Guillaume de Machaut: The Capture of Alexandria FROM THE PUBLISHER
"Guillaume de Machaut's narrative poem describing the reign of King Peter I of Cyprus (1359-69) and the Alexandria campaign of 1365 is a major source for this episode in the history of the crusades in the fourteenth century. It is also the earliest full-scale account of Peter's career to have survived. It is here translated for the first time into English, and is followed by some other texts which relate to Peter's reign." "Guillaume de Machaut's Capture of Alexandria (La Prise d'Alixandre) will be of interest both to students of the crusades and to students of French literary culture in the fourteenth century."--BOOK JACKET.
FROM THE CRITICS
Booknews
Translator Shirley notes that the concisely rhyming octosyllabic couplets of the 14th century poet Guillaume de Marchaut don't work in English, so she fell back on blank verse in a translation that strives to be faithful but not slavish. De Marchaut's history recounts the exploits and death of Peter I (1329-69), the king of Cyprus whose crusade in 1365 famously overran the Egyptian port of Alexandria. Peter Edbury (medieval history, Cardiff U.) provides an introduction and notes; the work concludes with an excerpt from the anonymous French , which describes some otherwise unrecorded military action on the Levantine coast in 1367, and two pieces related to the murder of King Peter. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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