The Inklings and King Arthur: J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, C.S. Lewis, and Owen Barfield on the Matter of Britain - Paperback

The Inklings and King Arthur: A Scholarly Examination of Arthurian Literature

This rigorous academic volume examines how the Oxford Inklings—J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Owen Barfield—engaged with Arthurian legend during war-torn Britain. Despite numerous studies of the Inklings, this is the first comprehensive analysis of their substantial body of Arthurian work.

Comprehensive Analysis of Arthurian Themes

Each of these major writers explored critical questions through their interpretations of King Arthur and the Quest for the Holy Grail. This scholarly work examines how they addressed themes of government, gender, violence, imperialism, secularism, and spirituality through the Matter of Britain. The volume demonstrates how these authors found in Arthurian legends not merely escapism, but a framework for exploring moral and spiritual questions of pressing contemporary relevance.

Academic Rigor and Original Research

Published by Apocryphile Press in December 2017, this sophisticated volume fills a significant gap in Inklings scholarship. Edited by Sørina Higgins, the collection features contributions from leading scholars examining previously overlooked connections between the Inklings and Arthurian tradition. Michael Ward, Fellow of Blackfriats Hall at the University of Oxford and co-editor of C.S. Lewis at Poets' Corner, notes that this "serious and substantial volume addresses a complex subject that scholars have for too long overlooked."

Essential for Medieval and Fantasy Literature Studies

Aren Roukema of Birkbeck, University of London describes the volume as following "Arthurian leylines in geographies of myth, history, gender, and culture, uncovering Inklings lodestones and way markers throughout." This makes it essential reading for students and scholars of the Inklings, Medieval studies, Arthurian literature, and fantasy criticism.

Contextual Significance

The book illuminates how King Arthur returned in the writings of the Oxford Inklings during World War II, bringing hope to their times through literary engagement with Britain's legendary past. The contributors demonstrate the enduring relevance of the Inklings' Arthurian interpretations for contemporary readers grappling with similar moral and cultural questions.

This paperback edition represents a must-have resource for university libraries, researchers in British literature, and serious students of twentieth-century literary criticism and medieval reception studies.