Preface

Kevin J. Harty has a long and distinguished record of highly respected publications in a number of areas. His books on business writing have long been standard texts in the field; his Strategies for Business and Technical Writing, first published in 1980, is still (many editions later) widely used today. But his expertise is multi-faceted, and it is in literary and film studies that he has made his most significant contributions. His essays on Chaucer and on adaptations of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales after the Middle Ages are of great scholarly interest and importance, as are his essays on the Chester Mystery Cycle. Kevin's 1993 Casebook on that cycle remains a seminal text for those interested in medieval drama. Given his extensive knowledge of the history of drama, it is not surprising that he was the obvious choice to be the literary advisor to Films for the Humanities, a well-known and widely distributed resource, when they created their series on The History of World Drama.

But it is his work in another field—Arthurian Studies—that is unparalleled. In 1991, when Kevin edited a collection of essays on films based on the Arthurian legends, he was a true pioneer. It was almost unheard of to consider these films as a group with interconnections and with significant cultural insights to offer, but he recognized what scores of medieval scholars and film historians had failed to see. He coined the phrase 'cinema Arthuriana' for these films and—in his many lectures, articles, and books on the subject—essentially created a new field of scholarly inquiry. All the while, he has been incredibly generous to those who have followed in his footsteps, sharing with them his expertise and resources.

A simple recitation of Kevin's publications, however, does not do justice to their impact, especially on an entire generation of academics, scholars, and students. It is difficult to overemphasize just how influential his scholarly vision has been on the development of Arthurian scholarship. Over the past two decades, through his writing, editing, and lecturing, Kevin has continued his pioneering research and expanded the field of Arthurian cinema even further. He never ceases to amaze his colleagues with his ongoing discoveries of little-known or neglected Arthurian films. A testament to his standing among Arthurian scholars is his election to a three-year term as president of the North American Branch of the International Arthurian Society, and his position as Associate Editor and board member of Arthuriana, the leading journal in Arthurian studies.

Kevin has also broadened his interests to include all films with medieval themes. His landmark study The Reel Middle Ages, one of those classic and groundbreaking books that provide the research on which others build, is a comprehensive survey of virtually all films in all languages that deal with the Middle Ages, on such topics as the Crusades, the Black Death, the Vikings, Joan of Arc, Alfred the Great, Charlemagne, Beowulf, Robin Hood, King Arthur, and others. His scholarship brought many of these often overlooked films to the attention of those working in medieval studies and medievalism. Obviously the result of years of diligent and meticulous research in film archives in various countries, The Reel Middle Ages is precisely the kind of creative, far-sighted, interdisciplinary scholarship that inspires generalists, students, and other scholars.

Kevin has never rested on his laurels: he continues to build on his vast knowledge of cinema based on medieval themes. Vikings in Film, a book that he recently edited, grew out of his research for The Reel Middle Ages and has in turn opened up new areas for scholarly discourse. He is also currently at work on a volume about Robin Hood and Joan of Arc in film that will certainly have the same long-term impact. Kevin has been—and obviously will continue to be—not just a productive and prolific scholar, but one of the most respected experts in the field.

On a more personal note: we have contributed essays to some of his collections, just as he has to ours, and we have seen firsthand what high standards he has...