Favorite Medieval Tales - Hardcover

Osborne, Mary Pope

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0590600427 ISBN 13: 9780590600422

Publisher: Scholastic Press, 1998

Synopsis

A collection of well-known tales from medieval Europe, including "Beowulf," "The Sword in the Stone," "The Song of Roland," and "Gudren and the Island of the Lost Children"

About this title

Reviews

Grade 4-9-This beautiful storybook is also an entrancing introduction to medieval art and literature, and to the development of the English language. Rather than attempting a potted life history, each tale presents a defining narrative for its hero: Finn MacCoul, Beowulf, King Arthur, Hagen, Roland, Marrok the Werewolf, Gawain, Robin Hood, and Chanticleer. Sometimes this incident is virtually all there is (e.g., Marrok), but the informative notes do not always indicate when additional tales about the figure exist, as they do for most. The language of the retellings manages to be both dignified and lively, with just a hint of the archaic. The introduction notes that the chronological sequence of the tales also reflects the development of the English language. Howell has contributed detailed notes on the medieval elements and inspiration in his work from the elaborate borders to the compositions of the full-page, color illustrations and ornamental title pages. Strikingly handsome, this collection should appeal to a wide range of readers.
Patricia Lothrop-Green, St. George's School, Newport, RI
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

With this gorgeously produced volume Osborne and Howell meet and in some ways even exceed the standards they established in Favorite Norse Myths and Mermaid Tales from Around the World. The nine entries range from adaptations of widely known stories ("The Sword in the Stone"; "Robin Hood and His Merry Men") to more eclectic choices (Marie de France's "The Werewolf"; "The Chanticleer and the Fox," adapted from The Canterbury Tales); they also span about a thousand years of Western European literary history. Throughout, Osborne blends suspenseful storytelling with almost imperceptible explanations of the original context. For example, the Green Knight holds out his own head to Gawain, the knight who severed it, and reminds Gawain that he has promised, on his honor, to receive a blow of the ax in return. Osborne subtly relays the historical weight of this exchange: "Even the bravest warrior shuddered. Preserving a knight's honor was more important than preserving his own life." Howell, meanwhile, imaginatively bends medieval traditions to his own uses. As he explains in a detailed endnote, he models his paintings on such works as the Unicorn Tapestries and specific illuminated manuscripts. Adding to the book's educational value, Osborne prefaces each entry with an excerpt in the original language (along with a translation) and conveys further information in unusually meaty appendices. This stylish collection will not only entertain readers but will also nurture a lively interest in history, literature and language, and the way these forces of culture intersect. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Osborne and Howell (Favorite Norse Myths, 1996, etc.) reunite for these episodes from the lives of nine familiar mythical figures of the Middle Ages, among them Robin Hood, King Arthur, Roland, Sir Gawain, Finn MacCoul, and Beowulf. The retellings demonstrate a sure hand, and although there is little new material here, Osborne's versions have an effortless, readable flow. Howell's illustrations capture a feel for medieval pictures and borders, if not their exquisitely precise detail. Each story includes one full-page illustration; an illuminated plate containing the title, a quote from the source in the original language, and an English translation; and, often, a spot illustration. Extras such as the quotation and the back matterdefinitions of terms, information about how English evolved, and moreset the volume apart: This is not just another book of stories, but a reference as well, one which may send interested readers in search of more information about the history, language, and art of the Middle Ages. (notes, chronology, bibliography, index) (Folklore. 8-12) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Gr. 4^-6, younger for reading aloud. Dramatic and immediate for storytelling, this companion volume to Osborne and illustrator Troy Howell's Favorite Norse Myths (1996) has the same large-size, handsome design with spacious type, thick paper, and full-page painting and illustrated title page for each story. Osborne's nine retellings are faithful in spirit to the original stories, from the Arthurian chivalry of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight to the cozy domesticity of Chaucer's beast fable "Chanticleer and the Fox." There is also a Robin Hood story, a French werewolf parable, and versions of Finn Maccoul, Beowulf, the French Song of Roland, and the German Island of the Lost Children, all of them passed down orally and first written down between 1100 and 1450. Howell's acrylic paintings evoke the brightly detailed designs of illuminated manuscripts and medieval tapestries, with monsters and heroes, arches and battlefields. The excellent, readable notes provide historical and literary context, and many readers will go from here to the great full-blown retellings by such writers as Rosemary Sutcliff and Howard Pyle. Hazel Rochman

Edition details

• Publisher: Scholastic Press
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0590600427
• ISBN 13: 9780590600422
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 96