"seems to have little regard for Gawain (my favourite knight)"
Gawain is also my favorite. He is the Clint Eastwood of the Round Table; deeply principled, but irascible, impetuous and fallible. "Green Knight" is the best-known cycle, but I think my favorite is "Loathly Lady." Gawain always receives a comeuppance from his errors and learns by them.
"I know it is controversial to acknowledge weakness, and not being as well-read as others."
Well, it needs to stop being controversial. Never let your lack of knowledge about a topic constrain you or prevent you from speaking. If you are ignorant, admit to your ignorance and plow forward. It is a common phenomenon for outsiders to see problems that insiders and experts are blind to. Clout doesn't matter, truth does.
Now I wish we got Clint Eastwood in his prime to do Sir Gauvain! I definitely love that about his cycles and stories!
I like that he is impetuous, fallible and impulsive. Then again I also like Sir Cay, and love the one story where he finds love, but is too tongue-tied to speak his mind, this after he's been an obnoxious ass in a bunch of other stories.
Honestly, I'd love to see a story of Gawain, Arthur & Cay tramping around with Cay & Gawain rushing into trouble and Arthur having to clean up after them.
I also like that Gawain is the 'Maiden's Knight' and that after an unfortunate killing (a complete accident) he vowed to always protect the honour of any and all innocent maidens. I always felt that a modern writer should have used that for a tv series or a murder mystery story at some point, where Gawain seeks to cure himself of his guilt, and struggles even as his uncle tries to help him cope and serves as a kind of kindly old mentor/father figure. Him and Merlin could serve as mentors and guides in such a story, but that's just my sense of Gawain as a character.
And I appreciate your kindly words regarding my ignorance, I love learning which is why I freely admitted to not knowing as much as others and wish to cure myself of ignorance by deep-diving into all of the stories of Arthuriana (especially those of Gauvain).
"I appreciate your kindly words regarding my ignorance"
It's not just your ignorance, it's mine and everybody else's.
I feel as if the one of the most important things that one can do as a human being, especially in a crisis situation, is to admit what you DON'T know and move on from there. We are all in this together, and bullshitting that you know what you don't know may give you short-term gains but it's to everyone's long-term detriment, especially yours.
I may be drifting a bit here, but the Arthurian tales are nothing if not tales of heroism, and flawless heroes are uninteresting.
We seem to have a lot in common. I have a full set ( almost) of Robert Howard. Most people seem to have forgotten him today, but he has a lot to offer.
Agreed, and he was a very talented writer, I myself tried getting my hands on a complete edition of Solomon Kane but it was sold out the day I went to buy it. I have all his Kull and Conan stories, and am hoping to grow my Howard collection.
I do suppose we do have much in common Mr. Matthews, I do sincerely hope that Howard once again is restored to popularity. His Hour of the Dragon, is an incredible read, and exhilarating I also am very excited for his Agnes stories soon.
I like to fancy that Howard was the US's Tolkien in many ways.
What's your favourite Howard tale just out of curiosity?
Glad you like the story. I have written nearly 200 books, several with my wife Caitlin. Many are on Arthur. Look out for the Complete Book of King Arthur ( publishers title not ours. ) for a full list of available titles go to our website: hallowquest.org.uk. All
200 books! Ouah that's a great number, bon pour toi, will definitely take a look at them, thank you very much. Am deeply honoured you took time out of your day to reply to my many comments, truly thank you Mr. Matthews. You've made my day.
I wish you nothing but the very best, and the Happiest and most Merry of Christmases.
Ah ok, well I do hope that when I get to the 50 year anniversary I will have made such brilliant acquaintances.
Boorman, I'm impressed. You're very blessed Mr. Matthews, and I'll keep an eye out on your upcoming books. Currently I'm reading your most recent story over on your substack, I'm enjoying it quite a bit.
Oh ouah, you're well connected, I'm impressed. I'll definitely have to pick up a copy of your book, and the others you recommended.
