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SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT, PEARL, and SIR ORFEO are masterpieces of a remote and exotic age--the age of chivalry and wizards, knights and holy quests. Yet it is only in the unique artistry and imagination of J.R.R. Tolken that the language, romance, and power of these great stories comes to life for modern readers, in this masterful and compelling new translation. Read more

Collecting the most incisive and influential writings of one of Rome's finest orators, Cicero's Selected Works is translated with an introduction by Michael Grant in Penguin Classics.Lawyer, philosopher, statesman and defender of Rome's Republic, Cicero was a master of eloquence, and his pure literary and oratorical style and strict sense of morality have been a powerful influence on European literature and thought for over two thousand years in matters of politics, philosophy, and faith. This selection demonstrates the diversity of his writings, and includes letters to friends and statesmen on Roman life and politics; the vitriolic Second Philippic Against Antony; and his two most famous philosophical treatises, On Duties and On Old Age - a celebration of his own declining years. Written at a time of brutal political and social change, Cicero's lucid ethical writings formed the foundation of the Western liberal tradition in political and moral thought that continues to this day.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators. Read more

An entertaining tour of Old English words for animals, from the author of The Wordhord: Daily Life in Old English, which Neil Gaiman called “a marvelous book”Many of the animals we encounter in everyday life, from pets and farm animals to the wild creatures of field and forest, have remained the same since medieval times. But the words used to name and describe them have often changed beyond recognition, starting with the Old English word for “animal” itself, deor (pronounced DAY-or). In The Deorhord, Hana Videen presents a glittering Old English bestiary of animals real and imaginary, big and small, ordinary and extraordinary—the good, the bad, and the downright baffling.From gange-wæfran or walker-weavers (spiders) and hasu-padan or grey-cloaked ones (eagles) to heafdu swelce mona or moon-heads (historians still don’t know!), The Deorhord introduces a world both familiar and strange: where ants could be monsters and panthers could be your friends, where dog-headed men were as real as elephants, and where whales were as sneaky as wolves. The curious stories behind these words provide vivid insights into the language, literature, and lives of those who spoke Old English—the language of Beowulf—more than a thousand years ago.A delightful journey through the weird and wonderful world of Old English, The Deorhord is a magical menagerie of new creatures and new words for the modern englisc reader to discover. Read more

'She sees, coming up a second time,Earth from the ocean, eternally green;the waterfalls plunge, an eagle soars above them,over the mountain hunting fish.'After the terrible conflagration of Ragnarok, the earth rises serenely again from the ocean, and life is renewed. The Poetic Edda begins with The Seeress's Prophecy which recounts the creation of the world, and looks forward to its destruction and rebirth. In this great collection of Norse-Icelandic mythological and heroic poetry, the exploits of gods and humans are related. The one-eyed Odin, red-bearded Thor, Loki the trickster, the lovely goddesses and the giants who are their enemies walk beside the heroic Helgi, Sigurd the Dragon-Slayer, Brynhild the shield-maiden, and the implacable Gudrun. New in this revised translation are the quest-poem The Lay of Svipdag and The Waking of Angantyr, in which a girl faces down her dead father to retrieve his sword.Comic, tragic, instructive, grandiose, witty and profound, the poems of the Edda have influenced artists from Wagner to Tolkien and a new generation of video-game and film makers.ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more. Read more

Nicaea, 1097. Daniel has gone from a petty thief living in the shadows of Constantinople to a budding squire serving the gruff Sir Hendry. He’s earned his place among the crusaders, proving himself capable during the capture of the impenetrable city, but he is still a meager player in a massive army of princes and lords.The crusaders have scored the first victory in their quest for Jerusalem, but the holy city still lays thousands of miles away. And though the Saracens have been beaten, they are not defeated. Their horde of mounted archers gathers in the shadows, waiting for the right chance to strike.See the praise for Storm of War:“Once in a while, you come across a book that reminds you of the feeling of exhilarationyou had when you fell in love with reading fiction. Storm of War, with its brilliant combination of a historical theme and vivid description of battle scenes, is a great example of this.” - San Francisco Book Review, 5/5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐"Saye’s strengths lie in the incredible attention to detail. Be it the clothing, the food, the weapons, the care for the horses, the flowing descriptions of the landscape surrounding us – it’s all there. It’s one of the things that made me fall in love with George R.R. Martin’s writing ages ago, and it’s had the exact same effect on me here. It creates a very vivid world that sucks you in with ease. I also thoroughly enjoyed the character development of not just Daniel, but those around him. This story isn’t just an A to B trip to retake the Holy Land – it’s about who Daniel is, about his change and who he becomes." - Trey Stone, Author of The Consequence of Loyalty, 5/5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“Not only is it well written with great characters and excellent descriptive scenes of life as a crusader, but it is also so well-researched that I felt by the end that I had taken a history course on the crusades. This is definitely a book worth reading - one that both entertains and educates.” - Amy Rodriguez, Reedsy Discovery, 4/5⭐⭐⭐⭐ Read more

