In a masterful blend of history, geography, and literature, Jean Markale re-creates the true King Arthur, the real-life Celtic warrior-hero who organized the resistance to the Saxon onslaught in fifth-century England. Markale's unsurpassed knowledge of Celtic history has enabled him to reconstruct for us the actual world in which King Arthur lived--its heros, its values, and its vicissitudes--and to define the position that Arthur occupied within it. • Explains how the Arthurian ideals of knightly virtue and chivalry are at the heart of Western literature and thought • Shows how the Celtic heritage continues to exert a unique formative power on our personal and moral concepts Markale opens with an argumentative introduction about historians' general reluctance to deal with myths and oral traditions. She moves directly into a discussion of how Arthurian lore in the medieval world was comcreated by ardent and undiscriminating propagandists of the courtly nobility who misappropriated Celtic legends and in the process betrayed and ridiculed them. Her survey of Arthurian legendry in Celtic history purports that through such Celtic notions of kingship, especially the king's obligation to the people, his role was clarified as more than one of personal gain or divine right. For serious students of Arthurian legends and history. Denise Perry Donavin "King Arthur fans, take note: your dreamy images of this rapturous medieval period will never be the same after you've read Markale's scholarly and luminous revision." ― NAPRA Trade Journal "No student or lover of Arthurian bravado and myth should pass up this book. You will immediately be caught up in Markale's telling of the familiar tale, and enchanted by the new twists on the old story." ― New Age Retailer Jean Markale (1928-2008), was a poet, philosopher, historian, and storyteller, who spent a lifetime researching pre-Christian and medieval culture and spirituality. He was a former specialist in Celtic studies at the Sorbonne and author of more than 40 books, including The Celts: Uncovering the Mythic and Historic Origins of Western Culture , Merlin , and Women of the Celts . Used Book in Good Condition