RICE UNIVERSITY
Fall, 2002
ENGLISH 317/WTSG
317/MDST 301: ARTHURIAN LITERATURE:
The “Reel” Arthur
DR. JANE CHANCE
10:50-12:05 TTH
DESCRIPTION:
A survey of the origins and development of the
Arthurian legend from the earliest chronicles in
the sixth century and later medieval
French, Welsh, Irish, and English Arthurian
poems
to modern adaptations of Arthurian material,
especially films.
PURPOSE: This course will investigate the major
traditions associated with King Arthur and his
knights of the Round Table. We will witness the
growth of the Arthurian legend and investigate
some of the reasons for its continuing allure. The
course has the additional purpose of helping us
see the way legends are developed and understand
the forces which seem to contribute to their
growth and popularity.
GRADES: midterm and final examinations = 50%
Two papers/presentations = 50%
Attendance is mandatory and highly desirable; students are
expected and encouraged to come to class prepared to discuss the assigned
reading.
TEXTS (all in paper, on reserve): In order of assignment (prices by
amazon.com)
Excerpts from early (6th-9th
c.) Arthurian Chronicles and Histories (Hand-out)
“The Dream of Rhonabwy,”
from the Mabinogion (Penguin)
(Hand-out)
Geoffrey of Monmouth, History of the Kings of Britain, trans. Lewis Thorpe (Penguin) 0140441700 $11.16 DA140 .G353 1966
Wace, Layamon, Arthurian Chronicles, trans. Eugene Mason (University of Toronto) 0802071767 $16.95 PQ1545 .W2 A613 1996
Marie de France, Lanval, trans. Robert Hanning and Joan
Ferrante (Baker Books) (Hand-out)
PQ1494.L3 E5 1982
Chrétien de Troyes, Arthurian Romances, trans.
William Kibler (Penguin)
0140445218 $11.20PQ1447 .E5 K53 1991
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, trans. James Winney
(Broadview) 0921149921 $9.95
Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte d’Arthur, ed. John Matthews (Cassell) 0304353671
$24.50
Alfred Lord Tennyson, Idylls of the King, ed. J. M Gray
(Penguin) $8.80 PR5558 .A1 1983
FILMS (all on reserve)
Camelot (1967), dir. Joshua Logan
Lancelot of the Lake (1974), dir. Robert Bresson
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), dir. Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones PN1997 .M68 1991
Excalibur (1981), dir. John Boorman PN1997 .E92 1991
The Natural (1984), dir. Barry Levinson
In the Shadow of the Raven (1988), dir. Hrafn Gunnlaugsson
The Fisher King (1991), dir. Terry Gilliam
First Knight (1995), dir. Jerry Zucker
Mists of Avalon (2001), dir. Uli Edel (note: 4 hrs.)
SYLLABUS:
I. Introduction
First Week
Aug. 27 Tues. Topic: Introduction—An
Historical or Legendary Arthur?
Read Excerpts from Early Chronicles and Histories
(Hand-out)
Gildas, De Excidio
et Conquesto Britanniae (c. 540),
pp. 3-4
Bede, Historia
Ecclesiastics Gentis Anglorum (c.751), pp. 4-5
II. The Literary Backgrounds and
Traditions
Aug. 29 Thurs. Topic: The Legendary Arthur
Read Excerpts from Early
Chronicles and Histories (Hand-out):
Nennius, Historia
Brittonum (c. 800), pp. 5-6
Annales Cambriae
(c. 950), p.7
William of Malmesabury, Gesta Regum Anglorum (c. 1125), pp. 7-8
Giraldus Cambrensis, De
Princips Instructionae (c. 1195), pp. 9-11
Second Week
Sept. 3 Tues. Topic: Geoffrey of
Monmouth and the History of Arthur
Read Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historiae Regum Brittonum (ca. 1129-1151), pp.
Sept. 5 Thurs. Topic: Geoffrey of Monmouth and the History
of Arthur
Read Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historiae Regum Brittonum (ca.
1129-1151), pp.
Third Week
Sept. 10 Tues. Topic: Arthur of Camelot: Fact or Fiction? The Archaeology
Videotape on King Arthur
Sept. 12 Thurs. Topic: Vernacular Arthurs: French and
English Chronicles by Wace and Layamon
Read Wace, pp. ; Read Layamon, pp.
Fourth Week
Sept. 17 Tues. Topic:
Gendering the Round Table through Alterity
Read Marie de France, Lanval
(hand-out)
Sept. 19 Thurs. Topic:
Welsh Romance and the Battle of Camlann
Read “Dream of Rhonabwy” from the Mabinogian (hand-out)
Fifth Week
Sept. 24 Tues. Topic:
Chrétien, Lancelot, or Knight of the
Cart: Parody or Romance?
Read Chrétien, Lancelot, or Knight of the Cart, in
Kibler
Sept. 26 Thurs. Topic:
Topic: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: Romance or Ritual?
