Medieval Latin Arthur: Books 8-11 of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae: An Intermediate Latin Commentary (Latin text with vocabulary and notes)

The goal of this text is twofold: (1) to build confidence in the student’s ability to read an unaltered Latin text of rather significant length as soon as possible after (or even during) the first year of instruction in the language; (2) to put into the hands of Latin students an engaging and lively text that reflects certain aspects of the culture of Western Europe during the Middle Ages.To accomplish the above, this book provides vocabulary and commentary to chapters 118-180 (conventionally found in Books 8-11) of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain (c. 1136-1138), which tell the story of the events leading up to the birth of Arthur, King of the Britons, along with his glittering career and mysterious death/disappearance. Of all Medieval Latin historical texts in existence, these books offer, at least in terms of their grammatical, syntactical, and lexical accessibility, perhaps the most engaging and (in terms of name recognition at least) familiar of Medieval Latin narratives for students who have concluded at least one year of introductory Latin study.The notes of this edition also explicate certain syntactical and grammatical aspects that may be challenging for beginning-intermediate students, point out some of the more striking literary/rhetorical figures and tropes that are employed, and supply basic information on historical, social, cultural, and literary issues raised by this text.The words of this edition follow Classical Latin spelling norms. Thus one will find mihi, not the common Medieval Latin spelling of michi, nihil instead of nichil, etc. This use of classical orthography was done to avoid adding to the troubles of the beginner.Beyond serving as a bridge from learning Latin grammar and morphology to reading real, unadapted Latin works, or as a refresher for those who have spent some time away from their study of Latin, this text is also suitable for use in any college Medieval Latin course, especially for instructors wishing to incorporate an example of “imaginative history” into their syllabus. Because of the extensive assistance with vocabulary that is provided, this edition could also be employed for sight-reading practice in any Latin class beyond the first semester. Read more