Taliessin through Logres, The Region of the Summer Stars, and Arthurian Torso (1938)

by Charles Williams

Other authors: C. S. Lewis, Walter Stansby

Other authors: See the other authors section.

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Arthurian torso contains the posthumous fragment of Williams' The figure of Arthur and a commentary on his Arthurian poems by C. S. Lewis. Reprint of 3 separate works first published 1938, 1944, and 1948, respectively, by Oxford University Press, New York. Includes bibliographical references.… (more)

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Charles Williams was a difficult poet, and his Arthurian Works are no exception. But they are also enchanting to me, and a very illuminating when considering the effect of the Arthurian Corpus upon the world of the Inklings, JRR Tolkien's peer group. This work since it includes the addition of the C.S. Lewis essay, should be in most libraries. (

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DinadansFriend | Oct 12, 2015 |

This, for me at least, is difficult poetry. Without the accompanying explication penned by C. S. Lewis I would have been pretty lost. Having said that, I think these volumes of poetry are amazing, and may be the greatest poetic version of the Matter of Britain from the 20th century (I'd argue that Clemence Housman's _The Life of Sir Aglovale de Galis_ is the greatest prose version of that century). Williams, ironically best known as the least famous of the "big three" of the Inklings (the other two being J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis), is more well-known for his 'theological thrillers' and life as a somewhat strange Christian guru, but I think his most important literary work was done in these poems. Following the rise and fall of Arthur's kingdom, as penned by the bard Taliessin, we see Williams commenting not only on the mythical king's realm, but on issues as wide ranging as politics, economics, morality and, of course, theology.

I am nowwhere near expert enough to go into any great detail here, especially since it's been several years since I last read these poems, but I would strongly urge anyone with an interest in either the Arthurian myths or the body of work of the Inklings to give this volume a try. It has the potential to be a real eye-opener. (

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dulac3 | Apr 2, 2013 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Charles Williams	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Lewis, C. S.	—	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Stansby, Walter	—	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Dodds, David Llewellyn	Editor	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Shideler, Mary McDermott	Introduction	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

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Contains

Taliessin Through Logres by Charles Williams

The Region of the Summer Stars by Charles Williams

Arthurian Torso by Charles Williams

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Original publication date

1938

People/Characters

Taliesin (Taliessin)

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Epigraph

Unde est, quod non operatio propria propter essentiam, sed haec propter illam habet ut sit.

De Monarchia, I, iii.

Dedication

For Humphrey Milford under whom we observed an appearance of Byzantium.

First words

Prelude
I
Recalcitrant tribes heard;
orthodox wisdom sprang in Caucasia and Thule;
the glory of the Emperor stretched to the ends of the world.

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Arthurian torso contains the posthumous fragment of Williams' The figure of Arthur and a commentary on his Arthurian poems by C. S. Lewis. Reprint of 3 separate works first published 1938, 1944, and 1948, respectively, by Oxford University Press, New York. Includes bibliographical references.

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