Chivalry (1909) is a fascinating collection of tales that draw
inspiration from the popular chronicles of medieval Europe. Author James
Branch Cabell immerses his reader into this distant world, masking his
authorship in order to ensure a fluidity of form and content that
injects his work of high fantasy with a sense of truth.
Intentionally layered in mystery and claims of authenticity, Chivalry
purports to be a copy made by royal scribe Colard Mansion of the Dizain
of Queens, a collection of chronicles, tales, and histories written by
Messire Nicolas de Caen for the Princess Isabella of Portugal. In "The
Story of the Sestina," a traveling singer has a chance encounter with
the Queen of England, who recognizes him as the esteemed Osmund Heleigh
and requests of him a song. As he joins her on her journey through
war-torn countryside, two things become clear--the pair have a secret
history, and, as battle nears, Osmund will soon have to offer more than
his songs in her service. As the collection's title suggests, many of
Cabell's stories follow a similar theme: the relationship between men
and women within a system regulated by honor, responsibility, and often
blind loyalty. "The Story of the Tenson," set in Spain in 1265, follows
Ellinor of Castile's efforts to escape her marriage in the pursuit of
love. In "The Story of the Choices," Queen Ysabeau of England eases her
boredom by devising a series of trials for the knight Sir Gregory
Darrell. Over the course of ten tales, tales of danger, romance,
intrigue, and courage, James Branch Cabell's Chivalry broadens the
mystery of the medieval world while illuminating, and critiquing, our
own.
Cabell's work has long been described as escapist, his novels and
stories derided as fantastic and obsessive recreations of a world lost
long ago. To read Chivalry, however, is to understand that the issues
therein--the struggle for power, the unspoken distance between men and
women--were vastly important not only at the time of its publication,
but in our own, divisive world.
With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript,
this edition of James Branch Cabell's Chivalry is a classic of fantasy
and romance reimagined for modern readers.
