The Book of Arthur Lost Tales from the Round Table

"Before the elaborate tales of chivalry and romance with which the epic of King Arthur remains associated (best known in the form in which Thomas Malory compiled them a thousand years after Arthur's time), there were other tales, by turns brutal, dark and amusing. These stories were told by wandering Celtic bards and presented an altogether more savage figure than the familiar high king with his round table of noble knights. Leading Arthurian scholar and storyteller John Matthews has drawn on a rich range of these early tales for this new collection. Here at last is the real Arthur, a fierce warrior who led a rag-tag band of heroes into battle against the Saxons and fought a timeless struggle against the forces of the Other-world. The 28 tales selected here include 'The Life of Merlin', based on the early medieval text Vita Merlini, which gives a completely new version of the great enchanter's story. Other highlights include a complete cycle of tales relating to the figure of Sir Gawain, originally the most famous of the Round Table Knights"--Publisher description.