Fragments of wisdom from the ancient worldIn the sixth century b.c.-twenty-five hundred years before Einstein--Heraclitus of Ephesus declared that energy is the essence of matter, that everything becomes energy in flux, in relativity. His great book, On Nature, the world's first coherent philosophical treatise and touchstone for Plato, Aristotle, and Marcus Aurelius, has long been lost to history--but its surviving fragments have for thousands of years tantalized our greatest thinkers, from Montaigne to Nietzsche, Heidegger to Jung. Now, acclaimed poet Brooks Haxton presents a powerful free-verse translation of all 130 surviving fragments of the teachings of Heraclitus, with the ancient Greek originals beautifully reproduced en face.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators. Read more

Seamus Heaney's best-selling ?Beowulf? is now wedded to more than one hundred glorious images. Composed toward the end of the first millennium, Beowulf ?is the elegiac narrative of the Scandinavian hero who saves the Danes from the seemingly invincible monster Grendel and, later, from Grendel's mother. Drawn to what he has called the "four-squareness of the utterance" in ?Beowulf ?and its immense emotional credibility Seamus Heaney gives the great epic convincing reality But how to visualize the poet's story has always been a challenge for modern-day readers. In Beowulf: An Illustrated Edition, John D. Niles, a specialist in Old English literature, provides visual counterparts to Heaney's remarkable translation. More than one hundred full-page illustrations―Viking warships, chain mail, lyres, spearheads, even a reconstruction of the Great Hall―make visible Beowulf's world and the elemental themes of his story: death, divine power, horror, heroism, disgrace, devotion, and fame. This mysterious world is now transformed into one of material splendor as readers view its elegant goblets, dragon images, and finely crafted gold jewelry against the backdrop of the Danish landscape of its origins. 80 color and 41 black-and-white illustrations Read more

An entertaining and illuminating collection of weird, wonderful, and downright baffling words from the origins of English―and what they reveal about the lives of the earliest English speakersOld English is the language you think you know until you actually hear or see it. Unlike Shakespearean English or even Chaucer’s Middle English, Old English―the language of Beowulf―defies comprehension by untrained modern readers. Used throughout much of Britain more than a thousand years ago, it is rich with words that haven’t changed (like word), others that are unrecognizable (such as neorxnawang, or paradise), and some that are mystifying even in translation (gafol-fisc, or tax-fish). In this delightful book, Hana Videen gathers a glorious trove of these gems and uses them to illuminate the lives of the earliest English speakers. We discover a world where choking on a bit of bread might prove your guilt, where fiend-ship was as likely as friendship, and where you might grow up to be a laughter-smith.The Wordhord takes readers on a journey through Old English words and customs related to practical daily activities (eating, drinking, learning, working); relationships and entertainment; health and the body, mind, and soul; the natural world (animals, plants, and weather); locations and travel (the source of some of the most evocative words in Old English); mortality, religion, and fate; and the imagination and storytelling. Each chapter ends with its own “wordhord”―a list of its Old English terms, with definitions and pronunciations.Entertaining and enlightening, The Wordhord reveals the magical roots of the language you’re reading right now: you’ll never look at―or speak―English in the same way again. Read more

Widely adopted for classroom use, this book offers translations of four major works of ancient Greek literature which treat the life and thought of Socrates, focusing particularly on his trial and defense (three dialogues by Plato: Euthyphro, Apology of Socrates, and Crito) and on the charges against Socrates (Aristophanes' comedy Clouds).This is the only collection of the three Platonic dialogues that also includes Clouds, a work that is fundamental for understanding the thought of Socrates in relation to the Athenian political community and to Greek poetry. Thomas G. West's introduction provides an overview of the principal themes and arguments of the four works. There are extensive explanatory notes to the translations.In their translations, the Wests capture successfully the simplicity and vigor of straightforward Greek diction. They strive for as high a degree of accuracy as possible, subordinating concerns for elegance and smoothness to the goal of producing the most faithful and most reliable English versions of these texts.For this new edition, Thomas West has revised the introduction and updated the annotated bibliography, which includes the best of the secondary literature on Socrates and on the texts included in this book. Read more

