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Merlin : Knowledge and Power through the Ages / Stephen Knight.

By: Material type: TextTextPublication details: Ithaca, NY : Cornell University Press, (c)2018.Description: 1 online resource : 25 halftonesContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • computer
Carrier type:
  • online resource
ISBN:
  • 9781501732928
Subject(s): Genre/Form: LOC classification:
  • PN57 .M475 2018
Online resources: Available additional physical forms:
Contents:
Frontmatter -- Contents -- Illustrations -- Introduction -- Chapter 1: British Myrddin-Merlin: Wisdom -- Chapter 2: Medieval Merlin: Advice -- Chapter 3: English Merlin: Cleverness -- Chapter 4: International Merlin: Education -- Notes -- Primary Bibliography -- Secondary Bibliography -- Index
Subject: Merlin, the wizard of Arthurian legend, has been a source of enduring fascination for centuries. In this authoritative, entertaining, and generously illustrated book, Stephen Knight traces the myth of Merlin back to its earliest roots in the early Welsh figure of Myrddin. He then follows Merlin as he is imagined and reimagined through centuries of literature and art, beginning with Geoffrey of Monmouth, whose immensely popular History of the Kings of Britain (1138) transmitted the story of Merlin to Europe at large. He covers French and German as well as Anglophone elements of the myth and brings the story up to the present with discussions of a globalized Merlin who finds his way into popular literature, film, television, and New Age philosophy. Knight argues that Merlin in all his guises represents a conflict basic to Western societies-the clash between knowledge and power. While the Merlin story varies over time, the underlying structural tension remains the same whether it takes the form of bard versus lord, magician versus monarch, scientist versus capitalist, or academic versus politician. As Knight sees it, Merlin embodies the contentious duality inherent to organized societies. In tracing the applied meanings of knowledge in a range of social contexts, Knight reveals the four main stages of the Merlin myth: Wisdom (early Celtic British), Advice (medieval European), Cleverness (early modern English), and Education (worldwide since the nineteenth century). If a wizard can be captured within the pages of a book, Knight has accomplished the feat.
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Item type Current library Collection Call number URL Status Date due Barcode
Online Book (LOGIN USING YOUR MY CIU LOGIN AND PASSWORD) Online Book (LOGIN USING YOUR MY CIU LOGIN AND PASSWORD) G. Allen Fleece Library ONLINE Non-fiction PN57.4 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Link to resource Available on1083583515

Includes bibliographies and index.

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Illustrations -- Introduction -- Chapter 1: British Myrddin-Merlin: Wisdom -- Chapter 2: Medieval Merlin: Advice -- Chapter 3: English Merlin: Cleverness -- Chapter 4: International Merlin: Education -- Notes -- Primary Bibliography -- Secondary Bibliography -- Index

Merlin, the wizard of Arthurian legend, has been a source of enduring fascination for centuries. In this authoritative, entertaining, and generously illustrated book, Stephen Knight traces the myth of Merlin back to its earliest roots in the early Welsh figure of Myrddin. He then follows Merlin as he is imagined and reimagined through centuries of literature and art, beginning with Geoffrey of Monmouth, whose immensely popular History of the Kings of Britain (1138) transmitted the story of Merlin to Europe at large. He covers French and German as well as Anglophone elements of the myth and brings the story up to the present with discussions of a globalized Merlin who finds his way into popular literature, film, television, and New Age philosophy. Knight argues that Merlin in all his guises represents a conflict basic to Western societies-the clash between knowledge and power. While the Merlin story varies over time, the underlying structural tension remains the same whether it takes the form of bard versus lord, magician versus monarch, scientist versus capitalist, or academic versus politician. As Knight sees it, Merlin embodies the contentious duality inherent to organized societies. In tracing the applied meanings of knowledge in a range of social contexts, Knight reveals the four main stages of the Merlin myth: Wisdom (early Celtic British), Advice (medieval European), Cleverness (early modern English), and Education (worldwide since the nineteenth century). If a wizard can be captured within the pages of a book, Knight has accomplished the feat.

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