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154 Reviews Feminist and new-historicist criticism could do much with the suggestive close readings here offered. Perhaps the most fascinating close reading is in the essay 'The way to Dover: Arthurian imagery in King Lear'. This goes a long way towards making sense of Shakespeare's use of the Matter of Britain in this mysterious, quasiapocalyptic play. Guilfoyle mines Malory and other Arthurian texts to explicate many apparently random details of the play and shows convincingly that 'the ambience of Arthurian romance underlies the action in King Lear ... Shakespeare, having been at such pains to bewilder his audience as to its locality, finally brings his action to rest, with all its mysteries, on the firm ground of Dover with its ancient association with Arthur's return from France' (pp. 102, 104). Thus, finally, 'the subtextual image of Lear and the dead Cordelia is a prefiguration of what is to come in the legends of the Grail, since Joseph of Arimathia is the chief actor in the Deposition. The Quest is for redemption, the fulfilment if it is to come, through the symbol of the death and resunection of the king—quondam et futurus' (p. 107). Such a collocation of Christian and mythical imagery in the audience's subconscious minds might well begin to explain the peculiar power of this Renaissance drama. Guilfoyle's book is a consistently refreshing reminder of Shakespeare's, and his audience's, medievalism. Penny Gay Department of English University of Sydney Guillaume le Clerc, Fergus of Galloway, knight of King Arthur, translated with introduction and notes by D. D. R. O w e n (Everyman Library), London, J. M . Dent & Sons, 1991; paper; pp. xxii, 170; R.R.P. ? Emeritus Professor O w e n of St Andrews University is a distinguished medievalist with an enviable reputation as a scholar, editor, critic and translator. His renderings into English of the Chanson de Roland and of thefiveArthurian romances by Chretien de Troyes continue to bring the general public into contact with the literary creativity of the medieval world. Owen now presents a lesser known romance of Guillaume le Clerc concerning Fergus, whose exploits and adventures occur principally in Scotland. Thefirstappearance of the Old French text was, appropriately enough, under the auspices of the Abbotsford Club at Edinburgh in 1842. Owen has employed the 1983 Philadelphia edition by W . Frescoln, but he admits (p. xvii) that he has resorted occasionally to an earlier one by Ernst Martin 'or to variant readings from P where the sense seemed to require it'. The notes to the text inform the reader not only about toponymic changes since the thirteenth century but also about similar characters and parallel Reviews 155 situations in other Arthurian romances. A translation of passages from the first and second Perceval Continuations, travestied in fact by Guillaume, occupy an appendix. In another closing section Owen reviews afresh the identities of historical personages on w h o m Guillaume modelled characters. He opines that the poet most likely was William Malvoisin, a one-time royal clerc who became the diocesan successively in the sees of Glasgow and of St Andrews. As he translates, Owen eschews false archaisms such as 'thou', 'ye', 'doth', 'hath', along with frequent or abrupt tense changes 'such as would shock the modem ear' (p. xviii). The term of address or reference Dans, from dominus, is rendered by 'Sh*; for example, Dans Saigremors li Desrees (5398) is represented as 'Sh Sagremor the Impetuous'. Venerable toponyms give way to modem localities. Ingegal (5395) becomes 'Galway'. Carduel (661) becomes 'Carlisle' and Escoche (77) is identified as being 'Scotland north of the Firth'. Port la Rome (3937) becomes today's 'Queensferry'. The quality of the translation is exemplified in one short eight-line passage (954-61): Es vos le vallet herbergii En tel ostel, bien le sacies, U il serra bien ensaucies Et honneres ains qu'il s'en tor[t]. La mescine en la canbre cort, Si prent un molt rice mantiel, Si afubla le damoissel Quant elle Totfait desarmer... 'Here then is the young man lodged in quarters where, you may be sure, he will be shown much consideration and honour before he leaves. The girl runs...

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