Medieval Legends of Love & Lust

* A UNIQUE collection of romantic stories from the 12th – 15th centuries.

* Authentically and entertainingly retold from translations of the original, very lengthy and complex texts.

* Almost thirty stories – both famous and little known – from England, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Scotland, Spain and Wales.

* Dramatic adventures in courtly love, mystical passion, bawdy and jocular tales, tragedy, scandal and feminist longing.

* Written by a highly acclaimed expert in world legends

* Essential reading for anyone interested in the popular thought and culture of the Middle Ages

'Rosalind Kerven, connoisseur of myths and folktales… has translated and condensed sprawling, beautiful but inaccessible original texts from the 12th to 15th centuries into concise, elegant tales. Capturing Christian, Muslim and folk influences at play in western Europe during this period, they celebrate romantic love at the same time as offering some salient points of comparison.' – THE INDEPENDENT


DISCOVER:

– The 12th century #MeToo scandal of Abelard & Heloise

– Why a medieval feminist condemned the bestselling 'Romance of the Rose'

– The secret heartache behind Dante’s seminal work, 'Divine Comedy'

– Bawdy tales from Chaucer and Boccaccio

– Why men were banned from the mysterious City of Ladies

– How Queen Guinevere’s affair with Sir Lancelot brought down the legendary King Arthur

– The tear-jerking twists and turns of Portuguese romantic epic, 'Amadis & Oriana'

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"A fine collection of medieval stories…A great introduction to the whole area"

– Professor Helen Cooper, University of Cambridge


"A spicy collection... authentically and accessibly retold" 

– The Bookseller


‘A well selected collection of accessible translations’

– Dr. Andrew Dunning, Curator of Medieval Manuscripts, Bodleian Libraries, Oxford