The Story of Sir Launcelot and His Companions: Another Quest Achieved

 

Today I got a copy of Howard Pyle’s “The Story of Sir Launcelot and His Companions” (Dover Reprint) in the mail; this completes my collection of Pyle’s four Arthurian books. As can be seen elsewhere in this blog, I already had “The Story of King Arthur and His Knights” (a hardback ex-library copy), “The Story of the Champions of the Round Table” (another Dover reprint), and “The Story of the Grail and the Passing of Arthur” (another hardback ex-library copy). “Launcelot” is the third volume in the series. Pyle re-told the stories in an old chronicle style but slightly modernized prose (to make it easier for his audience) and illustrated them himself.

I started reading Howard Pyle’s work back in middle school with the “King Arthur” book and I must admit that is the only volume in the series I’ve read all the way through. Although I have parsed through the other three at one time or another, they are mainly here for their splendid artwork, to keep their elder brother company, and to set my obsessive-compulsive impulses to rest. Pyle’s writing style (though his archaic diction is part of his charm) is still rather knotty, and complicated by an extra 118 years or so. If I were younger and more patient, reading them would probably be more compelling. But if the right mood strikes someday, I will have them on hand, and I could give them a try once more.