Title Details
188 Pages
23.4 x 15.6 cm
Series: Arthurian Studies
Series Vol. Number:
59
Imprint: D.S.Brewer
The Grail Legend in Modern Literature
- Description
- Reviews
The Grail legends have in modern times been appropriated by a number of different scholarly schools of thought; their approaches are analysed here.
This study shows how modern (including postmodern) adaptations of the Grail legend correspond to trends in the scholarly community and how the legend has been appropriated by competing world-views. There are three parallel trendsin Grail scholarship and modern adaptations of the legend: controversy over Christian or pagan origins, secularization by way of humanism, and esoteric mysticism. These three trends reflect movements in popular culture. Relativismand multiculturalism influence Christian--pagan cultural conflict in the adaptations. Mythographers maintain the legend's appeal in a humanist culture by considering the Grail metaphor rather than material actuality; modern adaptations then transform the Grail from a particularly Christian symbol to one with universal application in an increasingly secular society. Modern esoteric spiritualities allow the Grail actuality with flexible meaning. This study,then, demonstrates how the Grail legend is transformed and adapted from medieval to modern cultures and continues to evolve today.
JOHN B. MARINO is adjunct instructor, Maryville University and Saint Louis University.
This study shows how modern (including postmodern) adaptations of the Grail legend correspond to trends in the scholarly community and how the legend has been appropriated by competing world-views. There are three parallel trendsin Grail scholarship and modern adaptations of the legend: controversy over Christian or pagan origins, secularization by way of humanism, and esoteric mysticism. These three trends reflect movements in popular culture. Relativismand multiculturalism influence Christian--pagan cultural conflict in the adaptations. Mythographers maintain the legend's appeal in a humanist culture by considering the Grail metaphor rather than material actuality; modern adaptations then transform the Grail from a particularly Christian symbol to one with universal application in an increasingly secular society. Modern esoteric spiritualities allow the Grail actuality with flexible meaning. This study,then, demonstrates how the Grail legend is transformed and adapted from medieval to modern cultures and continues to evolve today.
JOHN B. MARINO is adjunct instructor, Maryville University and Saint Louis University.
"Approaches the Grail legend and its treatment in modern scholarship and fiction in an admirably lucid way." ENGLISH STUDIES
"A very useful book indeed." ENGLISH
"A comprehensive and enlightening study." MLR
"Original and often persuasive. Marino gives a clear account of the medieval texts and outlines the controversies surrounding the origins of the Grail." TLS
"A very good trawl through British and American grail texts... that successfully charts how fashions in interpreting the enigma of the grail have changed over two centuries." PENDRAGON
"Constructs a careful dialogue between scholarly studies and literary fiction, thereby providing his reader with a comprehensive introduction to modern Grail texts." MEDIEVAL REVIEW
Hardcover
9781843840220
October 2004
$105.00 / £70.00
Ebook (EPDF)
9781846152702
October 2004
$29.95 / £24.99
Title Details
188 Pages
2.34 x 1.56 cm
Series: Arthurian Studies
Series Vol. Number:
59
Imprint: D.S.Brewer