I must admit to loving Arthur, and look forward to all the extra stories you recommended. I'm glad you recommended all those other tales, truly we need more Arthuriana these days. As far as I'm concerned, the older the tales and the more traditional they are the better (I love Medieval lit or styled lit).
Will he out next year with another 30 tales. I have tried to capture the essential qualities of the stories and to uncover many that are virtually unknown or have never been translated into English. Find out more on my Substack - John’s little house of myth and legend.
The all time BEST Arthurian historical fiction is without a doubt The Warlord Chronicles (The Winter King, Enemy of God, Excalibur) by Bernard Cornwell. But fair warning, if you read this, all historical fiction attempts at Arthurian legend will be judged by these because these are so good. And they just made the first book into a TV series that doesn't follow the book at all. So skip that completely.
Have you tried Rosemary Sutcliffe’s Sword at Sunset and Henry Treece’s Green Man. Or John James Not For All the Gold in Ireland. All, in my view, superior to Bernard Cornwall- which I like, a lot, but does not match the matchless ms Sutcliffe!
You might like to include my title: the Great Book of King Arthur and his knights. Published last year by Harper with magic illustrations by John Howe, it includes 32 little known stories not included in le Morte Darthur. The second volume, Realm of Arthur
That sounds awesome, I'll have to take a look at those also, how did you get John Howe to do the illustrations? Or did Harper-Collins assist with that?
I’ve been asked by a friend about the Christian themes in the Arthurian Legends, so I’m ploughing through Malory’s Morte D’Arthur.
I’ve never read the Arthurian tales before. I’m enjoying them.
I intend to start in a few weeks, after I get through a more projects and get a few serial-novel chapters finished.
Once that's out of the way, I can't wait to get my hands on Chretien's works.
Morte D'Arthur is a fantastic work, am very much impressed by you Brother Alexander, always admire your learnedness.
"seems to have little regard for Gawain (my favourite knight)"
Gawain is also my favorite. He is the Clint Eastwood of the Round Table; deeply principled, but irascible, impetuous and fallible. "Green Knight" is the best-known cycle, but I think my favorite is "Loathly Lady." Gawain always receives a comeuppance from his errors and learns by them.
"I know it is controversial to acknowledge weakness, and not being as well-read as others."
Well, it needs to stop being controversial. Never let your lack of knowledge about a topic constrain you or prevent you from speaking. If you are ignorant, admit to your ignorance and plow forward. It is a common phenomenon for outsiders to see problems that insiders and experts are blind to. Clout doesn't matter, truth does.
Now I wish we got Clint Eastwood in his prime to do Sir Gauvain! I definitely love that about his cycles and stories!
I like that he is impetuous, fallible and impulsive. Then again I also like Sir Cay, and love the one story where he finds love, but is too tongue-tied to speak his mind, this after he's been an obnoxious ass in a bunch of other stories.
Honestly, I'd love to see a story of Gawain, Arthur & Cay tramping around with Cay & Gawain rushing into trouble and Arthur having to clean up after them.
I also like that Gawain is the 'Maiden's Knight' and that after an unfortunate killing (a complete accident) he vowed to always protect the honour of any and all innocent maidens. I always felt that a modern writer should have used that for a tv series or a murder mystery story at some point, where Gawain seeks to cure himself of his guilt, and struggles even as his uncle tries to help him cope and serves as a kind of kindly old mentor/father figure. Him and Merlin could serve as mentors and guides in such a story, but that's just my sense of Gawain as a character.
And I appreciate your kindly words regarding my ignorance, I love learning which is why I freely admitted to not knowing as much as others and wish to cure myself of ignorance by deep-diving into all of the stories of Arthuriana (especially those of Gauvain).
"I appreciate your kindly words regarding my ignorance"
It's not just your ignorance, it's mine and everybody else's.
