rivendellrose: (seeress)
rivendellrose ([personal profile] rivendellrose) wrote2010-08-25 09:13 am

research

If anyone out there has a favorite source or sources for semi-obscure medieval legends, particularly around either King Arthur or the knights of Charlemagne, I'm in the market for some recommendations. ♥

And in return, if you want a recommendation for the perfect antidote to all the Twilight silliness, I'm really enjoying "The Strain" by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan. High literature it ain't, but it's a fun, if predictable, suitably disgusting take on the vampire mythos, and fellow fans of Del Toro's cinematic work won't be disappointed by the visuals and the way scenes are set up.

[identity profile] vega-ofthe-lyre.livejournal.com 2010-08-25 05:13 pm (UTC)(link)
We used the Camelot Project fairly extensively for my Arthurian Lit class last year - it's as thorough a database I've ever seen for the legends. Not sure if it's exactly what you're looking for, but you'll definitely find something there! :D

Of course I'm going to start babbling about webcomics.

[identity profile] darthparadox.livejournal.com 2010-08-25 05:43 pm (UTC)(link)
Honestly, my current favorite source for Arthuriana is Arthur, King of Time and Space - but he's got several links to his source material, so it should still be reasonably helpful. (It's also the best MSPaint-created comic I read, with the understanding that I still haven't seriously attempted to read MSPaint Adventures yet.)

In fact, speaking of webcomics based on classic English literature, you'd probably enjoy Lit Brick quite a bit - it's a cartoonist drawing comics about the entirety of the Norton Anthology, in order.

[identity profile] websandwhiskers.livejournal.com 2010-08-25 10:04 pm (UTC)(link)
I actually *was* a little disappointed in The Strain - it certainly had all Del Toro's usual attention to detail, all the pieces fit and worked, but it lacked that sense of poetry that I expect from his films. I think he communicates more effectively in visual form than in words.

It also reminded me far, far too much of Salem's Lot - it is, to all intents and purposes, the same story. Now, Salem's Lot is an intentional riff on Dracula, so I can't claim it's all that original either, but still.

[identity profile] maymargaret.livejournal.com 2010-08-27 02:04 pm (UTC)(link)
Have you read Marie de France yet, she's my favorite. I also just finished a lecture series from the library on grail myth. It shouldn't be too hard to find. If you want source material, Chretien de troyes is quite good and kinda started the whole Lancelot thing. Also, I quite like Tennyson. He certainly has the most beautiful take on the lady of shallot. If you run across any good modern sources that recognize that a large part of current Arthurian mythos is in fact modern, please let me know. You could also try welsh mythology which is weird as all get out but a lot of the older Arthurian stuff starts there.