Jessie L. Weston (1850–1928)
Author of From Ritual to Romance
About the Author
Works by Jessie L. Weston
Guingamor Lanval Tyolet le Bisclaveret. Four Lais Rendered into English Prose from the French of Marie de France and Others. (1970) — Translator — 17 copies, 1 review
King Arthur and His Knights: A Survey of Arthurian Romance (Popular Studies in Mythology, Romance and Folklore, No. 4.) (1972) 14 copies, 1 review
The Volsunga Saga, Legends of the Wagner Trilogy and Old Norse Sagas Kindred to the Volsung and Niblung Tale (2018) 5 copies
The legend of Sir Lancelot du Lac; studies upon its origin, development, and position in the Arthurian romantic cycle (1972) 4 copies
The Legend Of Sir Perceval: Studies Upon Its Origin Development And Position In The Arthurian Cycle (1972) 3 copies
Tristan & Iseult 2 vols. 2 copies
The Legend Of Sir Perceval: Studies Upon Its Origin, Development, And Position In The Arthurian Cycle; Volume 1 (2013) 2 copies
The Legend of Sir Perceval, Vol. 2: Studies Upon Its Origin, Development, and Position, in the Arthurian Cycle (Classic Reprint) (2017) 2 copies
The House of the Wolf 1 copy
Romance of Morien 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Weston, Jessie Laidlay
- Birthdate
- 1850-12-29
- Date of death
- 1928-09-29
- Gender
- female
- Education
- Crystal Palace School of Art
- Occupations
- scholar
Arthurian scholar
Medieval Literature Scholar
translator
poet
folklorist - Short biography
- Jessie Laidlay Weston was the daughter of William Weston, a tea merchant, and his second wife Sarah Burton. She was named after her father's first wife, Jessica Laidlay. She studied in Hildesheim, Germany, and in Paris with French writer Gaston Paris, and at the Crystal Palace School of Art. She and two of her siblings set up house together in Bournemouth, where Jessie began her writing career. One of her first published works was a lengthy narrative poem called "The Rose-Tree of Hildesheim" (1896). Her best-known book was From Ritual to Romance (1920), an analysis of the roots of the Holy Grail legend. Her translations of numerous medieval romances are still used today.
- Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- Clapham, Surrey, England, UK
- Places of residence
- Bournemouth, Dorset, England, UK
Hildesheim, Germany
Paris, France - Associated Place (for map)
- UK
Members
Reviews
Sir Gawain and the Lady of Lys: No.7 (Arthurian Romances "Unrepresented in Malory's Morte d'Arthur") by Wauchier de Denain
I'd hoped to like this more than I did as Gawain is one of my favourite knights and was treated quite badly by the later romancers, including Malory. Here I hoped to find a more sympathetic portrayal, which I did, but stylistically and narratively, I wasn't gripped.
Likes: Gawain is the epitome of chivalrous conduct (despitebedding the Lady of Lys out of wedlock, though this is something of a Romance trope ). Gawain has his waxing/waning strength in tune with the position of the sun. There show more are some interesting descriptions of courtly life and King Arthur's interactions with his knights.
Dislikes: Wauchier de Denain's insistence that everything was the best, most beautiful "whatever" in the world, but beyond his powers of description, or that the books from which he drew his story had much to say about "whatever" but he didn't want to bore his readers by copying down the description. Lazy!! I'm sure he must have left out a lot of connecting plot points and motivations, as these seemed generally lacking. I think I unconsciously filled in stuff from other Arthurian romances I've read.
So, all-in-all I wouldn't recommend this as an introduction to Arthurian literature, but if you've got some grounding in the cycle then there is actually much of interest, hence my 4-star review despite my carping. show less
Likes: Gawain is the epitome of chivalrous conduct (despite
Dislikes: Wauchier de Denain's insistence that everything was the best, most beautiful "whatever" in the world, but beyond his powers of description, or that the books from which he drew his story had much to say about "whatever" but he didn't want to bore his readers by copying down the description. Lazy!! I'm sure he must have left out a lot of connecting plot points and motivations, as these seemed generally lacking. I think I unconsciously filled in stuff from other Arthurian romances I've read.
