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Michigan State University

Legend of the Holy Grail: Guides to the Literature and Bibliographies

For Margot Valles' ENG 368. The goal is to help students studying the mysterious Holy Grail: what it is, what its origins are, what winning it provides, and what secrets and myths are bound up with it. Last updated 06-12-2023

Guides to the Literature and Bibliographies

AHA Guide to Historical Literature  Main and Reference D 20 .A55 1995

See v. 1, Section 20 for Medieval Europe.  Published 1995, it contains bibliographic references with very short annotations to what were the best books in history at that time.  Find more recently published material via periodical indexes or the online catalog.

Literary Research Guide, an Annotated Listing of Reference Sources in English Literary Studies  Main PR 83 .H3 2008. 

A veritable bible describing all kinds of reference works for doing literary research. Find more recently published material via periodical indexes or the online catalog.

King Arthur (link to Oxford Bibliographies Online. Medieval studies entry for King Arthur)

Arthurian Annals, the Tradition in English from 1250 to 2000.  Main DA 152.5 .A7 N32 2004 v. 1-2  v. 2 is the index: people, titles, forms/genres, characters, cultures, places, themes/motifs/artefacts/events, source languages.  Annotated.

Arthurian Bibliography  Remote Storage D   Z 8045 .P53 v. 1-4 There are other, older editions also. Check the online catalog for this title.

Bibliography of Modern Arthuriana 1500-2000 

We do not own this.  Published 2006.  Covers literature, comic books/graphic novels, film/TV/radio, music, games, fine arts/design. General index.  Arthurian characters/themes. Short annotations.

Chretien de Troyes  ( link from Oxford Bibliographies Online, Medieval studies entry for Chretien de Troyes)

Chretien de Troyes, an Analytic Bibliography   Remote Storage D Z 8169.1 .K4

First supplement at Main PQ 1448 .C72 2002

Ten Middle English Arthurian Romances, a Reference Guide  Main PR 328 .J6 1986

"Aim of this bibliography is to provide a comprehensive guide to scholarship and criticism from ca. 1800-1980 for ten major English Arthurian romances written between 1250 and 1500."  Annotated.  

Cahiers de Civilisation Medievale  Remote Storage CB 351 .A1 C3 (back issues).  Current issues in Periodical Storage Basement West.

DMC, 4 West has CD Rom of content 1983-2002.  Published since 1958 by Universite de Poitiers this aims to provide a comprehensive, current bibliography of monographs worldwide and listings of miscellany volumes (conference proceedings, essay collections, festschriften.) Full texts of  1958-2007 available online via PERSEE.  There will be overlap in content between this and International Medieval Bibliography (see the Index to Articles section of this research guide, but the latter is just an index to material, whereas the Cahiers... has some articles and a great many book reviews in each issue.

Quest of the Holy Grail, from the Old French Lancelot-Grail Cycle.  Translated and edited by Judith Shoaf.  Main PQ 1475 .A31 2018

The Old French Lancelot-Graal is an important but massive work, providing a place for King Arthur not only in the history of Britain but also in Christian history. This new translation of one section, the Quest of the Holy Grail, will be a flexible addition to courses on medieval literature or romance. The notes and guides are designed to help readers enjoy the text while appreciating its relationship to social and literary history. Appendices include translations of material from two of Chrétien de Troyes's romances (Perceval and Yvain); translations from other parts of the Lancelot-Grail Cycle (the early history of the Grail and the conception of Galahad); and excerpts from apocryphal works (from French versions written at about the same time as the Quest). -- Publisher's website.