Arthur

Project GutenbergProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.8

Word count: 37K words
Chapters: 4

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Arthur by Frederick James FurnivallAuthor: ,Language: Middle English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Oct 10, 2005

Editor's review

This is a public-domain electronic text from Project Gutenberg, titled Arthur, edited by Frederick James Furnivall, with the text in Middle English and classified under PR (English literature). Its core value is not a complete, fluent modern reading edition but the preservation and presentation of early English texts in their original form, giving language and literature researchers and antiquarian enthusiasts direct access to primary material. Its strength is that electronic public-domain texts are easy to obtain, search, and cite, making it useful supplementary material for Middle English study, tracing Arthurian sources, or textual comparison. It is typically used for desk reference, course support, and digital humanities work rather than casual reading. Note that the language differs greatly from present-day English and the electronic edition lacks modern translation notes and introduction; readers should have some Old or Middle English background and use relevant reference works.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Students of Middle English or the history of English, for direct contact with primary texts
Arthurian literature researchers, for source tracing and textual comparison
Digital humanities enthusiasts, for searching and citing public-domain texts
Collectors of antiquarian electronic texts, for building personal corpora

Not a good fit for

General readers who want a modern English retelling of Arthurian stories
Beginners without Old English background who need line-by-line annotation
Casual readers seeking complete plots and fluent narrative

Reading tips

First read the editor's preface and conventions to clarify the text's source and editorial principles before entering the main text.
Use a Middle English dictionary and grammar reference, reading paragraph by paragraph, to avoid guessing from surface similarities.
Read alongside a modern English translation or works on the same subject to compare language and narrative differences.
Use the electronic text's search function to build word lists, recording high-frequency words and unusual spellings.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book suitable for absolute beginners to read directly?

Not really. The text is in Middle English, with spelling, grammar, and vocabulary markedly different from modern English; beginners will struggle. It is best to have basic knowledge of the history of English or Middle English and to use dictionaries and grammar references, treating it as source material rather than a storybook.

Does the electronic edition include modern notes or an introduction?

According to the information, this is a public-domain electronic text from Project Gutenberg, mainly presenting the original text and basic bibliographic information; it does not state that modern translation notes or a systematic introduction are included. Readers needing annotation should consult relevant scholarly editions or reference works alongside it.

How does this book differ from common Arthurian stories?

It is closer to the original text of early English literature than to a modern retelling for general readers. Its value lies in presenting the language and textual sources, suitable for research and comparison; for a complete Arthurian plot, choose a modern English translation or adaptation.

Comments

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About the author

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Project Gutenberg is not a single author but a nonprofit digital library founded by Michael Hart in 1971 and one of the world's earliest free ebook platforms. It relies on volunteers to digitize, proofread, and freely distribute public-domain works and is now operated by the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Its collection contains 2,692 works, mainly religious texts, epics, and story collections, including the King James Bible and the Douay-Rheims volumes, the epic Mahabharata, a literal translation of the Arabian Nights, and Danish editions of the Old and New Testaments. Public information is limited, and its nature is closer to a public-interest compiling and dissemination body; these texts are open to the public, easy to consult and circulate, and have had a profound influence on the spread of ebooks and the preservation of public-domain resources.