They found a naked child upon the sands
Of dark Dundagil by the Cornish sea;
And that was Arthur; and they foster'd him
Till he by miracles was approven King.
Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale (1871-1945) created this illustration for Tennyson's long poem Idylls of the King, published in 1913. It was written as allegory of social conflict in Victorian Britain. The twelve stories retell the legend of King Arthur and his tragic love for Guinevere. The mythical Arthur tried and failed to create a perfect kingdom.
I don't know who has the attention span to read Victorian poetry these days, but if you click *here* the link will take you to the original book Idylls of the King including the beautiful illustrations of the knights and ladies. Clicking on the arrow in the bottom right corner of the "page" lets you thumb through and read in a natural way. Very slick, not to mention free and public domain.
Open Library is part of the Internet Archive, a nonprofit digital library with the grand mission of "universal access to all knowledge." The goal of their Open Library project is to create one web page for every book ever published, and they claim to have 20 million books already digitized.
Illustration for Enid
Yniol's rusted arms
were on his princely person, but thro' these
Princelike his bearing shone.
Yniol's rusted arms
were on his princely person, but thro' these
Princelike his bearing shone.
Illustration for Vivien
O master do you love my tender rhyme?
O master do you love my tender rhyme?
Illustration for Enid
They rode so slowly and they look'd so pale.
They rode so slowly and they look'd so pale.
Illustration for Elaine
Elaine
Illustration for Guinevere
It was their last hour,
A madness of farewells.
Illustration for Guinevere
The sombre close of that voluptuous day
Which wrought the ruin of my lord the King.
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