Domnei

James Branch Cabell's Domnei is a medieval romance of woman-worship, where courtly love becomes a creed of devotion, sacrifice, and spiritual longing. In the glittering world of Poictesme, Melicent shines as an almost saintly ideal, while Perion of the Forest—outlaw, adventurer, and divided lover—risks everything to prove himself worthy of her. Rich with chivalry, irony, and emotional intensity, the novel turns desire into a test of honor and the hunger for immortality through love. As Perion moves through masque, feast, and court intrigue, he reveals both his peril and his wit, confessing his true identity to Melicent and winning her compassion. She answers by choosing danger over safety, while his own self-disgust slowly yields to the possibility of moral transformation. Around them, rivals and rulers—Demetrios, the weak King Theodoret, and the calculating Cardinal de Montors—compete in a world where politics, religion, and passion are inseparable. Even Montors, hardened by ambition, cannot entirely forget Melicent or resist desire. Domnei is a lush, provocative romance in which love demands not only loyalty, but the courage to become better than oneself. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.