English 440, Special Topics in British Literature

Arthurian Literature
Independent Study, Spring 2006

Dr. Donna J. Hart 225 Hogue Hall 664-6805 Donna.Hart@greenville.edu

Course Description:

Probably no legend has influenced Western culture more than the story of King Arthur. The ideals of the heroic warrior, courtly lover, faithful servant to Overlord and to God, observer of the Code of Chivalry, chaste maid, life quest, Holy Grail--all these continue to inspire us after some 1500 years. Through the centuries people have turned to the legend of Arthur not only for inspiration, but also as a touchstone for their own times and circumstances, as they continue to reinterpret both the man and the legend in light of their own cultural beliefs and needs.

In this course we will examine the history and development of this compelling myth, from the first vague reference in an obscure chronicle, through the Celtic warrior stories, to the medieval French romances and Thomas Malory's Morte d'Arthur, and finally to such modern interpretations of the legend as those by Mark Twain, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, T. H. White, John Steinbeck, Mary Stewart, and Marion Zimmer.

Course Texts:

• Several handouts and online sources. In fact, anything below that you can get online--that's fine.
• Chrétien de Troyes. Arthurian Romances. New York: Penguin, 1991. ISBN: 0-140-44521-8.
• Geoffrey of Monmouth. History of the Kings of Britain. New York: Penguin, 1977. ISBN: 0-140-44170-0.
• Lacy, Norris J., Geoffrey Ashe, Debra N. Mancoff, eds. The Arthurian Handbook, 2nd edition. City?: Garland Publishing, 1997. ISBN: 0-815-32081-7.
• The Mabinogion. Trans. Jeffrey Gantz. New York: Penguin, 1976. ISBN: 0-140-44322-3.
• Malory, Sir Thomas. Morte d’Arthur. Oxford: Oxford U Press, 1998. ISBN: 0-192-82420-1.
• Marie de France. Lais. Trans. Glynn Burgess and Keith Busby. New York: Penguin, 1999. ISBN: 0-140-44759-8.
• Modern Arthurian Literature (from the Renaissance to the Present). Ed. Alan Lupack. City?: Garland, 1992. ISBN: 0815308434. Reference Book.
• The Quest of the Holy Grail. Trans. Pauline M. Matarasso. New York: Penguin, 1969. ISBN: 0140442200.
• Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Trans. Marie Boroff. New York: Norton, 2001. ISBN: 0-393-97658-0.
• Steinbeck, John. The Acts of King Arthur and His Knights: From the Winchester Manuscripts of Thomas Malory & Other Sources. City?: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1993. ISBN: 0-374-52378-9.
• Stewart, Mary. The Crystal Cave. Book 1 of The Arthurian Saga. (There are 4? More.) City?: Eos, 2003. ISBN: 0-060-54825-8.
• Tennyson, Alfred, Lord. Idylls of the King. New York: Penguin, 1989. ISBN: 0-140-42253-6.
• Twain, Mark. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. New York: Bantam, 1983. ISBN: 0-553-21143-9.
• White, T. H. The Once and Future King. City?: Ace Trade, 1996. ISBN: 0-441-00383-4.

  PDF’s:

  "Kilhwch and Olwen."
  "Lanval."
  Layamon’s Brut.
  Wace’s Brut.

  Films:

  Camelot.
  Connecticut Rabbit in King Arthur’s Court.
  Excalibur.
  First Knight.
  The Fisher King.
  The Lion King.
  The Mists of Avalon.
  The Sword in the Stone.

Course Objectives: The Student will--

1. develop a basic knowledge of Englishy history during the Roman occupation, from about 50 BC to 500 AD.
2. examine as many versions or excerpts of the Arthurian stories as she can, from the sixth century up to today, including print and visual texts.
3. recognize characteristics of the major genres employed in the "tellings" of the Arthur story.
4. read closely several literary texts of varying difficulty with good comprehension of their context, techniques, and structural characteristics.
5. judge the artistic significance of Arthurian texts (including both their communication of meaningful human concerns as well as literary merit).
6. determine whether she thinks that Arthur is an "empty signifier," a vessel which we simply fill up with our own cultural values from century to century--or not.
7. shape her moral value system, to some degree, by the texts she reads and discusses.
8. appreciate reading both as an intellectual and as a leisure activity.
9. evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of printed texts as compared to visual texts.
10. deepen her appreciation of the power and "magic" of words.
11. continue to develop her writing skills.

