Arthurian romances vs Historia regum Britanniae: Which Should You Read?

Arthurian romances Chrétien de Troyes · 1913 ★★★★☆ 3.7 377 pages · ≈ 6 h 59 m · Challenging

Offers modern translations of the medieval French poems about the Knights of the Round Table, including "Erec and Enide," "Lancelot," and "Perceval," and briefly discusses Chretien's life and writing style.

Historia regum Britanniae Geoffrey of Monmouth, Bishop of St. Asaph · 1585 ★★★★☆ 3.8 288 pages · ≈ 5 h 20 m · Demanding

Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia regum Britanniae is a sweeping Latin prose chronicle that fashions Britain's past from its Trojan founder Brutus to the seventh-century decline of native rule. Blending annalistic…