So, all-in-all I wouldn't recommend this as an introduction to Arthurian literature, but if you've got some grounding in the cycle then there is actually much of interest, hence my 4-star review despite my carping. show less
I read this book because I wanted to understand better "The Waste Land," and to that extent at least the book was certainly successful. I have no idea how reliable the author's theories are--Segal's introduction was pretty useful in weighing the argument for both strengths and weaknesses. Also, the book had a pleasing amount of the conspiracy-ism that makes a lot of grail literature fairly exciting.
Guingamor, Lanval, Tyolet, Bisclaveret; four lais rendered into English prose from the French of Marie de France and others by Jessie L. Weston. With designs by Caroline Watts by de France Marie
Considered to be the first female French poet by scholars, Marie de France tells various romantic medieval stories related to King Arthur in this book. I read this collection specifically for Bisclaveret (the were-wolf). Though the idea of a werewolf goes back to ancient Greece, Marie de France is one of the earliest versions to be written (probably late 1100s). In this rendering, the werewolf is not a scary beast but a wronged knight. A neat and sympathetic version of a werewolf tale.
For show more the link to this book on Project Gutenberg, look here. show less
For show more the link to this book on Project Gutenberg, look here. show less
This book belongs on the bookshelf of anyone seriously interested in the evolution of religion. It is well-documented with plenty of footnotes. The book includes an index that any researcher could find useful.
Although well written, as some readers have commented on different reviews, the book uses a style of English that is no longer common on either side of the Atlantic. I imagine it was the norm when Jessie L. Weston (1850–1928) wrote this book (1920). I typed one of Weston’s long show more sentences (from page 62) in Grammarly.com. I selected “General Academic” as the style to correct. It received a score of 5 out of 100. Most likely, that would have been the standard for her time.
Other readers commented on Weston’s frequent use of Latin and French words without any translation. There is also German. For example, on page 114 there is a paragraph with 179 words in four sentences. Out of the 179 words, four are Latin or French words. Although most are recognizable to a monolingual readership, words such as “Manqué,” might require a dictionary. And let me not forget "gar keinem Verhältniss" (of all proportion). I would assume that when she wrote this book, many English-speaking book lovers could also read French and Latin, and possibly Ancient Greek and German, without much difficulty.
"In Indian cosmogony Manu finds a little fish in the water in which he would wash his hands; it asks, and received, his protection, asserting that when grown to full size it will save Manu from the universal deluge. This is Lhasa, the greatest of all fish.” (Pg. 126) Now, that story from the ancient Mahabharata, which Weston quotes, reminds me of more than one Bible story. Notwithstanding the limitations that Weston’s style may present to today’s audience, I would stress that this little book is a jewel for the serious researcher. show less
Although well written, as some readers have commented on different reviews, the book uses a style of English that is no longer common on either side of the Atlantic. I imagine it was the norm when Jessie L. Weston (1850–1928) wrote this book (1920). I typed one of Weston’s long show more sentences (from page 62) in Grammarly.com. I selected “General Academic” as the style to correct. It received a score of 5 out of 100. Most likely, that would have been the standard for her time.
Other readers commented on Weston’s frequent use of Latin and French words without any translation. There is also German. For example, on page 114 there is a paragraph with 179 words in four sentences. Out of the 179 words, four are Latin or French words. Although most are recognizable to a monolingual readership, words such as “Manqué,” might require a dictionary. And let me not forget "gar keinem Verhältniss" (of all proportion). I would assume that when she wrote this book, many English-speaking book lovers could also read French and Latin, and possibly Ancient Greek and German, without much difficulty.
"In Indian cosmogony Manu finds a little fish in the water in which he would wash his hands; it asks, and received, his protection, asserting that when grown to full size it will save Manu from the universal deluge. This is Lhasa, the greatest of all fish.” (Pg. 126) Now, that story from the ancient Mahabharata, which Weston quotes, reminds me of more than one Bible story. Notwithstanding the limitations that Weston’s style may present to today’s audience, I would stress that this little book is a jewel for the serious researcher. show less
Lists
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 28
- Also by
- 4
- Members
- 895
- Popularity
- #28,622
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 11
- ISBNs
- 100
- Languages
- 3