Textbooks and Films
A starting point for anyone teaching Arthurian Legend for the first time should be Approaches to Teaching the Arthurian Tradition, edited by Maureen Fries and Jeanie Watson, New York: Modern Language Association of America, 1992. Below are listed general reference books for teachers and students and recommended textbooks according to grade level, as well as links to other sites with Arthurian booklists for students of all ages. If you have recommendations for any level, please e-mail the Pedagogy Site Administrator, Alan Baragona, at the address below.
General Reference Texts
Bruce, Christopher W. The Arthurian Name Dictionary. New York: Garland, 1998.
Lacy, Norris J., ed. Medieval Arthurian Literature: A Guide to Recent Research. New York: Garland, 1996.
Lacy, Norris J., Geoffrey Ashe, et al., eds. The Arthurian Handbook. 2nd edition. New York: Garland, 1997.
Lacy, Norris J., Geoffrey Ashe, et al., eds. The New Arthurian Encyclopedia. Updated paperback edition. New York: Garland, 1996.
Moorman, Charles, and Ruth Minary. An Arthurian Dictionary. Chicago: Academy Chicago, 1990.
Primary School Texts
Books for Children and Young Adults (organized by age), compiled by Vicki Lague (archived)
Top Ten Arthurian Legends by Margaret Simpson, Scholastic Ltd, 1998, ISBN 0590198009
The tales retold for children. (Currently out of print.)
Knights of the Grail: Based on the Legend of King Arthur by Linda Proud, illustrated by Hayley Simmons, Good Company for Children Co., 1995, ISBN 1900197022
The story told from a modern perspective.
Juvenile & Young Adult Arthurian Bookstore compiled by Kim Headlee (archived).
Contains a list of fiction for ages 4-8, 9-12, and Young Adult. Links are to Amazon. Because this site is archived, links directly to the books don't work, but the titles are still available on Amazon, at other online booksellers, and can be ordered by your local bookstore or from your school's textbook distributor. A few samples are listed below.
Kids Draw Knights, Kings, Queens and Dragons, by Christopher Hart, Watson-Guptill, 2001, ISBN-13 978-0823026289
Ages 9-12
King Arthur: How History Is Invented, by Jeremy Roberts, Lerner Pub Group, 2001, ISBN-13 978-0822548911
Ages 10 and up
Read-Aloud Plays: Middle Ages, by Jeanette Sanderson, Scholastic Teaching Resources, 1999, ISBN-13 978-0590769938
Grades 4-8
Teaching the Middle Ages with Magnificent Art Masterpieces, by Bobbi Chertok, Goody Hirshfeld), and Marilyn Rosh, Teaching Resources, 2000, ISBN-13 978-0590644358
Grades 4-8
The Barefoot Book of Princesses, by Caitlin Matthews (Author) and Olwyn Whelan (Illustrator), Barefoot Books, 1998, ISBN-13978-1901223743
Grades 4-8
Secondary School Texts
King Arthur Forever A basic reference guide to accompany the 2nd Medieval Studies Secondary Schools Outreach Seminar: "Teaching King Arthur in the '90s" a one-day seminar for middle and high school teachers held at the University of Connecticut (Storrs) Friday, 26 March 1999 (provided by Michael A. Torregrossa) (archived)
Dragonlords' Bookstore Linda A. Malcor's highly organized booklist of Arthurian texts, medieval and modern, literature, folklore, and history, film, audio, even comic books. Suitable for both secondary and college level students.
A list of 20th-century Arthurian novels, compiled by Vicki Lague (archived)
Mediavilla, Cindy. Arthurian Fiction: An Annotated Bibliography. Scarecrow Press, 1999.
A bibliography of 20th-century fiction for middle and high schoolers. For a fuller description of the book click here.
College and Adult Texts
An Arthuriana/Camelot Project Bibliography: Sources for the Study of the Arthurian Legends A good starting point, especially for reference material.
ORB Medieval Sourcebook: Selected Sources "This is an index of selected and excerpted texts for teaching purposes. . . . For teachers who wish to refer students to the Sourcebook, this page is the best starting point."
Arthurnet Reading List Compiled by Judy Shoaf, this is a list of "recommended cheap (sort of), available (probably) translations of medieval Arthurian texts" but includes links to other material.
Two messages from Arthurnet: Bruce Beatie's selective but compendious reading list of texts and studies (from October, 1996).
From Arthurnet, a Mordred bibliography by Michael Torregrossa (June 2001).
