My latest Kelmscott-style reprint from Rossignol Books is now available! The Romance of Morien, as translated by Jessie Weston. Morien is from Middle Dutch, written in verse around the 1200’s, as part of the massive Lancelot Compilation, a sprawling four-volume work which as it stands includes nine complete romances and the end of a tenth, and possibly used to have more in the now-lost first volume. Most of these are translations into Dutch from French, but some of them have no known source, and one of these is Morien. Chronologically, this romance is set between the end of the Prose Lancelot, and the beginning of the Quest for the Holy Grail. No one knows who wrote it, or when, or in what language it was originally. The prologue states that some versions exist in which Percival was Morien’s father, but no such versions survive.
Sir Aglovale, brother of Sir Percival of Galles, fell in love with a Moorish woman beyond the sea, and left her, promising to return. He never kept his promise, and now his son, Sir Morien, has come to England in search of his father. Can Sir Gawain help the family reunite? Can Sir Lancelot slay a ferocious beast? Will the Saxons overrun the realm of Logris? Is Agloval Morien’s real father, or is it Percival? Find out the answers to all of these in The Romance of Morien! For the light Morien sheds on the legend of the Holy Grail, and for its merits as a story in its own right, this romance is an excellent addition to the shelf of any lover of chivalry. For a mere US$7.50, plus shipping and handling, this beautiful reprint of a beautiful story can be yours!
Orlando Innamorato in English 