FANDOM NAME: Taliessin through Logres - Charles Williams WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: If you are looking for a numinous but also honestly somewhat wacko mashup of Arthuriana and Christian theology, look no farther. Charles Williams, the Inkling no one has heard of, wrote highly symbolic and theological poetry about King Arthur and his court in which Byzantium represents the City of God/Empire of God. It's beautiful and complex and with a lot of big ideas as to what the function of poetry and poets are, what the function and meaning of kingship is, how the building of the kingdom of God can be flawed from the beginning, how salvation occurs even within these flawed contours.
(from "The Crowning of Arthur") So, in Lancelot’s hand, she came through the glow, into the king’s mind, who stood to look on his city: the king made for the kingdom, or the kingdom made for the king? Thwart drove his current against the current of Merlin: in beleaguered Sophia they sang of the dolorous blow.
(from "Taliessin at Lancelot’s Mass") Over the altar, flame of anatomized fire, the High Prince stood, gyre in burning gyre; day level before him, night massed behind; the Table ascended; the glories intertwined.
In addition to all that, Williams is also just plain weird sometimes. For example, the Big Bad Evil, contrary to the Emperor and the City of God, is -- I am not making this up -- a headless octopus somewhere around the Pacific. There are also such great bits as a love poem to Bors' wife Elayne's thumbs. (It's a great love poem which I like a lot! But also Williams is obviously a bit weird! O lady, your hand held the bread and Christ the City spread in the extensor muscles of your thumbs.)
(My friend also tells me I have to put in this line: loomed the gruesome great buttocks of Augustus his love I swear he didn't mean it the way it sounds. Though, hm. But that ship may be for another time and a more historical fandom.)
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): It is out of copyright in Canada! Link to Taliessin through Logres poetry.. Additionally, The Arthurian Torso is an omnibus containing (a) Charles Williams' description of Arthuriana (honestly, you can skip this if you already know about medieval Arthurian texts) and (b) C.S. Lewis explaining the poetry. Part (b) is probably important to read at least parts of if you want to have any idea what's going on :) In fact it might actually make sense to read this first before reading the poetry.
Unfortunately The Region of the Summer Stars (the sequel) does not appear to be out of copyright yet, but most of the major poems are in Taliessin through Logres.
(My print copy of Arthurian Torso also has Taliessin through Logres and The Region of the Summer Stars, but the online version appears to have split it up.)
Taliessin through Logres - Charles Williams
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: If you are looking for a numinous but also honestly somewhat wacko mashup of Arthuriana and Christian theology, look no farther. Charles Williams, the Inkling no one has heard of, wrote highly symbolic and theological poetry about King Arthur and his court in which Byzantium represents the City of God/Empire of God. It's beautiful and complex and with a lot of big ideas as to what the function of poetry and poets are, what the function and meaning of kingship is, how the building of the kingdom of God can be flawed from the beginning, how salvation occurs even within these flawed contours.
(from "The Crowning of Arthur")
So, in Lancelot’s hand, she came through the glow,
into the king’s mind, who stood to look on his city:
the king made for the kingdom, or the kingdom made for the king?
Thwart drove his current against the current of Merlin:
in beleaguered Sophia they sang of the dolorous blow.
(from "Taliessin at Lancelot’s Mass")
Over the altar, flame of anatomized fire,
the High Prince stood, gyre in burning gyre;
day level before him, night massed behind;
the Table ascended; the glories intertwined.
In addition to all that, Williams is also just plain weird sometimes. For example, the Big Bad Evil, contrary to the Emperor and the City of God, is -- I am not making this up -- a headless octopus somewhere around the Pacific. There are also such great bits as a love poem to Bors' wife Elayne's thumbs. (It's a great love poem which I like a lot! But also Williams is obviously a bit weird!
O lady, your hand held the bread
and Christ the City spread in the extensor muscles of your thumbs.)
(My friend also tells me I have to put in this line:
loomed the gruesome great buttocks of Augustus his love
I swear he didn't mean it the way it sounds. Though, hm. But that ship may be for another time and a more historical fandom.)
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): It is out of copyright in Canada! Link to Taliessin through Logres poetry.. Additionally, The Arthurian Torso is an omnibus containing (a) Charles Williams' description of Arthuriana (honestly, you can skip this if you already know about medieval Arthurian texts) and (b) C.S. Lewis explaining the poetry. Part (b) is probably important to read at least parts of if you want to have any idea what's going on :) In fact it might actually make sense to read this first before reading the poetry.
Unfortunately The Region of the Summer Stars (the sequel) does not appear to be out of copyright yet, but most of the major poems are in Taliessin through Logres.
(My print copy of Arthurian Torso also has Taliessin through Logres and The Region of the Summer Stars, but the online version appears to have split it up.)