The Awntyrs off Arthure at the Terne Wathelyn: A Critical Edition. Robert Gates, ed. Philadelphia, 1969.
Benson, Larry, ed. King Arthur's Death: The Middle English Stanzaic Morte Arthur and the Alliterative Morte Arthure. revised by Edward E. Foster. Kalamazoo, Mich.: Published for TEAMS (The Consortium for the Teaching of the Middle Ages) in Association with the University of Rochester by Medieval Institute Publications, 1994.
Béroul. Romance of Tristan. Norris J. Lacy, ed. and trans. New York: Garland, 1989.
Bromwich, Rachel, ed. and trans. Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Welsh Triads. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1961; 2nd ed. 1978.
Chrétien de Troyes. Lancelot, or the Knight of the Cart. Ruth Harwood Cline, trans. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1990.
Chrétien de Troyes. Perceval, or the Story of the Grail. Ruth Harwood Cline, trans. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1983.
Chrétien de Troyes. Romans arthuriens. Michel Zink, ed. Paris: Livre de Poche, 1994.
Chrétien de Troyes. Yvain, or the Knight with the Lion. Ruth Harwood Cline, trans. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1975.
Geoffrey of Monmouth. Historia Regum Britanniae. Neil Wright, ed. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer, 1985.
Geoffrey of Monmouth. The History of the Kings of Britain. Lewis Thorpe, trans. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1966.
Goodrich, Peter, ed. The Romance of Merlin. New York: Garland, 1990.
Gottfried von Strassburg. Tristan, with the Surviving Fragment of the Tristan of Thomas. A.T. Hatto, trans. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1960.
Hall, Louis B., ed. The Knightly Tales of Gawain. Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1976.
Hartmann von Aue. Erec. J.W. Thomas, trans. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1982.
Hartmann von Aue. Iwein. Patrick M. McConeghy, ed. and trans. New York: Garland, 1984.
Krishna, Valerie, trans. Five Middle English Arthurian Romances. New York: Garland, 1990.
Lancelot-Grail: The Old French Arthurian Vulgate and Post-Vulgate in Translation. Norris J. Lacy, general editor. 5 vols. New York: Garland Publishing, 1993-1996.
Layamon. Brut. G.L. Brook and R.F. Leslie, eds. Published for the Early English Text Society. London: Oxford University Press, 1963, 1978.
Malory, Sir Thomas. Caxton's Malory. James W. Spisak, ed. 2 vols. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1983.
Malory, Sir Thomas. Le Morte Darthur: The Winchester Manuscript. Oxford World Classics. Helen Cooper, ed. Oxford: OUP, 1998.
Malory, Sir Thomas. Works. 3rd edition. Eugene Vinaver, ed.; revised by P.J.C. Field. 3 vols. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990.
Marie de France. The Lais of Marie de France. Glyn S. Burgess and Keith Busby, trans. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1986.
"Nennius." Nennius: British History and the Welsh Annals. John Morris, ed. and trans. Chichester: Phillimore, 1980.
Pearl. Simon Armitage, trans. Faber & Faber, 2016.
Robert de Boron. Joseph d'Arimathie. Richard O'Gorman, ed. Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1995.
Romance of Tristan. Renée L. Curtis, trans. (from The Prose Tristan). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Marie Borroff, trans. New York: W. W. Norton, 1967.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. William Vantuono, ed. and trans. New York: Garland, 1991.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Simon Armitage, trans. W. W. Norton, 2008
Tennyson, Alfred. Idylls of the King. J. M Gray, ed. Penquin, 1989.
Thomas of Britain. Tristan. Stewart Gregory, ed. and trans. New York: Garland, 1991.
Tristan and the Round Table: A Translation of La Tavola Ritonda. Anne Shaver, trans. Binghamton: SUNY Press, 1983.
Ulrich von Zatzikoven. Lanzelet. Kenneth G.T. Webster, trans. New York: Columbia University Press, 1951.
Wace. Le Roman de Brut. I. Arnold, ed. 2 vols. Paris: Champion, 1938-40.
Wilhelm, James J., ed. The Romance of Arthur. New York: Garland, 1994.
Wolfram von Eschenbach. Parzival. A.T. Hatto, trans. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1980.
Films
The Camelot Project Arthurian Film Home Page by Kevin Harty
Linda A. Malcor's Arthurian Video List
Vicki Lague's List of Arthurian Films, TV, and Music (archived)
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Pedagogy Site Administrator: Alan Baragona sabaragona@gmail.com
Last revised: December 28, 2021
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