Assessments:

The student's grade will depend largely (600 points) on a journal that she keeps. She should organize the journal in any way that makes sense to her, but in that journal, she should include the following:

• Brief notes about the author, date, and circumstances of the writing of each Arthurian text.
• Summary of those excerpts having to do with Arthur. If the whole piece is about Arthur, then summarize what are the new or different things that are depicted about his character.
• What new, central characters are introduced from one Arthurian text to another?
• What social, political, or religious values are expressed in each text?

The student's grade will also depend (300 points) on two papers she writes, 5-7 pages each, double-spaced, MLA format.

1. Focus on any major character in the Arthurian stories, other than Arthur himself. Determine and illustrate how this character changes from text to text. Analyze what those changes reflect about the time in which the text was written.
2. Watch all the assigned Arthur movies. Pick out a theme (religious faith, quest for the Grail, chastity, magic, behavior of a warrior-king, Fisher King myth, etc.) and illustrate how that theme is carried out from film to film.

Attendance, Late Papers, Plagiarism, Grading, and Study Expectations:

For my expectations regarding attendance, see attendance. For expectations regarding late papers, see late papers. For expectations regarding avoidance of plagiarism, see plagiarism. For an explanation of my grading system, see grading. For study expectations, see study expectations.

Some Good Online Sources:

• http://vos.ucsb.edu/browse.asp?id=274 .
• http://www.luminarium.org . Click on the "medieval" section of the triptych.
• http://labyrinth.georgetown.edu/ .
• http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/cphome.stm .

Course Calendar:

Week One: The Celtic Tradition.

• Gildas, De Excidio Britanniae ("Concerning the Ruin of Britain" ). Find an online source, and read through Chapters 23 - 26. You might go, for example, to http://www.britannia.com/history/docs/gildas.html . The introduction there will be helpful. But most everything you need, in terms of online texts, can be found at the Voice of the Shuttle website, at http://vos.ucsb.edu/browse.asp?id=274 . **Do an "Edit" and "Find/Search" for "Ambrosius Aurelianus."
• The Annales Cambriae ("The Annals of Wales"). Do a word search for "Arthur."

Week Two: The Celtic Tradition.

• Nennius. Historia Brittonum ("History of the Britons"). Do a word search for "Arthur."
• The Mabinogion. See especially the story of "Culhwch and Olwen."

Week Three: The Early English Tradition.

• Wace, Roman de Brut (The Romance of Brutus).
• Layamon, Brut (Brutus).

Week Four: Movie.

• Watch the movie, Excalibur.

Week Five: The French Tradition.

• Chrétien, "Le Chevalier de la Charette" and "Eric and Enide."
• Do some research to find out what "The Fisher-King Myth" was.

Week Six: The French Tradition.

• Chrétien, "Lancelot" and "Perceval."

Week Seven: Movies.

• Watch the movie, Camelot.
• Watch the movie, First Knight.

Week Eight: The English Tradition.

• Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

Week Nine: The English Tradition.

• Malory, Morte d'Arthur. Focus on the parts that are about Arthur himself.

Week Ten: The English Tradition.

• Malory, Morte d'Arthur. Focus on the parts that are about some other character in the Arthur saga: Lancelot, Gawain, or even one of the minor characters, as long as there is at least one extended story about this person.

Week Eleven: The Twentieth Century.

• Tennyson, Idylls of the King.

Week Twelve: The Twentieth Century.

• White, Once and Future King.

Week Thirteen: The Twentieth Century.

• Your choice of Steinbeck or Stewart.

Week Fourteen: Movies.

• Watch the movie, Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
• Watch the movie, The Sword in the Stone or A Connecticut Rabbit in King Arthur's Court.
• Watch the movie, The Mists of Avalon.

Week Fifteen: Moves and Finish Up.

• Finish up your journal and two papers.
• Watch the movie, The Lion King.
• Watch the movie, The Fisher King.