ENGL 25011 - The Legend of Arthur

Course Credit: 1
Maximum Credit: 0

THE LEGEND OF ARTHUR He is the once and future king. English royalty claimed descent through him. British Prime Minsters were said to be reincarnations of him. He is one of the Nine Worthies. Camelot (his court) became a watchword for chivalric nobility. His knights even found the Holy Grail. But he was also begotten through rape, cuckolded by his best friend and tricked into incest by his half sister. Clearly he is more than an exemplar of British sovereignty. Who is this Arthur? Where does he come from? Why does he remain one of the great touchstones of Western culture? We will begin with the origins of Arthur in the sixth century and explore how the legend developed in sources such as Nennius’ Historia Brittonum, Welsh annals and Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae. We will pay particular attention to the transformation of the legend into literature in the high/late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Along the way we will examine how Arthur was appropriated by national movements and cultural groups even as his historicity was called into question. Finally we will interrogate more contemporary appearances of Arthur in film and other media with an eye towards establishing who and what a twenty-first century Arthur would/should look like. (Before 1800) [AH]