
Four Arthurian Romances
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Narrated by:
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Nicholas Boulton
About this listen
The Arthurian Romances by Chrétien de Troyes form the wellspring of the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Stories of knightly valour in the Welsh Marches had existed before the 12th century, but it was the magnificent poetry and imagination of Chrétien, the 12th century French poet and trouvère, which brought alive the great characters of Arthur, his wife Guinevere, Lancelot and others. In fact, it was here, in these romances, that the tale of Lancelot of the Lake and his fated love for Guinevere first made its appearance in European literature. And far from being trapped in formal medieval stanzas, their passion has come down to us in words that still resonate: 'From the moment he caught sight of her, he did not turn or take his eyes and face from her.'
From these four romances emerge a chivalric Arthurian vision as vivid and human as the more familiar telling by Sir Thomas Malory three centuries later. The three other stories are equally rich and compelling, painting images of knightly ethics, courageous deeds and above all love, honour and service. Chrétien's telling is the outstanding Arthurian literary source, bringing together as it does the British plot, the characters and the adventures with a French courtly sensitivity. Though less known than Lancelot and Guinevere, the story of the trials leading to the love between Eric and Enide is just as memorable; in Cligès, the young hero travels between Greece and Arthur's court in order to win his spurs and his love; and in Yvain, the knight is helped by a faithful lion to achieve his aim.
These Four Arthurian Romances are read with full commitment by Nicholas Boulton using the translation by W. W. Comfort.
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Parzival
- By: Wolfram Von Eschenbach, Jessie L. Weston - translator
- Narrated by: Adriel Brandt
- Length: 17 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Parzival is a romantic poem written by Wolfram von Eschenbach in Middle High German. Regarded as one of the masterpieces of the Middle Ages, the romance was the most popular vernacular verse narrative in medieval Germany. Dated to the first quarter of the 13th century, the poem tells the story of the Arthurian hero Parzival and his quest for the Holy Grail. The most notable elements of the work are an emphasis on the importance of humility, compassion, and sympathy. Richard Wagner based his famous opera Parsifal on Parzival.
By: Wolfram Von Eschenbach, and others
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Lancelot, or the Knight of the Cart
- By: Chrétien de Troyes
- Narrated by: Libby Gohn
- Length: 4 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Chrétien de Troyes's masterpiece "Lancelot, The Knight of the Cart" is a riveting tale of knightly valor and courtly love. This romance marks the first known appearance of Lancelot as a major player in the Arthurian canon, and it also provides the first account of his affair with Guinevere. The first half of the narrative follows Lancelot (then unnamed) as he rescues Guinevere, who has been taken hostage by the evil Méléagant. Méléagant visits Arthur's court, boasting that he has ensnared many from Arthur's land (Logres).
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Summa Contra Gentiles
- By: Thomas Aquinas
- Narrated by: Martin Swain
- Length: 44 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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The four books of the Summa contra Gentiles were written by Thomas Aquinas between 1259-1265, before the considerably larger and more influential, Summa Theologica. The purpose of each work was different. Whereas the Summa Theologica addressed the faithful, especially theology students, the intention of the Summa Contra Gentiles (Systematic Exposition Against Non-Christians) was to speak to a non-aligned and even hostile audience. To that purpose, Aquinas presented arguments ‘refuting specific beliefs or heresies.'
By: Thomas Aquinas
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The Lays of Marie de France
- By: Marie de France
- Narrated by: Georgina Sutton, David Rintoul
- Length: 5 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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The 12 Lays of Marie de France offer one of the most striking collections of short narrative poems of the 12th century - two centuries before Chaucer. Written in Anglo-French, they contain beguiling and entertaining stories of love and romance, of chivalry and adventure with sometimes even a magical twist. They are especially unique in early literature by being ascribed to a female poet, Marie de France: in the very first Lay - 'Guigemar' - is the introductory line: ‘Hear my Lords, what Marie says, who does not wish to be forgotten in her time.’
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An Amazing Translation!
- By Stephen Daedelus on 12-29-20
By: Marie de France
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Origen
- By: Joseph Trigg
- Narrated by: John Telfer
- Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Origen (c. 185-c. 253) was the most influential Christian theologian before Augustine, the founder of Biblical study as a serious discipline in the Christian tradition, and a figure with immense influence on the development of Christian spirituality. This volume presents a comprehensive and accessible insight into Origen's life and writings, written and compiled by Joseph W. Trigg, a leading Origen authority. An introduction analyzes the principal influences that formed him as a Christian and as a thinker.