Accused of being a demon by those who could not tolerate her independence, Eleanor of Aquitaine made her mark as one of the most dynamic and extraordinary figures of the Middle Ages. Born in 1122, Eleanor refused to be confined by the traditional gender roles of her time. She became well educated, gaining political and governing know-how from her father, William X, duke of Aquitaine, and armed herself with the skills necessary to become an influential queen-first of France, and later, England. With an impact that reached beyond politics, Eleanor shaped the future of the arts and humanities. And in a time when women were viewed as inferior to men, the virtues of chivalry and courtly love were born. Once described by a contemporary as "a woman beyond compare," Eleanor of Aquitaine is a figure who will remain controversial, powerful, and enchanting in the twenty-first century. Read more

“Viking Language 1 - Learn Old Norse, Runes, and Icelandic Sagas” 2nd upgraded edition. Everything necessary to learn or teach Old Norse, runes, and sagas. Graded lessons, saga readings, runic inscriptions, grammar exercises, pronunciation, maps, history sections, student grammar guide, and vocabulary teach Old Norse, Vikings, Iceland, old Scandinavia, myth and legends. --- Download FREE ANSWER KEY www.vikinglanguage.com -- Now available, two audio MP3 download OLD NORSE PRONUNCIATION ALBUMS ”VIKING LANGUAGE 1: AUDIO LESSONS 1-8: (Pronounce Old Norse, Runes, and Icelandic Sagas)” and Audio Lessons 9-15." Search “Viking Language audio lessons” under Amazon “all departments” and “MP3 music.” Also Itunes and CDbaby. -- VISIT www.vikinglanguage.com and oldnorse.org for information on “Viking Language Series” and sample audio readings -- Now available, “Viking Language 2: The Old Norse Reader” with complete sagas, poems of Scandinavian gods, heroes, Old Norse runes, and vocabulary. Read more

To be fully educated, it is necessary to read the great pagan classics of Homer and Virgil and the ancient Greek playwrights. However, many Christians are often disgusted by the barbarity and violence, put off by the emphasis on honor and man-centered glory, and simply baffled by the long and tedious descriptions of battle scenes and elaborate ceremonies. In this book written for high school students, Leithart gives a patient, yet critical examination of some of the greatest classics of ancient literature, including Hesiod's Theogony, Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Aechylus' Eumenides, Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus, Euripdes' The Bacchae, Aristophanes' The Birds, and Virgil's Aeneid. While Leithart expounds the deep and interesting symbolism, tropes, and deeper meanings of these classics, he never forgets the theological themes. The pagans were very concerned with salvation, but it was a salvation that depended above all on man, and thus there was a gaping hole that only the gospel could really fill. This book is perfect for high school students and includes numerous review and discussion questions for curricular use. Read more

"The beauty and levity that Perry and Gabriele have captured in this book are what I think will help it to become a standard text for general audiences for years to come….The Bright Ages is a rare thing—a nuanced historical work that almost anyone can enjoy reading.”—Slate"Incandescent and ultimately intoxicating." —The Boston GlobeA lively and magisterial popular history that refutes common misperceptions of the European Middle Ages, showing the beauty and communion that flourished alongside the dark brutality—a brilliant reflection of humanity itself.The word “medieval” conjures images of the “Dark Ages”—centuries of ignorance, superstition, stasis, savagery, and poor hygiene. But the myth of darkness obscures the truth; this was a remarkable period in human history. The Bright Ages recasts the European Middle Ages for what it was, capturing this 1,000-year era in all its complexity and fundamental humanity, bringing to light both its beauty and its horrors. The Bright Ages takes us through ten centuries and crisscrosses Europe and the Mediterranean, Asia and Africa, revisiting familiar people and events with new light cast upon them. We look with fresh eyes on the Fall of Rome, Charlemagne, the Vikings, the Crusades, and the Black Death, but also to the multi-religious experience of Iberia, the rise of Byzantium, and the genius of Hildegard and the power of queens. We begin under a blanket of golden stars constructed by an empress with Germanic, Roman, Spanish, Byzantine, and Christian bloodlines and end nearly 1,000 years later with the poet Dante—inspired by that same twinkling celestial canopy—writing an epic saga of heaven and hell that endures as a masterpiece of literature today.  The Bright Ages reminds us just how permeable our manmade borders have always been and of what possible worlds the past has always made available to us. The Middle Ages may have been a world “lit only by fire” but it was one whose torches illuminated the magnificent rose windows of cathedrals, even as they stoked the pyres of accused heretics.  The Bright Ages contains an 8-page color insert. Read more

