Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages: A Collaborative History, Roger Sherman Loomis

Publication: Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2001

Formatting: 8vo, pp. xiii, 574.

Condition Report: Near Fine. This copy is in exceptional condition for a modern reprint. The publisher's black cloth binding remains tight and square, displaying sharp corners and a complete absence of shelf-wear to the board edges. The gilt lettering and Oxford crest on the spine are notably bright and unoxidised. Internally, the text block is pristine; the pages are crisp, bright, and completely free from any foxing, tearing, or creasing, suggesting it has been carefully stored and scarcely read. The glossy blue dust jacket is similarly well-preserved, retaining its vibrant colour without fading or rubbing, though it exhibits a very faint, almost imperceptible crinkle to the head of the spine. Overall, a remarkably sharp and attractive copy.

Catalogue Note: This is the 2001 special edition published by Oxford University Press for Sandpiper Books Ltd., acting as a direct reprint of the landmark 1959 first edition printed at the Clarendon Press.

The volume is illustrated with a frontispiece and several black-and-white plates detailing medieval manuscript illuminations and reliefs.

While later reprints of Loomis’s foundational text are not strictly rare, finding a copy of this specific Sandpiper edition in such pristine, near-fine condition is becoming increasingly uncommon on the open market. It serves as an excellent acquisition for both scholars and collectors of Arthurian legend seeking a well-preserved reference copy.

First published in 1959 and edited by the eminent scholar Roger Sherman Loomis, Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages: A Collaborative History remains a monumental and definitive survey of the Arthurian legend's evolution. Bringing together thirty of the foremost medievalists of the twentieth century, the volume comprehensively traces the myth of King Arthur from its obscure roots in early Celtic mythology and Welsh verse to its flowering in the grand romances of Chrétien de Troyes, the Vulgate Cycle, and Sir Thomas Malory. It provides an unparalleled, pan-European examination of the literature, exploring how the tales of the Round Table captivated the medieval imagination across Britain, France, Germany, and beyond.