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Thankful for this book
- By A from VA on 03-22-24
By: Joseph Trigg
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The Song of Roland
- By: anonymous
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 4 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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It is the year 778. The mighty French army, led by Emperor Charlemagne, confronts Saracen forces in the bloody Battle of Roncevaux Pass. In the course of this thrilling epic poem we follow the emperor’s hot-headed nephew Roland into battle. We are privy to the deal struck between the Saracen king Marsilie and Roland’s conniving stepfather Guene.
By: anonymous
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The Satyricon
- By: Petronius
- Narrated by: Nicholas Boulton
- Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Libidinous, licentious, salacious and very, very funny, The Satyricon is one of the most remarkable documents from ancient Rome. It tells the ribald story of Encolpius, a man of active and varied appetites (powered notably by his passion for his favourite lover, the handsome Giton), who plunges without inhibition into the life of Roman pleasures: orgies of food, feasting, abundant sex and escapades. The kind of hedonism found occasionally in Roman mosaics is here brought to life.
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An impactful historical work of art.
- By Live.3 on 03-17-19
By: Petronius
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The Socratic Dialogues
- Alcibiades and Other Attributed Dialogues
- By: Plato
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 4 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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The influence of Plato, his Dialogues and his ‘Academy', cast a long shadow. Around 35 Dialogues, almost all featuring Socrates as the principal figure, are generally ascribed to Plato and form one of the most important threads in Western philosophy. These four Dialogues may fall into the ‘Attributed Texts' category, but they are of sufficient interest to warrant study in our time and when set against the principal canon.
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Great to have Alcibiades, would love more…
- By Steve Deal on 11-29-23
By: Plato
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Nicomachean Ethics and Eudemian Ethics
- By: Aristotle
- Narrated by: Andrew Cullum
- Length: 14 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics and Eudemian Ethics represent, in many ways, the Western classical springboard for the systematic study and implementation of ethics, the optimum behaviour of the individual. (By contrast, Aristotle’s Politics concerns the optimum blueprint for the city-state.) It is in the hands of each individual, he argues in these books on personal ethics, to develop a character which bases a life on virtue, with positive but moderate habits.
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Amazing book that deals with Virtue
- By Michael on 12-05-19
By: Aristotle
Courtly love
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A Feast for Arthurian fans
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(It seems to be part of the medieval artistic method to separate the beginning of the tale from its climax with as many and as varied episodes as possible. If you can get into the swing of it, the method is part of the charm rather than a distraction.)
The translation by WW Comfort is in prose and includes four of the surviving tales (minus the unfinished tale of Perceval). The main goal seems to have been clarity, and if so, the goal was achieved. It dates from the early part of the 20th century, when the fashion in translation was to try to sound “biblical”; but this one doesn’t sound archaic at all, apart from the occasional “thee” and “thou”. It’s easy to focus on the content of the tale rather than the language. The recording includes the translator’s introduction, but thankfully places it at the end, where literary introductions belong.
Nicholas Boulton is the perfect narrator for this. His touch is light and well-paced, with the slightest touch of ironic detachment. This is an excellent choice for anyone interested in the Matter of Britain.
Delightful
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He meant that, despite the cost of production and the inevitable loss in the marketplace, these houses persevered in turning out slim volumes of the lesser-known Elizabethan sonnet cycles and classic works of history eclipsed by more up-to-date scholarship. If he were still with us, he’d probably say Ukemi was doing the Lord’s work for audiobooks.
This edition of Chretien de Troyes is the third Ukemi release in my library, joining Boetheus’ Consolation of Philosophy and the amazing, anonymous Mabinogion. Like the first two titles, this one is superbly, vigorously, read. Like the first two, the translation is of a rather reverend vintage, well within the Public Domain.
At first that made me wary; though no chronological snob (C. S. Lewis’ term for one dismissive of past ideas and ideals) I appreciate what modern scholarship can bring to the translation of ancient texts. But beyond a certain stiltedness in Boetheus, my fears have proved groundless. In the case of Chretien, I’m grateful for this prose version. While I thoroughly enjoyed reading the deftly rhymed verse translations by Ruth Cline and Dorothy Gilbert, these fabulous stories, told in four-beat couplets crowded with details, would probably be harder to follow through ear buds.
If you clicked on this book, chances are you already know these stories, so I won’t dwell on their origins and influence. You know about Marie de Champagne; you get the irony that Britain’s greatest hero was celebrated most enthusiastically in France; you know that two of these tales—Yvain and Eric et Enid—are variations of stories that appear in the Mabinogian (which should make for some interesting comparative listening). It only remains to say that the performance by Nicholas Boulton, though a tad hurried, is superb.
No doubt professor Comfort’s essay at the end of this recording would not pass muster in the modern academy. Nevertheless, it is still a solid exposition of the zeitgeist in which Chretien worked, his possible influences, the strengths and shortcomings of his work, and his ultimate place in the Western literary tradition.
Ukemi Audio: Doing the Lord’s Work
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