The opening lines of The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri launched Rod Dreher on a journey that rescued him from exile and saved his life. Dreher found that the medieval poem offered him a surprisingly practical way of solving modern problems.Following the death of his little sister and the publication of his New York Times bestselling memoir The Little Way of Ruthie Leming, Dreher found himself living in the small community of Starhill, Louisiana where he grew up. But instead of the fellowship he hoped to find, he discovered that fault lines within his family had deepened. Dreher spiraled into depression and a stress-related autoimmune disease. Doctors told Dreher that if he didn’t find inner peace, he would destroy his health. Soon after, he came across The Divine Comedy in a bookstore and was enchanted by its first lines, which seemed to describe his own condition. In the months that followed, Dante helped Dreher understand the mistakes and mistaken beliefs that had torn him down and showed him that he had the power to change his life. Dreher knows firsthand the solace and strength that can be found in Dante’s great work, and distills its wisdom for those who are lost in the dark wood of depression, struggling with failure (or success), wrestling with a crisis of faith, alienated from their families or communities, or otherwise enduring the sense of exile that is the human condition. Inspiring, revelatory, and packed with penetrating spiritual, moral, and psychological insights, How Dante Can Save Your Life is a book for people, both religious and secular, who find themselves searching for meaning and healing. Dante told his patron that he wrote his poem to bring readers from misery to happiness. It worked for Rod Dreher. Dante saved Rod Dreher’s life—and in this book, Dreher shows you how Dante can save yours. Read more

A SUNDAY TIMES HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR'A triumph' Guardian'Glorious ... makes the past at once familiar, exotic and thrilling.' Dominic Sandbrook'A brilliant book' Mail on SundayJust like us, medieval men and women worried about growing old, got blisters and indigestion, fell in love and had children. And yet their lives were full of miraculous and richly metaphorical experiences radically different to our own, unfolding in a world where deadly wounds might be healed overnight by divine intervention, or the heart of a king, plucked from his corpse, could be held aloft as a powerful symbol of political rule.In this richly-illustrated and unusual history, Jack Hartnell uncovers the fascinating ways in which people thought about, explored and experienced their physical selves in the Middle Ages, from Constantinople to Cairo and Canterbury. Unfolding like a medieval pageant, and filled with saints, soldiers, caliphs, queens, monks and monstrous beasts, it throws light on the medieval body from head to toe - revealing the surprisingly sophisticated medical knowledge of the time in the process.Bringing together medicine, art, music, politics, philosophy and social history, there is no better guide to what life was really like for the men and women who lived and died in the Middle Ages.Medieval Bodies is published in association with Wellcome Collection. Read more

Las anotaciones autobiográficas, las reflexiones y sentencias que Marco Aurelio fue escribiendo para sí mismo, durante sus últimos años de vida, componen un texto singular en la literatura antigua. Ningún otro gran personaje del mundo antiguo nos ha legado un testimonio personal tan sincero, tan hondo y tan patéticamente filosófico. Marco Aurelio tuvo que vestir la púrpura y la coraza del guerrero al frente de un inmenso y amenazado imperio. Sin ilusionarse con una República como la de Platón, intentó portarse siempre como un filósofo estoico y un digno romano. Y lo consiguió. Este extraño diario recoge sus pensamientos en las noches de vigilia, sus vacilaciones, sus recuerdos agradecidos, los consejos repetidos a sí mismo, sus máximas y su desesperanza. Con todo ello, consiguió una de las obras más perfectas sobre lo que debe ser un buen gobierno. Publicado originalmente en la BCG con el número 5, este volumen presenta la versión de las Meditaciones de Marco Aurelio (firmada por Ramón Bach Pellicer). La introducción original ha sido revisada y corregida por su autor, Carlos García Gual (Real Academia Española), quien ha ampliado y actualizado la introducción original. Read more