Examining depictions of Africans in medieval and contemporary Arthurian literature, television and film.
Lincolnshire and the Arthurian Legend
April 28, 2013 By
This article is intended to rectify this, proceeding from the widely-held assumption of the existence of a genuinely ‘historical Arthur’, before going on to consider the even more fundamental question of whether we ought to believe in Arthur’s existence at all.
Chaucer’s Arthuriana
March 18, 2013 By
The majority of medieval scholars, including Roger Sherman Loomis, argue that the popularity of the Arthurian legend in England was therefore on the wane in the latter half of the fourteenth century; as a result, the major writers of the period, such as John Gower and Geoffrey Chaucer, refrained from penning anything beyond the occasional reference to King Arthur and his court.
Mi Suete Leuedi, Her Mi Béne: The Power and Patronage of the Heroine in Middle English Romance
February 10, 2013 By
The Middle English Romances are somewhat difficult to study as a group. In order to examine these works accurately, one must take into consideration other literature produced at the same tirne, as well as that which preceded it.
Oh, for Shame: Public Perception and Punishment in Chretien’s Cliges
February 9, 2013 By
To develop this argument, a basic understanding of medieval society’s conventions is necessary in order to outline the parameters of this honor/shame culture.
The British Kingdom of Lindsey
February 3, 2013 By
The first piece of evidence which offers support for the above contention comes from the kingdom-name ‘Lindsey’ itself. Two forms of this name exist in Anglo-Saxon sources, reflecting two different Old English suffixes:6 Lindissi (later Lindesse, as used by Bede and the earliest manuscripts of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle)7 and Lindesig…
A Perfect Reign of Queen and King?: An Analysis of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere in their Leadership Roles
January 4, 2013 By
As a literary couple that has stood the test of time, their roles as leaders, and roles in their relationship with each other reflects society’s understanding and belief of where gender roles belong in respect to leadership roles.
Breuddwyd Rhonabwy: A historical narrative?
December 23, 2012 By
The object of this study is the analysis of Breuddwyd Rhonabwy, which is one of the two extant Welsh prose tales about King Arthur.
Missionaries and Crusaders in Thomas Malory’s Morte d’Arthur
November 18, 2012 By
The War of Roses might have been the most prominent event on the English political stage at the time when the Morte d’Arthur was written, and there is evidence that Malory’s writing was in part informed by he civil discord he was witnessing.
Madness in Medieval Arthurian Literature
October 26, 2012 By
Whereas in the examples we have seen insanity is an obstacle to be overcome on the journey through life, for Daguenet le Fol and Merlin madness becomes the vehicle which carries them, and is constantly adapted according to need.
“La Belle Dame Sans Merci?”: Gawain’s Knightly Identity and the Role of Women in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
October 26, 2012 By
It is easy to read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as a romantic celebration of chivalry, but this romance contains a more wide-ranging, more serious criticism of chivalry than has heretofore been noticed.
The Myth of Merlin and the Men Behind the Legend
October 3, 2012 By
Is there a historical basis for the character we know as Merlin?
The Arthur of the chronicles
September 30, 2012 By
Even if we cannot accept the claim made by Geoffrey in his introduction that his putative source was ‘attractively composed to form a consecutive andorderly narrative’, he certainly made extensive use ofWelsh genealogies andking-lists.
Treason and Betrayal in the Middle English Romances of Sir Gawain
September 23, 2012 By
This article explores the themes of treason and betrayal which are common motifs of medieval romances, specifically those featuring the Arthurian knight Sir Gawain.
Monstrous transformations: loyalty and community in four medieval poems
September 23, 2012 By
I will examine two forms of transformation, the werewolf transformation and the monstrous human transformation, both of which feature shape shifters who presumably cannot be trusted
Lofty Depths and Tragic Brilliance: The Interweaving of Celtic and Anglo-Saxon Mythology and Literature in the Arthurian Legends
September 20, 2012 By
Arthur and his knights are set apart from other literary heroes because of their unique construct, a blending of two cultures into one legend.
Reflection of the Wars of the Roses in Thomas Malory`s Le Morte D`Arthur: Literary-cultural analysis
September 9, 2012 By
The book is one the most famous fiction stories about legendary King Arthur, whose life and death predominantly compose the spine of Malory’s tale
Many Motives: Geoffrey of Monmouth and the Reasons For His Falsification of History
August 19, 2012 By
It is clear to most modern historians who have studied Geoffrey’s Historia that its contents bear little to no resemblance to real events. Even in Geoffrey’s own lifetime many historians condemned the work.
The negotiation of gender and power in medieval German writings
July 8, 2012 By
The Christian religion plays a most important role in the internalization and re-enforcement of patriarchy in the Western world. As will be seen later in this thesis, the relationship between a patriarchal God and his “children” is reflected in the relationship between the male head of the family and his wife, children and servants.
“Thus he rode sorowyng”: Travel Narratives and the Ethics of Sexual Behavior in Le Morte d’Arthur
June 23, 2012 By
The Arthurian oeuvre traditionally maintains a plot structure that requires knights to depart from the Round Table, either as a response to a challenge or in quest of chivalric “aventure,” followed by a return to Camelot. Within this narrative framework, there exists an intricately designed logic to descriptions of movement and travel. In particular, sex and travel appear inseparable.
Mixing Memory and Desire: The Re-Emergence of the Grail In the Industrial World
June 8, 2012 By
This pagan relic is constantly returning to Western consciousness in new forms, always reflecting the society which grapples with it. But why? What is it about this particular myth which seems to resonate with people?
No Game for Knights: The Arthurian Legend in Hardboiled Detective Fiction
May 22, 2012 By
In America, novels ranging from The Great Gatsby to John Steinbeck’s Cup of Gold borrowed Arthurian conventions to discuss contemporary American life.
Edward I and the Ritualization of English Royal Round Table Festivals
May 21, 2012 By
In the Annales Angliae et Scotiae, a chronicle written around the year 1312 by a monk from the abbey of St Albans, there is a description of the wedding ceremonies between King Edward I and Margaret of France, that took place on 10 September 1299.
The Court of Beast and Bough: Contesting the Medieval English Forest in the Early Robin Hood Ballads
May 6, 2012 By
The medieval English forest has long been a space of contested legal meanings. After King William I first created the 75,000-acre New Forest, the English monarchy sought to define the vert, both legally and ideologically, as a multiplicity of sites in which the king’s rights were vigorously enforced.
The figure of Merlin in English literature from the beginnings to 1740
May 3, 2012 By
Merlin’s first appearance in early Welsh poetry as prophet and seer was considerably expanded by Geoffrey of Monmouth who was the first to associate him with the saxon and British kings of England, particularly Arthur.
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