Read Sir Gawain and the Green
Knight, Winney’s trans., Fitts 1-2
MID-TERM ID'S AND ESSAY QUESTIONS DUE FOR STUDY GUIDE
Thursday afternoon 4-6:Film Camelot (1967), dir. Joshua Logan
Sixth Week
Oct. 1 Tues. Topic:
Topic: Gay Gawain?
Read Fitts 3-4
Oct. 3 Thurs. Topic: Malory and the Fall of the Round Table,
or The Flight from Eden
Reading: Malory, Le Morte
d’Arthur, “The Fall of the Round Table”
Thursday afternoon 4-6:Film Lancelot
of the Lake, dir. Robert Bresson
Seventh Week
Oct. 8 Tues. Topic: Malory and the Death of Arthur
Reading: Malory, Le Morte d’Arthur, “The Death of Arthur”
Oct. 10 Thurs. Topic: MID-TERM EXAMINATION
Thursday afternoon 4-6:Film Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975),
dir. Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones
Eighth Week
Oct. 15 Tues. MID-TERM
RECESS
III. Individual Works: The
Masterpiece and the Reinterpretation, into the Twentieth Century
Oct. 17 Thurs. Topic: Victorian Arthur
Reading: Alfred, Lord Tennyson, The
Idylls of the King
Excalibur (1981), dir. John Boorman PN1997 .E92 1991
Ninth Week
Oct. 22. Tues. Topic: Victorian Arthur
Reading: Alfred, Lord Tennyson, The
Idylls of the King
Short Paper Due
Oct. 24 Thurs. Topic: The Postmodern Lancelot
Film: Lancelot of the Lake (1974), dir. Robert Bresson
The Natural (1984), dir. Barry Levinson
Tenth Week
Oct. 29 Tues. Topic: Monty Python and the Postmodern Arthur
Film: Monty Python and the Holy
Grail
(1975), dir. Terry Gilliam
Nov. 31 Thurs. Topic: Monty
Python and the Postmodern Grail
Film: Monty Python and the Holy
Grail
(1975), dir. Terry Gilliam
Thursday afternoon 4-6: In the Shadow of the Raven (1988), dir.
Hrafn Gunnlaugsson
Eleventh Week
Nov. 5 Tues. Topic: The
Postmodern Sword
Film: Excalibur
(1981), dir. John Boorman
Nov. 7 Thurs. Topic: The Postmodern Sword
Film: Excalibur
(1981), dir. John Boorman
Tuesday afternoon 4-6:The Fisher King (1991), dir. Terry
Gilliam
Twelfth Week
Nov. 12 Tues. Topic: The Postmodern Perceval
Film: The Natural
(1984), dir. Barry Levinson
Nov. 14 Thurs. Topic: The Postmodern Perceval
Film: The Natural
(1984), dir. Barry Levinson
LONG PAPER TOPICS DUE
Thursday afternoon 4-6: First Knight (1995), dir. Jerry Zucker
Thirteenth Week
Nov. 19 Tues. Topic: The Postmodern Saga of Tristan
and Isolde
Film: In the Shadow of the Raven (1988), dir. Hrafn
Gunnlaugsson
Nov. 21 Thurs. Topic:
Monty Python Redux, or The Postmodern Grail
Film: The Fisher King (1991), dir. Terry Gilliam
Tuesday afternoon 4-6: Mists of Avalon (2001), dir. Uli Edel
(part 1, 2 hrs
Fourteenth Week
Nov. 26 Tues. Topic: Postmodern Guenevere?
Film: First Knight (1995),
dir. Jerry Zucker
Tuesday afternoon 4-6: Mists of Avalon (2001), dir. Uli Edel
(pt. 2, 2 hrs.)
Nov. 28 Thurs Thanksgiving Vacation
Fifteenth Week
Dec. 3 Tues. Topic: Postmodern Morgan?
Film: Mists of Avalon (2001),
dir. Uli Edel
Dec. 5 Thurs. Topic: Postmodern Morgan?
Film: Mists of Avalon (2001),
dir. Uli Edel
Summary and Evaluations
Final Paper Due
FINAL EXAMINATION by
Dec. 18 (Grades Due Jan. 2)
Requirements:
I. Short Paper (5-7 pp.) Due: Oct. 22 (Tues.)
Write a short paper on some aspect of any of the medieval works we are reading or
on one of the following selected topics (a research bibliography follows). In the first instance, check your idea with me. In the second, you don't need to check with
me unless you have questions, or you'd prefer a different topic.
List of Possible Topics
Merlin the Magician
Wace's Contribution to the Story of Arthur: The Round Table
The Legend of the Return of Arthur
The Origin and Significance of the Isle of Avalon
Chrétien and romance as a genre
Andreas Capellanus: The Meaning of Courtly Love
Chrétien's Concept of a Knight
Chrétien's Yvain and the Welsh "Lady of the Fountain"
Origins of Lancelot and Chrétien's Presentation of him as Knight of the Cart
Chrétien and Courtly Love
The Origin and Development of Gawain: The English and French Views of his
Character
The German Arthur?
Perceval: Permutations and Combinations
The Figure of Sir Kay: Welsh or French?
