The Lost Art of Chivalry gathers twenty romances that reimagine the medieval world as a theater of quest, fidelity, dynastic conflict, spiritual testing, and courtly desire. Moving from Arthurian legend and Grail lore to Crusading adventure, historical pageantry, and Gothic enchantment, the volume displays an unusually broad range of narrative modes: archaic romance, Victorian historical fiction, moral tale, satire, and fantasy. Its standout materials include foundational chivalric traditions alongside later imaginative revivals, showing how knighthood has repeatedly been reshaped for new audiences. The collection unites medieval inheritance with nineteenth- and early twentieth-century literary culture. Writers associated with Romantic medievalism, the historical novel, religious fiction, women's popular romance, and Arthurian scholarship encounter figures such as Wolfram von Eschenbach and Sir Thomas Malory, whose works helped define European ideals of courtliness and adventure. Across these varied backgrounds, chivalry becomes neither a fixed code nor a mere antiquarian ornament, but a language for examining honor, gender, nation, faith, and power. Recommended for students, enthusiasts of Arthurian and medievalist literature, and general readers alike, this anthology offers a rich comparative archive in a single volume. Its diverse voices invite readers to trace continuities and disputes across centuries, while its mixture of romance, reflection, and adventure makes the cultural afterlife of chivalry both accessible and intellectually rewarding.
