A text designed to provide a readable and accessible modern version of Layamon's medieval poem, this book supplies the original Anglo-Saxon text of the Arthurian section, based on that of the British Library manuscript, "Cotton Caligula A.ix" as edited by G.L.Brook and R.F.Leslie for the Early English Text Society. A parallel English translation has been included as an aid to understanding the poem's language and diction. In order to present a clear and concise text, the authors have omitted various types of brackets, the sign showing reduplication of letters (together with the reduplicated letter) and the scribal indication of mid-line caesura and end of verse line. They have also supplied modern punctuation and capitalization, and divided the text into paragraphs. The line numbering of the EETS edition has been retained to facilitate reference both to it and the studies based upon it. It is suitable for under and postgraduate courses in Middle English Romance and for English literature courses. It can be used as supplementary reading for courses in medieval literature, medieval history and historiography.
This is a different take on Arthurian legend, as the readers see a lot more of Arthur, and even Arthur fighting than in a lot of the tales about the Knights of the Round Table and King Arthur.
Another interesting thing is that there is the description of Merlin's birth as well as some of his prophecies.
Queen Guinevere is also depicted quite differently in this than in other stories I have read.
