From Ritual to Romance [with Biographical Introduction] (Cosimo Classics Mythology and Folklore)

Because Eliot's "Waste Land" is taught in virtually every British and American lit survey course, the name "Jessie Weston" and the title "From Ritual to Romance" have become familiar to perhaps millions of readers throughout the world. However, if readers hope to get beyond the "trivial pursuit" question of the source to which Eliot was indebted and to a genuine understanding of the "Fisher King" myth, they will need to read that source for themselves. Though not a quick and accessible read, the book repays the reader's patience. Not only does it help bring Eliot's poem to life but it illuminates the poetic tradition from Chaucer to Eliot and makes more meaningful the numerous adaptations of the myth in modern culture--from David Lodge's "Small World" to Robin Williams' "The Fisher King." Not for a sophomore survey course, but definitely for any upperlevel course on Eliot or Arthurian legend.

This is intensely academic in its writing, but the point seems valid and well supported. If I had known at the time, I would simply have downloaded it from Gutengberg, book-bying money must be conserved.

Its you are in shape order the shortest length you need or the croch will be way too deep.

English is NOT my mother tongue. But I have read a few boo books including the magnificent one-volume edition of The Golden Bough, which I keep reading with great pleasure and profit.I was tempted to give one star Miss Weston's book, but no guts; I have settled on two. Here are my reasons:1. The book needs a major editing. An able editor could free the book from its deadwood and unnecessary repetitions saving perhaps some 50 pages from this Dover edition. The able editor could also apply the rules of sentence and paragraph construction to ease the reader's access to and comprehension of the topic. Although there are some few lines that are clear tot he reader, this virtue cannot be found in any single page.2. All non-English citations should be translated into English and included in the text or in footnotes. To a reader who does not know those languages the citations are useless..3. An appendix ought to be provided to include the names of important personages in the book. The Dover edition itself is flawless: Good paper, good print, and good binding., .

Who’s here after seeing Kirtz’s bookshelf in Apocalypse Now (1978)?

So many of the quotes and excerpts are in French, German, Latin, etc and aren't translated! I don't get it...

The review below which tries to discredit this amazing book is propaganda based on innuendo and inaccuracies. Actually, Weston's book does not fall with the fall of Frazer's theories. Many of Frazer's theories are still quite valid, something the reviewer doesn't bother to mention ; what are mainly critiqued in Frazer was his evolutionary approach to religion (a common characteristic of scholars of the time which is disparaging of less technologically developed societies), his simplistic notions of the distinctions between religion and science and their interrelationship, and at present, his use of the comparative method is not in style in the academy, although such trends tend to follow a pendulum development. What is undisputed is his firm grasp of classical material (he was a Classics scholar), and his accurate rendering of European folklore, which does fit the classical models he invokes. There is nothing radical in these ideas ; however, there is an agenda to discredit them by those who oppose the "Jesus Myth" theory. All of this is preface to an apologetic for Weston's book, because it demonstrates that the polemics against Frazer are inaccurate, and therefore the primary arguments she draws from Frazer stands. However, she herself has done independent research showing the interrelationship of the themes in common between ancient religious complexes like the Osiris-Adonis-Attis dying and rising gods who renew the fertility of the land, and the Wasteland themes in the Grail. It is popular nowadays to dismiss Weston's view as if she were naive ; in fact, she is quite aware of her critics even in her time and takes the time to carefully answer them. What is clear is the following : 1) The cult of Tammuz/Adonis was in fact about a king whose life, death, and resurrection were linked to the fertility of the land (as was Osiris as well), 2) The seasonal festivals described by Mannhardt and Frazer (as well as multiple other folklorists) does fit the Tammuz pattern in striking fashion, and 3) The Grail themes Weston outlines do in fact exist in the literature, and do match 1) and 2)above. You may disagree with her conclusions, but these three commonalities are FACTS that must be reckoned with. In short, this is an excellent book that connects many of the dots in an ancient mystery, in a satisfying and thorough manner.

This version does not contain the footnotes. Since this is a scholarly work, there are at least a few on each page, but the text for them isn't at the bottom of the page or in the back. Look for another edition.

I am not here primarily evaluating the book itself (an intelligent, thorough, if old-fashioned investigation into the Grail legend--it's 100 years old, after all!) but the edition from Okitoks Press, 2017. (The one with a Pre-Raphaelite painting of knight being dubbed by a woman.) It is missing some quotations and all of the footnotes--note numbers are given but the notes themselves aren't there. It is clearly a print scan, as there are many strange typos, especially in French words with diacritical markings. The print is tiny and margins sometimes faulty.There is a much better version available printed by Amazon itself--the one with a white cover and 3 simple mediaeval figures on it. It has the full title, including 'Folklore, Magic and the Holy Grail'. It has bigger, readable print, all the notes, and some material not in the other version. There is very little cost difference, so go for this one. The Okitoks verfsion has 87 pages, the Amazon one has 247, and that tells you a lot.When I have a chance, I will review the content more thoroughly on the site with the better version.

This study of how the Grail legend originated and developed is very knowing. The author successfully and rightly connects ancient Nature Rituals to the Grail ceremonies to show how timeless and unremitting is Mankind's quest to become one with the powers of the universe. Where once ancient, agricultural communities held their leader/king to be a divine force upon whose health or sickness their whole survival depended, so too is this basic scenario enacted in the Grail legend; where the adventure of a hero (Gawain, Perceval etc) is to restore to vitality a wounded, sick or even dead king. The relvance of this achievement, on both the public (exoteric) level as well as the personal (esoteric) level is very skillfully examined - and puts it beyond doubt that all great modern literaure and art (not just the Grail stories) are, one way or another, actually all based on a variation of this principle. It will leave you with food for thought, especially if books by the likes of J.G Frazer and Joseph Campbell already intrigue you. Indeed, this is a book better approached only after having read Frazer's The Golden Bough. One small criticism is that the author is sometimes overly pre-occupied with addressing expectant critics and far too often deviates from her investigation to make pleas directly to her peers to consider her evidence/theory with an open mind. Doing this once would have sufficed, but at least half a dozen times Weston departs from the main text and repeats her direct appeal to whoever her scholarly circle is - a bit too concerned (obsessed?) with her status within the literary elite perhaps?The flow of the text would have benefitted from a far more assured attitude, but Weston was a woman in the early 20th century, so having a bit of an inferiority complex was, I suppose, to be expected. Also, Weston assumes the reader will already have ample knowledge of the Grail stories, rather than making it beginner-friendly. She refers to various Grail texts without presenting much background and you're left to fill in the blanks if you can, which isn't too difficult but, as a literary style, it is not very thorough. However, overall this is still superlative stuff.

A fascinating book on its own but so important in its influence on modern poetry.

It is printed by Amazon, probably in a work camp in China , how much more money does this guy want to make. It is a embarrassment to the authors and subject matter who are printed in this way

Brilliant.