The Fall of Arthur

All the obscurities and guess work relating to the poem have now been taken care of forty years after the death of the author with this edition prepared his son and literary executor Christopher and which appears as the twenty-fifth volume of works from Tolkien's hand to have appeared posthumou...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Arthuriana (Dallas, Tex.) Tex.), 2013, Vol.23 (3), p.124-135
Main Author: HUGHES, SHAUN F. D.
Format: Review
Language:English
Subjects:
Reviews
Tolkien, Christopher
Tolkien, John Ronald Reuel (1892-1973)
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Summary:All the obscurities and guess work relating to the poem have now been taken care of forty years after the death of the author with this edition prepared his son and literary executor Christopher and which appears as the twenty-fifth volume of works from Tolkien's hand to have appeared posthumously. [...]he was able to remain faithful to his source but in such a way that most people would not notice it. The price to for restoring Arthur was going to be high, both in terms of life and of damage to property. [...]out of compassion Arthur decides to turn aside, to grant pardon instead; Death lay between dark before him ere the way was won or the world conquered (V.46-47). [...]there are some new insights and in order to clarify these innovations and to show how Tolkien handled his sources, Christopher Tolkien provides an introduction to the Arthurian story beginning with a synopsis of the legend as found in the Historia Regum Britanniae of Geoffrey of Monmouth. Since the poem is entitled 'The Fall of Arthur,' most of the discussion deals with the various traditions involving the adultery of Guenevere and Lancelot, the betrayal of Mordred, and the passing of Arthur.
ISSN:1078-6279
DOI:10.1353/art.2013.0034