays in this volume explore the presentation of death and dying in Arthurian literature and film produced in England and America from the middle ages to the modern day. Authors, texts and topics covered include Geoffrey of Monmouth, the chronicle tradition, and the alliterative 'Morte Arthure'; 'Gawain and the Green Knight', 'Ywain and Gawain', the stanzaic 'Morte Arthur', and Malory's 'Morte Darthur'; Tennyson's 'Idylls', Pyle's retelling of the myth for American children, David Jones, T.H. White, Donald Barthelme, Rosalind Miles and Parke Godwin. Featured films include Knight Rider, Excalibur, First Knight, and King Arthur. CONTRIBUTORS: Sian Echard, Edward Donald Kennedy, Karen Cherewatuk, Michael W. Twomey, K. S. Whetter, Thomas Crofts, Michael Wenthe, Lisa Robeson, Cory James Rushton, Janina P. Traxler, James Noble, Julie Nelson Couch, Samantha Rayner, Kevin J. Harty pt. 1. The early tradition in England. "But here Geoffrey falls silent" : death, Arthur, and the Historia regum Britannie / Siân Echard ; Mordred's sons / Edward Donald Kennedy ; Dying in Uncle Arthur's arms and at his hands / Karen Cherewatuk -- pt. 2. Middle English romance and Malory. "Hadet with an aluisch mon" and "britned to no[yogh]t [nowt]" : Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, death, and the devil / Michael W. Twomey ; Love and death in Arthurian romance / K.S. Whetter ; Death in the margins : dying and scribal performance in the Winchester manuscript / Thomas H. Crofts ; The legible corpses of Le morte Darthur / Michael Wenthe ; Malory and the death of kings : the politics of regicide at Salisbury Plain / Lisa Robeson ; "Layde to the colde erthe" : death, Arthur's knights, and narrative closure / Cory James Rushton -- pt. 3. Medieval influence and the modern Arthuriana. Arthurian exits : alone, together, or none of the above / Janina P. Traxler ; Woman as agent of death in Tennyson's Idylls of the king / James Noble ; Death as 'neglect of duty' in Howard Pyle's The story of the Grail and the passing of Arthur / Julie Nelson Couch ; Death and the "grimly voice" in David Jones's In parenthesis / Samantha Rayner ; Roll the final credits : some notes on cinematic depictions of the death of Arthur / Kevin J. Harty
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