The first four-“Enid,” “Vivien,” “Elaine,” and “Guinevere” -all focused on Arthurian women. Based on sources such as Thomas Malory’s Morte d’Arthurand the Old Welsh Mabinogion, the Idylls were Tennyson’s re-interpretation of the Arthurian story for the Victorian era (not to mention his attempt to cash in on the medieval craze).Īlthough the Idylls come today as a complete set of twelve, plus dedication and epilogue, Tennyson actually published them in sets, sometimes out of order, over a period of 30 years, from 1859 to 1885. Idylls of the King is a collection of twelve narrative poems detailing the rise and fall of King Arthur and the fellowship of the round table. Among things like mutton recipes and damsels in distress, this fever produced modern translations of medieval texts like Beowulf, Sir Walter Scott’s adventure stories, the Romantic Arthurian paintings of John William Waterhouse and, of course, Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s Idylls of the King. The Victorians just couldn’t get enough of swords, spells, and chivalry. In the second half of the 19th century, all things medieval were all the rage in England. Trends, or fads, in pop culture come and go all the time.Īnd in fact, they're nothing new.
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