The Life of Sir Aglovale de Galis

Rating:
Summary: A Notable Reissue Of Arthurian Legend
Review: Written in 1905 by Clemence Houseman, the sister of poet A.E. Houseman and playwright Lawrence Houseman, this is the tale of one of Arthur's lesser knights, the elder son of King Pellinore, who appears but briefly in Mallory's "Morte D'Arthur." In Houseman's story a seriously flawed character, the author uses Aglovale to portray the psychologically darker side of the Round Table, the envy and at times murderous contention for acclaim and recognition that haunts Arthur's court. A tale of individual and social spiritual decay, it follows the struggle of Aglovale to discover redemption when his actions have already damned him, not only in the eyes of his peers, but more importantly in his own estimation as well.

This is not a work that will appeal to everyone. The author has intentionally mirrored the writing style of Mallory, whom in the text she acknowledges as "The Master." The archaic, and some might say unnecessarily dense, style of writing is bound to deter the casual reader, while at the same time delighting fans of Mallory, and the narrative reads as if a lost chapter of the latter author's work. Nonetheless, for anyone who has loved the Morte D'Arthur, as well as the scholar of Arthurian romance, this will be a valuable addition to the literature surrounding the legend, and a book not to be missed. The publisher, Green Knight, who is devoting itself to the publication of out of print "classics" in Arthurian romance, as well as contemporary works of fantasy based upon the legend, has done a great service in reissuing this long unavailble title.

Rating:
Summary: Malory would be proud
Review: _The Life of Sir Aglovale de Galis_ is one of those rare birds, an Arthurian fantasy that really works. Call me jaded, but it was
refreshing to read an Arthurian fantasy not rooted in the
pseudo-historical Celtic vein that is currently drowning the market. This is a book that unapologetically hearkens more to Malory than any other of the classic Arthurian tales. Her world is very much rooted in Malory's anachronistic feudal Arthurian court as opposed to a 'realistic' 6th century historical setting. Despite this she manages to evoke a startlingly realistic medieval world that never really existed.

It was written at the turn of the last century by Clemence Housman (sister of poet A.E. Housman) who also wrote the short story 'The Were-wolf'. This Arthurian tale details the life and (hard) times of one Sir Aglovale de Galis, a minor player mentioned only once or twice in Malory, most notable for the fact that his two more famous brothers were Sir Lamorak and Sir Percivale. Sir Aglovale, as is often the case for elder brothers saddled with more prominent younger siblings, has a tough go of it and ends up becoming something of an embarrassment to the court of Arthur and his family. This is as much due to the fact of Aglovale's unflinching morality and truthfulness as it is to the more egregious errors he makes along the way, since he is unwilling to turn a blind eye to the rot that lives at the core of the Arthurian dream. Housman manages to play a careful balancing act with this aspect of Camelot. She certainly isn't a starry-eyed dreamer portraying an Arthur who can do no wrong, but on the other hand she doesn't allow the ambiguity of Camelot to completely destroy the dream that it represents. Rather we see the fallible world of men overshadowing the greater ideals that were supposed to pave the way for a new golden age. Aglovale is, in this world, both the best and the worst that Camelot has to offer.

The tale itself is a series of vignettes that follow Aglovale through the trials of his life, from an early flowering in his youth (soon overshadowed by Lamorak), the bad choices made later in life, to the final tragic end he meets. Percival and Lamorak play major roles in the story, as do Lancelot and the Orkney brothers, each displaying a different aspect of the life of Camelot (purity and idealism, temporal success and fame, courtly intrigue and violence) and thus we get a fairly well-rounded view of the court despite the fact that Aglovale spends little time there himself. Housman's characters are not cardboard cut-outs and display a wide-range of emotion and action while at the same time embodying these various aspects of the world in which they live.

The story covers a wide range of thematic issues from jealousy and love, anger and violence to mercy and forgiveness, success and failure, truth and falsehood, and faith and despair through the vivid and complex characterizations that Housman achieves. The language is also excellent, a conscious mirroring of Malory's archaism, though it may drive off some modern readers not familiar or comfortable with such a style. In effect Housman has managed to take the best aspects of Malory (poetic prose, a
conscious immersion in a violent yet idealistic medieval world, an anachronistic creation of a medieval England that never was) and combine it with a more modern complexity and narrative focus to produce what may be the best Arthurian retelling of the 20th century in novel form. The story is a moving one that is an unflinching look at human life. Harsh truths are not ignored or explained away, but neither is idealism rejected as a fatuous dream. Housman has thus managed something that few enough of the Arthurian re-tellers have managed: she has remained true to the core ideals and questions that are brought up by the source material while managing to put her own thoughtful spin to the material. I highly recommend seeking out this book (newly reissued by Green Knight publishing) and giving it a try.