Queen of the Perilous Realm

The Queen of the Fair Folk’s LoverThe free-spending Sir Lanval is the most beloved knight at King Arthur’s court—at least as long as he keeps lavishing gifts upon his comrades. But though his generosity knows no limit, his wallet does. Ashamed to find himself broke, he flees to the woods in disgrace, where he meets the Queen of the Fair Folk. Admiring his boundless charity, she takes him for a lover and offers him unlimited treasure.But her love comes with a he must never speak of her to another mortal.With his newfound wealth, Sir Lanval attracts the eye of Queen Guinevere, who vows to take him as a lover. But when he rashly boasts that he already has a lover and she is more beautiful than Guinevere, he draws the queen’s wrath. Now to save himself, he must earn the forgiveness of the Fairy Queen.The legend of Sir Lanval dates back more than eight hundred years. Originally a song sung by Breton minstrels, it was first put to paper by Marie de France, who inspired the Middle English retellings Sir Landevale and Sir Launfal. This volume contains all three poems in modern English translations, along with modern renditions by James Russell Lowell, Edward Bulwer-Lytton and Thomas Evelyn Ellis, all accompanied by extensive introductions and annotations.