The Story of King Arthur and His Knights, By Howard Pyle ( illustrated )

The Story of King Arthur and His Knights is a November 1903 novel by the American illustrator and writer Howard Pyle. It was published by Charles Scribner's Sons. Pyle's illustrations for the stories have been called "glorious", with the text and the illustrations complementing each other. The book consists of a large series of episodes in the legend of the mythological first king of Britain King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table. The Winning of Kinghood-This section of the book tells how young Arthur pulled a sword out of an anvil, how he learned of his royal lineage, and how he thus became king. The Winning of a Sword--King Arthur loses to his enemy, King Pellinore, and is wounded thereof. Merlin advises Arthur to seek Excalibur. The Lady of the Lake instructs Arthur on how to earn the sword, and, following her instructions, takes Excalibur. He then meets Pellinore again, and with Excalibur's magic, he wins against him. The two thereafter make amends and become friends. The Winning of a Queen--King Arthur is infatuated with the Lady Guinevere, the daughter of his friend, King Leodegrance, and visits Cameliard, where she resides. with Merlin's help, disguises himself as a peasant and works as a gardener below her tower. Meanwhile, King Ryence threatens Leodegrance for much of his lands, and also for the notorious Duke of North Umber being able to marry Guinevere. The Duke torments the people of Cameliard by parading in front of the castle, calling for a battle. Arthur, though unrecognized by others, takes up battle and defeats the Duke... Howard Pyle (March 5, 1853 - November 9, 1911) was an American illustrator and author, primarily of books for young people. A native of Wilmington, Delaware, he spent the last year of his life in Florence, Italy. In 1894 he began teaching illustration at the Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry (now Drexel University). After 1900, he founded his own school of art and illustration, named the Howard Pyle School of Illustration Art. The scholar Henry C. Pitz later used the term Brandywine School for the illustration artists and Wyeth family artists of the Brandywine region, several of whom had studied with Pyle. Some of his more notable students were N. C. Wyeth, Frank Schoonover, Elenore Abbott, Ethel Franklin Betts, Anna Whelan Betts, Harvey Dunn, Clyde O. DeLand, Philip R. Goodwin, Thornton Oakley, Violet Oakley, Ellen Bernard Thompson Pyle, Olive Rush, Allen Tupper True, Elizabeth Shippen Green, Arthur E. Becher, William James Aylward, and Jessie Willcox Smith. Pyle's home and studio in Wilmington, where he taught his students, is still standing and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. His 1883 classic publication The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood remains in print, and his other books, frequently with medieval European settings, include a four-volume set on King Arthur. He is also well known for his illustrations of pirates, and is credited with creating what has become the modern stereotype of pirate dress. He published his first novel, Otto of the Silver Hand, in 1888. He also illustrated historical and adventure stories for periodicals such as Harper's Magazine and St. Nicholas Magazine. His novel Men of Iron was adapted as the movie The Black Shield of Falworth (1954). Pyle travelled to Florence, Italy in 1910 to study mural painting. He died there in 1911 of a sudden kidney infection (Bright's Disease). ........