I feel as if the one of the most important things that one can do as a human being, especially in a crisis situation, is to admit what you DON'T know and move on from there. We are all in this together, and bullshitting that you know what you don't know may give you short-term gains but it's to everyone's long-term detriment, especially yours.
I may be drifting a bit here, but the Arthurian tales are nothing if not tales of heroism, and flawless heroes are uninteresting.
Very true about the heroes of King Arthur's tales.
And yeah we are all in it together, but I do still appreciate your encouragement.
We seem to have a lot in common. I have a full set ( almost) of Robert Howard. Most people seem to have forgotten him today, but he has a lot to offer.
Agreed, and he was a very talented writer, I myself tried getting my hands on a complete edition of Solomon Kane but it was sold out the day I went to buy it. I have all his Kull and Conan stories, and am hoping to grow my Howard collection.
I do suppose we do have much in common Mr. Matthews, I do sincerely hope that Howard once again is restored to popularity. His Hour of the Dragon, is an incredible read, and exhilarating I also am very excited for his Agnes stories soon.
I like to fancy that Howard was the US's Tolkien in many ways.
What's your favourite Howard tale just out of curiosity?
It was my pleasure. Thank you for your interest in my work. There is a lot to come.
Glad you like the story. I have written nearly 200 books, several with my wife Caitlin. Many are on Arthur. Look out for the Complete Book of King Arthur ( publishers title not ours. ) for a full list of available titles go to our website: hallowquest.org.uk. All
Best and thank you for your interest.
200 books! Ouah that's a great number, bon pour toi, will definitely take a look at them, thank you very much. Am deeply honoured you took time out of your day to reply to my many comments, truly thank you Mr. Matthews. You've made my day.
I wish you nothing but the very best, and the Happiest and most Merry of Christmases.
I’ve been writing for a long time - over 50 years - so run across quite a few great folks. John Boorman is writing a foreword for the new one.
Ah ok, well I do hope that when I get to the 50 year anniversary I will have made such brilliant acquaintances.
Boorman, I'm impressed. You're very blessed Mr. Matthews, and I'll keep an eye out on your upcoming books. Currently I'm reading your most recent story over on your substack, I'm enjoying it quite a bit.
John is an old friend. And Neil
Gaiman wrote a great foreword.
Oh ouah, you're well connected, I'm impressed. I'll definitely have to pick up a copy of your book, and the others you recommended.
I must admit to loving Arthur, and look forward to all the extra stories you recommended. I'm glad you recommended all those other tales, truly we need more Arthuriana these days. As far as I'm concerned, the older the tales and the more traditional they are the better (I love Medieval lit or styled lit).
Will he out next year with another 30 tales. I have tried to capture the essential qualities of the stories and to uncover many that are virtually unknown or have never been translated into English. Find out more on my Substack - John’s little house of myth and legend.
The all time BEST Arthurian historical fiction is without a doubt The Warlord Chronicles (The Winter King, Enemy of God, Excalibur) by Bernard Cornwell. But fair warning, if you read this, all historical fiction attempts at Arthurian legend will be judged by these because these are so good. And they just made the first book into a TV series that doesn't follow the book at all. So skip that completely.
Have you tried Rosemary Sutcliffe’s Sword at Sunset and Henry Treece’s Green Man. Or John James Not For All the Gold in Ireland. All, in my view, superior to Bernard Cornwall- which I like, a lot, but does not match the matchless ms Sutcliffe!
No. And no interest. Cornwell is the gold standard as far as I'm concerned. If you find something else, good for you. I'm good though with Cornwell.
You might like to include my title: the Great Book of King Arthur and his knights. Published last year by Harper with magic illustrations by John Howe, it includes 32 little known stories not included in le Morte Darthur. The second volume, Realm of Arthur
That sounds awesome, I'll have to take a look at those also, how did you get John Howe to do the illustrations? Or did Harper-Collins assist with that?