Lanzelet - (Records of Western Civilization) by Ulrich Von Zatzikhoven (Paperback)

About the Book

This new translation of one of the first known versions of the Lancelot story has been prepared with the highest accuracy and scholarly insight available to date. It includes a new introduction and revised bibliography, notes from the first English translation by Webster and the textual changes by famed Arthurian scholar Loomis, and a commentary reflecting the fifty years of scholarship on "Lanzelet" since the publication of Webster's translation.

Book Synopsis

Lanzelet, one of the first known versions of the Lancelot story, is a critical work in medieval literature. This Middle High German romance is a rendering of a lost French tale of Lancelot that likely predates Chrétien de Troyes's famous Lancelot or the Knight of the Cart. Ulrich von Zatzikhoven obtained a copy of the original book in 1194 and translated the work from French into German. Kenneth G.T. Webster made the first English translation in the 1930s, and Columbia University Press published it in 1951. Following Webster's death, the famed Arthurian scholar Roger Sherman Loomis made slight modifications to the text and expanded Webster's notes. Thomas Kerth's new translation, prepared with the highest accuracy and scholarly insight available to date, includes a new introduction and revised bibliography, notes from both Loomis and Webster, and a commentary reflecting the fifty years of scholarship on Lanzelet since the publication of Webster's translation.

Review Quotes

A successful balance between literal accuracy and the requirements of English prose... conveys much of the liveliness of Ulrich's style.-- "Forum for Modern Language Studies"

Thomas Kerth's new translation of this important work makes it possible for a wider readership...to reassess its place.--David F. Johnson "Arthuriana"

About the Author

Thomas Kerth is associate professor in the Department of European Languages at SUNY Stony Brook. He lives in Stony Brook, New York.