Some error occured while loading the Quick View. Please close the Quick View and try reloading the page.
An analytical exploration of Williams' poetic magnum opus, guiding the lay reader through the rich and challenging text.
Charles Williams, Oxford's 'Third Inkling', is less well known than C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, yet both recognized his brilliance. Nichols moves through the Arthuriad poem by poem, drawing on the historical, religious and literary context informing Williams' poetical work and drawing out poignant details to enrich one's reading of the collection.
Below the Summer Stars does not proceed with line-by-line analysis, but instead illuminates the overall sense and message of the Arthuriad poems; the result is a concise and informative study which accompanies the reader through the text rather than overshadowing Williams' words. Ultimately, Nichols argues, the Arthuriad is theological in character, yet it also establishes a hitherto lacking mythopoetic world for the British Isles; Nichols' historical and cultural analysis is an invitation to step into this world, confident in the authorial voice which shows you the way.
Charles Williams, Oxford's 'Third Inkling', is less well known than C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, yet both recognized his brilliance. Nichols moves through the Arthuriad poem by poem, drawing on the historical, religious and literary context informing Williams' poetical work and drawing out poignant details to enrich one's reading of the collection.
Below the Summer Stars does not proceed with line-by-line analysis, but instead illuminates the overall sense and message of the Arthuriad poems; the result is a concise and informative study which accompanies the reader through the text rather than overshadowing Williams' words. Ultimately, Nichols argues, the Arthuriad is theological in character, yet it also establishes a hitherto lacking mythopoetic world for the British Isles; Nichols' historical and cultural analysis is an invitation to step into this world, confident in the authorial voice which shows you the way.
Price: $85.00
Pages: 184
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Inc.
Imprint: Lutterworth Press
Publication Date:
27 October 2026
Trim Size: 9.02 X 5.98 in
ISBN: 9780718898731
Format: Hardcover
BISACs:
LITERARY CRITICISM / General, Literature: history and criticism, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Literary Figures, Biography: writers
Introduction
1. Taliessin through Logres: Prelude
2. Taliessin's Return to Logres
3. The Vision of the Empire
4. The Calling of Arthur
5. Mount Badon
6. The Crowning of Arthur
7. Taliessin's Song of the Unicorn
8. Bors to Elayne: The Fish of Broceliande
9. Taliessin in the School of the Poets
10. Taliessin on the Death of Virgil
11. The Coming of Palomides
12. Lamorack and the Queen Morgause of Orkney
13. Bors to Elayne: On the King's Coins
14. The Star of Percivale
15. The Ascent of the Spear
16. The Sister of Percivale
17. The Son of Lancelot
18. Palomides before his Christening
19. The Coming of Galahad
20. The Departure of Merlin
21. The Death of Palomides
22. Percivale at Carbonek
23. The Last Voyage
24. Taliessin at Lancelot's Mass
25. The Region of the Summer Stars: Prelude
26. The Calling of Taliessin
27. Taliessin in the Rise Garden
28. The Departure of Dindrane
29. The Founding of the Company
30. The Queen's Servant
31. The Meditation of Mordred
32. The Prayers of the Pope
Conclusion
Bibliography
1. Taliessin through Logres: Prelude
2. Taliessin's Return to Logres
3. The Vision of the Empire
4. The Calling of Arthur
5. Mount Badon
6. The Crowning of Arthur
7. Taliessin's Song of the Unicorn
8. Bors to Elayne: The Fish of Broceliande
9. Taliessin in the School of the Poets
10. Taliessin on the Death of Virgil
11. The Coming of Palomides
12. Lamorack and the Queen Morgause of Orkney
13. Bors to Elayne: On the King's Coins
14. The Star of Percivale
15. The Ascent of the Spear
16. The Sister of Percivale
17. The Son of Lancelot
18. Palomides before his Christening
19. The Coming of Galahad
20. The Departure of Merlin
21. The Death of Palomides
22. Percivale at Carbonek
23. The Last Voyage
24. Taliessin at Lancelot's Mass
25. The Region of the Summer Stars: Prelude
26. The Calling of Taliessin
27. Taliessin in the Rise Garden
28. The Departure of Dindrane
29. The Founding of the Company
30. The Queen's Servant
31. The Meditation of Mordred
32. The Prayers of the Pope
Conclusion
Bibliography