Patricia Terry Bücher

A retelling of the 13th-century French legend of Lancelot and the mutual love between him and Galehaut, Lord of the Distant Isles. Retellings of the Old French story of King Arthur, Guenevere, and Lancelot have left out a fourth figure amongst these legendary star-crossed lovers, the man who loved the knight, Lancelot. He was Galehaut, a mortal enemy of Arthur, and the invincible Lord of the Distant Isles. And he was Guenevere's rival for Lancelot's passion. The story is now complete, as a tragic double-love story, its complexity and emotional depth restored for the modern reader. It is an extraordinary tale. For love of Lancelot, Galehaut surrenders his political ambitions, submitting to the rule of Arthur; the same love leads him to facilitate relations between Lancelot and the Queen. The mighty Lord of the Distant Isles, who had seemed destined to conquer the world, becomes a paragon of love-inspired self-sacrifice in this ancient tale of one man who deeply loves another.

Known for her fine translations of octosyllabic narrative verse, Patricia Terry presents translations of four major practitioners of this dominant literary form of twelfth- and thirteenth-century France. Her introduction discusses the varying views of women and love in the texts and their place in the courtly tradition.From Chrétien de Troyes Terry includes an early work, Philomena , here translated into verse for the first time. The other great writer of this period was Marie de France, the first woman in the European narrative tradition. Lanval is newly translated for this edition, which also features four of Marie's other poems. The collection further includes The Reflection by Jean Renart, known for his realistic settings; and the anonymous Chatelaine of Vergi , a fatalistic and perhaps more modern depiction of love.