內容簡介
From the incredible wizadry of Merlin to the passion of Sir Lancelot, these tales of Arthur and his knights offer epic adventures with the supernatural as well as timeless battles with out own humanity.
作者簡介
Scholars have determined that there were at least six Thomas Malorys alive in the 1400s when Le Morte d'Arthur was written. Considerable evidence points to the likeliest author as one Sir Thomas Malory or Maleore of Newbold Revell in Warwickshire, who was born in the first quarter of the fifteenth century. A member of the gentry, he became a soldier in the service of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, with whom he fought in the siege of Calais in 1436. In records of the period he is accused of various crimes--including armed robbery, attempted murder, and rape--and he is said to have executed several dramatic escapes from prison.
Several things about Malory seem indisputable. As in Arthur's time when post-Roman Britain was in a state of fierce tribal war, he lived in an age of great unrest. Europe was still recovering from the Black Plague and a century of war. In England, two powerful families fought for the throne. Although he may have been a scoundrel, Malory was also, it seems clear, a man of ideals who believed in courage and loyalty, and who mourned the passing of chivalry. Incarcerated for long periods, he had many hours to fill his imagination with French romances and tales of chivalry, volumes of which were readily at hand. It is thought that Le Morte d'Arthur was written during his imprisonment.
Malory referred to himself as a 'knight-prisoner.' With a military man's passion for the details of conquest, a prisoner's sense of injustice, and a penitent's desire for redemption, he dedicated himself wholeheartedly to this retelling of the Arthurian legends. Sir Thomas Malory died, it is presumed, around 1471.
Robert Graves is considered to be one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. He wrote more than 100 books, including Goodbye to All That, I, Claudius, and The White Goddess. Scott Ashley is a lecturer in history at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Christopher Cannon, Fellow of Girton College and University Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of English, University of Cambridge
前言/序言
好的,以下是根據您的要求撰寫的一份圖書簡介,內容不涉及《Le Morte D'Arthur: King Arthur and the Legends of the Round Table 亞瑟王之死和圓桌騎士傳奇》這本書的具體內容,旨在詳細介紹其他主題的圖書。 --- 書名:《失落的伊甸園:中古煉金術與神秘學探秘》 作者: 艾莉絲·範德比爾特 頁數: 約 620 頁 齣版日期: 2023 年鞦季 簡介: 在人類文明的漫長曆史中,總有一些思想與實踐,如同隱秘的河流般流淌,影響著科學、哲學與藝術的發展。本書深入探究中世紀晚期至文藝復興早期,歐洲大陸上一股引人入勝的精神潮流——煉金術與神秘學。這並非是一部簡單的曆史編年史,而是一次對人類求知欲深層驅動力的細緻剖析,旨在揭示隱藏在鉛汞轉化與“賢者之石”傳說之下的,是怎樣一個復雜的知識體係與精神世界。 我們習慣於將煉金術視為對黃金的癡迷,或視為現代化學的原始雛形。然而,這種觀點極大地簡化瞭其內在的豐富性與復雜性。《失落的伊甸園》試圖超越這種狹隘的定義,將煉金術置於其所處的文化、宗教與哲學語境中進行考察。本書的核心論點在於:煉金術士們所追求的“大業”(Magnum Opus),遠不止於物質上的轉化,更是一場深刻的內在精神淨化與宇宙和諧的追尋之旅。 全書分為四個主要部分,邏輯遞進,層層深入。 第一部分:起源的迷霧與哲學的根基 本部分追溯瞭西方煉金術思想的源頭。我們首先考察瞭古希臘哲學,特彆是亞裏士多德的“四元素說”(土、氣、火、水)是如何被早期亞曆山大港的赫爾墨斯主義者所吸收和改造的。隨後,我們將目光投嚮伊斯蘭黃金時代,阿拉伯學者如賈比爾·本·哈揚(Geber)對實驗技術和理論框架的重大貢獻。書中詳盡分析瞭“物質的統一性”這一核心信念如何成為所有煉金實踐的理論基石——即萬物皆由同一基本物質構成,可以通過特定的媒介(如哲學之石)進行完善或轉化。我們審視瞭早期文本中常見的隱晦語言,如“硫磺-汞理論”,並試圖解讀這些看似神秘的符號背後所蘊含的對物質世界深層結構理解的嘗試。 第二部分:實踐的藝術與實驗室的秘密 這一部分將讀者帶入中世紀的作坊與隱秘的實驗室。範德比爾特博士憑藉對大量罕見手稿和實驗記錄的細緻研究,重構瞭煉金士們日常進行的操作流程。我們探討瞭從“焦枯”(Calcination)到“凝固”(Coagulation)的經典七步循環,並分析瞭諸如蒸餾、升華、溶解等關鍵技術的演變。然而,重點不在於復製這些實驗,而在於理解這些物質操作與象徵意義之間的雙嚮互動。例如,加熱與冷卻、氧化與還原,在煉金士的認知中,往往對應著靈魂與肉體的鬥爭,或善與惡的對抗。我們還特彆關注瞭印刷術普及後,煉金術知識傳播的擴散和規範化過程,以及早期印刷本中大量精美插圖的象徵意義。 第三部分:十字路口上的神秘學:宗教、占星與魔法 煉金術從未孤立存在,它是中世紀廣闊神秘學圖景的一部分。《失落的伊甸園》用大量篇幅論述瞭煉金術與同時期其他隱秘學問的交織。書中詳細分析瞭煉金術士如何整閤占星學——特彆是行星周期與金屬的對應關係(金對應太陽,銀對應月亮等)——來指導他們的實驗時間。更具爭議性的是,本書深入探討瞭煉金術與基督教神學的緊張而又復雜的對話。許多煉金士將“大業”視為一種對“創世之初的完美狀態”的迴歸,將提煉物質的過程視為對自身靈魂的救贖與上帝恩典的體驗。我們審視瞭那些試圖將赫爾墨斯思想與《聖經》文本強行調和的嘗試,以及由此引發的教會內部的爭論。 第四部分:從物質到精神的飛躍與啓濛的陰影 本書的最後部分聚焦於煉金術嚮現代科學轉型的臨界點。我們探討瞭像羅伯特·博伊爾(Robert Boyle)這樣的早期化學傢如何既批判性地繼承瞭煉金術的實驗方法,又徹底拋棄瞭其形而上學的框架。書中分析瞭煉金術從追求“永生藥劑”(Elixir of Life)和“賢者之石”的物質目標,逐漸轉嚮對更抽象的“內在轉化”和“心靈哲學”的探索。在這一過程中,煉金術士們的知識遺産是如何通過共濟會、玫瑰十字會等秘密社團得以延續的,並對後世的浪漫主義運動和深層心理學(如榮格的集體無意識理論)産生瞭難以磨滅的影響。 《失落的伊甸園》的獨特價值 本書的價值在於其跨學科的綜閤性。作者範德比爾特博士不僅精通中世紀拉丁文與希臘文文本的解讀,同時對化學史和哲學史有著深刻的洞察。她避免瞭將煉金術士描繪成迷信的傻瓜,而是將他們視為那個時代最勇敢的知識探索者——他們試圖用理性和經驗去理解宇宙的宏大奧秘,盡管他們的工具和語言充滿著詩意與象徵。閱讀本書,讀者將踏上一段穿越中世紀思想的史詩旅程,理解在科學與信仰的邊界地帶,人類心智如何構建齣最為宏偉、也最為隱秘的知識體係。這是一部獻給所有對曆史的幽暗角落、人類求知欲的終極極限感興趣的讀者的傑作。 ---