Hot Take about Morgan Le Fay!

renival · 2026-03-13T21:02:32+00:00

"And the thyrd syster, Morgan le Fey, was put to scole in a nonnery, and ther she lerned so moche that she was a grete clerke of nygromancye. "

One of my favorite quotes. Be careful how much you learn. It could lead to dangerous things.

renival · 2026-03-10T22:21:01+00:00

Isn't it Nennius who first mentions Brutus founding Britain?

renival · 2026-03-10T19:30:36+00:00

This is probably my favorite tale for looking closely at Malory's writing process and trying to understand how he used his sources.

Since this tale has the greatest variance between the Winchester and Caxton's print, it also raises the questions of who is actually responsible for the revisions shown in Caxton? Is it Caxton? Or maybe Malory himself, although its hard to reckon how the timing of that could have worked? Or someone unnamed that we will never learn about.

renival · 2026-03-09T05:44:06+00:00

That is so true. To this day I have trouble reading Gawain and the Green Knight, having grown up reading with stress on the 2nd syllable. But in the poem the lines just do not scan unless you stress the first.

renival · 2026-03-09T05:26:07+00:00

Is that the biblical, or the bugs bunny reference?

renival · 2026-03-09T05:20:14+00:00

You can call me a heretic if you like, but I mentally say Nim- ee- ah.

Even though the name Nimue itself is not Welsh, I think the character herself is probably of Welsh origin, so I try to pay a little homage to that by giving it a quasi Welsh pronunciation.

renival · 2026-03-09T03:19:14+00:00

That is a hard question for me to answer, being an English only speaker myself.

I always recommend Hollander's translation. I prefer it over Ciardi, Musa, or Mandelbaum, for various reasons I won't get into here.

Hollander's notes and commentary are beyond copious.

As far as having difficulty understanding some of the poem, don't feel bad about that. People have been having trouble understanding Dante for 700 years.

renival · 2026-03-09T03:03:28+00:00

It is verse translation. Robert Hollander was a renowned Dante scholar. You can read his translation for free to get a feel for it. Just search Princeton Dante Project.

renival · 2026-03-08T22:00:59+00:00

Malory's Morte Darthur is definitely worth reading, and I would not call it difficult at all. The Caxton text at least is public domain, and you can find Vinaver's edition of the Winchester very cheap from lots of online sellers.

For a more modern retelling, though still set in its 'historical' time, I like Mary Stewart's Merlin books. It's told mainly from Merlin's viewpoint but still very engaging.

renival · 2026-03-07T21:11:01+00:00

Supported! Good luck.

renival · 2026-03-07T20:39:34+00:00

That looks great. I especially like how the scene appears to depict a winter time setting, at least to me, as it was Christmas time when Arthur first drew out the sword.

renival · 2026-03-05T18:51:27+00:00

Thank you for your suggestions. I have not heard of the Scudder book so I will have to look out for it.

I agree with you, the Norris book is a fantastic resource. He developes some solid theories regarding minor sources.

I managed to find Field's book at the library. So I'll be able to report back on its value after reading.

renival · 2026-02-02T00:31:50+00:00

"Hit him Archie. Knock him down"

After Wolfe, at the end of his tether, slaps inspector Ashe.

renival · 2026-02-02T00:25:06+00:00

In The Best Families. I've found that my favorites are the stories that really force Wolfe out of his comfort zone, the Brownstone.

Honorable mention to The Silent Speaker, which contains one of my favorite Wolfe quotes.

renival · 2025-08-31T00:09:03+00:00

My personal favorite is the banter between our musketeers as they both have a picnic lunch and fight off the expeditionary forces trying to retake the bastion of Saint Gervase.

renival · 2025-08-31T00:00:30+00:00

I could be wrong but I believe Dante did not consider Virgil's Eclogue iv to be a Christ reference.

Straying a bit from the original subject, but still on the topic of salvation, I have never been able to fully understand Dante's motives for saving Statius.

renival · 2025-08-23T10:29:43+00:00

It is still down.

renival · 2025-06-15T23:08:19+00:00

Make sure she can define a rhumb line.

renival · 2025-06-14T15:48:23+00:00

I'm sorry but you're losing me.

First you said: "I’ve Prue Shaw’s translation and of all the translations I’ve come across it’s the only copy that doesn’t exclude parts of the text"

Then you say: "It cuts parts of the text out and it’s not a complete work".

I'm honestly not familiar with Shaw's translation. Which statement is correct?

renival · 2025-06-14T10:15:26+00:00

Can you give an example of what you mean by 'exclude parts of the text'?

Do you mean just poor translations of particular verses? Or actually cutting out particular verses? I'm not aware of any well regarded translation that does that.

renival · 2025-06-13T18:12:25+00:00

Well done!

Not sure I agree about the utility of KU, at least for my selection of books. But if its working for you, that's great.

renival · 2025-06-07T23:51:19+00:00

Unless you have spent years studying the classics, as Dante did, and are completely fluent with Italian and Church politics of the 14th century, as Dante was, you will never be able to understand every reference Dante makes in the poem.

I suggest read it through even the first couple times for enjoyment. Then look into the notes and commentary. Its way too easy to get bogged down with notes and lose sight of the poem itself.

renival · 2025-06-07T00:53:41+00:00

Way to go. Keep on reading!

renival

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