Reviews for From Plato to Lancelot: A Preface to Chretien de Troyes

The average rating for From Plato to Lancelot: A Preface to Chretien de Troyes based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-11-04 00:00:00 Khalif Williams This book delves into the many outlaw characters of Medieval Britain, historical, semi-historical and those of so called myth that may have contributed to the Robin Hood legend. Hereward, Fulk Fitzwain, Eustace the Monk, William Wallace, and Gamelyn are all covered with at least one chapter dedicated to each. Outlaws of Medieval Legend also looks into the possibility of Robin Hood being a real living person, even if their reality differed from that of the Robin Hood Stories. Besides that it explores the sociological reasons that the Robin Hood and other British outlaw legends and historical figures were so popular during the middle ages and continue to be so to this day. I highly recomend this book to anyone with any sort of interest in the subject matter. Personally I always liked to think of Robin Hood as a just and righteous Anglo Saxon Thegn that had lost everything after the Normans took over England in 1066 and was fighting a guerella war against the oppressive Normans. I also always liked the idea of Robin Hood being a heathen that would rob the corrupt greedy Christian church and political figures.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-02-25 00:00:00 Gerald Barnes This book was not what I expected. I expected to read the medieval tales of the robbers with minimal discussion. Instead, the book was largely discussion with summaries and excerpts from the tales. The discussion was very good. Keen identified several patterns in the tales and made a good central argument of literature reflecting class struggles. The introduction to the second edition changes the thesis by stating the intended audience was the upper-lower class and the lower-middle class rather than the previously believed lower class. One of the most interesting observations was that the audiences glorified the robbers, rather than those who rose against the existing order and sought to use violence to bring about change. This observation led to a discussion that those who stood up on principle universally lost...their lives. Conversely, a large number of the robbers adapted to the system and succeeded...at least, that is how their epics ended. The moral for the audience was to give up ideals of a utopia and craft out your resistance by adapting to the system and using it to your advantage.