The Medieval Wheel of Fortune
The Alliterative Revival of the Fourteenth Century
Who was Sir Thomas Malory?
Theories of Grail Origin
The Function of the Grail Quest in the Morte Darthure
Malory and Amour Courtois
The Victorian Interest in Medievalism
Scholarship Bibliography (in our library)
Alcock, Leslie. Arthur's Britain.
Barber, Richard. King Arthur in Legend and History.
Benson, Larry D. Malory's Morte D'Arthur.
Bradbook, Muriel C. Sir Thomas Malory.
Bruce, James Douglas. The Evolution of Arthurian Romance. (2 vols.)
Chambers, E. K. Arthur of Britain.
Dean, Christopher. Arthur in the Middle Ages
Fenster, Thelma, and Mary
Erler, eds. Women in Arthurian Literature
Lambert, Mark. Malory: Style and Vision in Le Morte d'Arthur.
Loomis, Roger Sherman, ed. Arthurian Literature of the Middle Ages. (ALMA)
______. The Development of Arthurian Romance.
Matthews, William. The Ill-Framed Knight: A Skeptical Inquiry into the Identity of Sir Thomas Malory.
Moorman, Charles. A Knight There Was: The Evolution of the Knight in Literature.
Moorman, Charles and Ruth. An Arthurian Dictionary.
Newman, F. X., ed. The Meaning of Courtly Love.
Paton, Lucy. Studies in the Fairy Mythology of Arthurian Romance.
Steinbeck, John. The Acts of King Arthur and his Noble Knights.
Stewart, Mary. The Crystal Cave.
The Hollow Hills.
Sutcliff, Rosemary. The Sword at Sunset.
Tatlock, J.S.P. The Legendary History of Britain.
Vinaver, Eugene. The Rise of Romance.
_______________. The Works of Sir Thomas Malory.(3 vols.; Winchester manuscript; 3rd vol. notes)
Weston, Jessie. From Ritual to Romance.
White, T. H. The Book of Merlyn.
Williams, Charles. War in Heaven
II. Final Papers (approximately ten pages due at the end of the semester)
The major written project in this course will be a paper on a modern filmic treatment of the
Arthurian legend that you will view in addition to the assigned reading material. In this paper you are asked to consider two points: the director’s use of Arthurian sources and the work’s
artistic merit. That is, you should consider how the director/screenplay
writer makes use of the medieval materials related to Arthur and his knights and then determine whether or not the author has
written an effective
story or work of art. Although all the films will be available for viewing at
Fondren, they may not be available elsewhere in Houston. Please make an attempt
to see each film at least once for class discussion and more than once if you
are writing on the film. Two-four
students will be assigned to each 2-hr. film as well with an eye to an in class
presentation/moderation of class discussion that will serve as the basis for
the formal paper.
In writing this paper, also be sure to consider the following:
1.
Does the director reach a different conclusion or provide a different outlook on the
character(s) than does his or her medieval source?
2.
How does the director's source differ from the medieval sources? What does the director
gain by altering his or her medieval source or including Arthurian materials in the story?
3. Is the author's use of Arthurian materials appropriate to the point s/he or she wishes
to make? Why?
4.How does film as a medium
allow perspectives to emerge differently from romance and chronicle?
5. In what way does the
director interweave a contemporary cultural perspective into the film’s
treatment or adaptation of Arthurian materials?
You may also choose a work from the following list to write about in your paper:
Berger, Thomas. Arthur Rex.
Bradshaw, Gillian. Hawk of May.
Kingdom of Summer.
In Winter's Shadow.
Chapman, Vera. The King's Damosel.
The Green Knight.
King Arthur's Daughter
Labenthal, Sanders Ann. Excalibur.
Lewis, C.S. That Hideous Strength
Malamud, Bernard. The Natural
Monaco, Richard. Parzival or the Knight's Tale.
Pyle, Howard. The Story of King Arthur and his Knights.
Seton, Anya. Avalon.
Steinbeck, John. The Acts of King Arthur and his Noble Knights.
Stewart, Mary. The Crystal Cave.
The Hollow Hills.
The Last Enchantment.
The Wicked Day.
Sutcliff, Rosemary. The Sword and the Circle.
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
_________________, Sword at Sunset.
Twain, Mark. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.
White, T. H. The Book of Merlin.
Williams, Charles. Taliessen through Loges.
Region of the Summer Stars.
War in Heaven.
The long paper must be typewritten, doublespaced, with adequate margins, and submitted on the date due. Assignments will be graded on both form and content: strive for originality of
thesis and cogency of argument, clear, coherent organization, and sufficient specificity and
development.
For additional help with writing problems see William Strunk and E.B. White, The Elements of Style.
CONFERENCES: Office Hours 2:30-4
Thurs. and by appointment
Office 501 Fondren Library
Office Phone X2625
Dept. Secty: x4840 Office
Fax: 348-5991
Home: 713-524-3304
e-mail: jchance@rice.edu
fax: 713-524-3304
web page: http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~jchance
http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~jchance/arthurian.htm