Morris, Gerald. The lioness & her knight.MORRIS, Gerald. The lioness & her knight. (The Squire's Tales.) Houghton Mifflin Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. The company's headquarters is located in Boston's Back Bay. It publishes textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers . 343p. c2005. 0-618-50772-8. $16.00. JS This addition to Morris's tales about King Arthur's Camelot Camelot (kăm`əlŏt), in Arthurian legend, the seat of King Arthur's court. The origin of the name is unknown. It has been variously located at Cadbury Camp, Somerset; Winchester; Camelford; and Caerleon. is filled with wry comments and dramatic encounters. It's highly accessible, not requiring much foreknowledge fore·knowl·edge n. Knowledge or awareness of something before its existence or occurrence; prescience. foreknowledge Noun knowledge of something before it actually happens Noun 1. of the Arthurian legends Arthurian legend, the mass of legend, popular in medieval lore, concerning King Arthur of Britain and his knights. Medieval Sources The battle of Mt. Badon—in which, according to the Annales Cambriae (c. . Morris has based this story on a poem written long ago called The Knight of the Lion. He added a character or two and changed some other details, but essentially, it represents the best kind of minstrel's tale from the Middle Ages. It's rather lengthy, but whizzes along, with generous type size and plenty of white space on each page. There are four main characters, who represent two potential romances. Luneta is an intrepid girl whose parents send her off to be a companion to a lady named Laudine. She is protected on her journey by her cousin Ywain, who is a young knight hungry for fame. They meet up with a fool named Rhience, who proves many times over that he is no fool, though author Morris manages to use his character for endless comic relief comic relief n. A humorous or farcical interlude in a serious literary work or drama, especially a tragedy, intended to relieve the dramatic tension or heighten the emotional impact by means of contrast. . Somewhere in here Ywain falls in love with Laudine, recently widowed because Ywain kills her husband (don't ask); a lioness joins them (yes, a real lioness); and all of them have numerous adventures. In fact, the action and the wacky comments from Rhience never let up and should keep readers entertained en·ter·tain v. en·ter·tained, en·ter·tain·ing, en·ter·tains v.tr. 1. To hold the attention of with something amusing or diverting. See Synonyms at amuse. 2. from one page to the next. An excellent way for even young YAs to get interested in the Arthurian saga. Claire Rosser, KLIATT J--Recommended for junior high school students. The contents are of particular interest to young adolescents and their teachers. S--Recommended for senior high school students. |
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