Adventures in Literature, Wednesday, Period Three [Class Three]
Drake was wearing oh-so-wizardy robes for class today, including a tall pointy hat. "Today we're going to look at the legend of King Arthur," he said. "So was Arthur a real person? Some think he was just a fictional hero of folklore. But the Historia Brittonum, or The History of the Britons, a 9th-century Latin historical compilation, and Annales Cambriae, or The Annals of Wales, Latin chronicles from the 10th century, both link Arthur, Romano-British leader who fought against the invading Anglo-Saxons sometime in the late 5th to early 6th century, to historical battles. But these documents were written centuries after Arthur's lifetime, and neither calls him King.
"Now, I happen to know the real story, because I know Arthur. Well, I know his current incarnation's mother's sister's ex-husband, so in some strange way, I'm his uncle on the demon side. He's just a toddler, though, so he's been forbidden to use Excalibur until he turns 18 or his mom will ground him."
Clearly, Drake had yet to meet the Arthur and Merlin in Fandom.
"Anyway, real or fictional aside, this is a literature class, so we're going to look at the legend. References to Arthur pop up in all sorts of medieval stories and poems, like the Welsh Mabinogion, but the story we all know and love was created by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his work Historia Regum Britanniae, or History of the Kings of Britain. This is where Merlin first appears, as adviser to King Uther Pendragon. Merlin was the son of a mortal woman and an incubus, from whom he inherited his power. He engineered the birth of Arthur by magically disguising Uther as his enemy, Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall, so that Uther could sleep with Gorlois's wife, Igraine. Not a shining moment for our Merlin there, though he believed he did what was necessary to ensure Britain got her king.
"After Uther died, Arthur became king. He carved out an empire by defeating the Picts and the Scots and conquering Ireland, Iceland, and the Orkney Islands. After a decade or so of peace, he got bored and decided to take over Norway, Denmark, and Gaul. While he was away fighting, his nephew Mordred seized the throne and Arthur's wife Guinevere, so Arthur had to hurry home to kick his ass. Unfortunately, Mordred managed to mortally wound Arthur, who was taken to the isle of Avalon and never seen again.
"Notice some things missing there? Like Lancelot and the Holy Grail? Those came later. The 12th Century French poet, Chrétien de Troyes, took a relatively obscure character and pumped up his role. See, his patroness was Marie of France, Countess of Champagne, daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Noble ladies back then were big into romance and chivalry, so Chrétien whipped up a love triangle to entertain them. So enter Lance, studly knight, who carried on an affair with Guin and ultimately brought down Camelot. Ooops. Chrétien also added in the Grail quest, little realizing what Monty Python would do with it in several hundred years.
"Nowadays you can find dozens of different interpretations of the legend. The Mists of Avalon, for instance, uses the perspective of the female characters of the legend, such as Morgan Le Fay, Arthur's half-sister, who generally gets cast as a villain, seducing her brother and exposing Guinevere's affair with Lancelot. In this retelling, Morgaine is trying to protect England and the pagan way of life. Or there's the movie King Arthur, which does away with the magic, turns Arthur into a Roman knight, and leaves the audience wondering just when Clive Owen and Ioan Gruffudd will just give up and make out. Or Camelot 3000, which has Arthur and his knights reincarnated in the year 3000. Check them out, you're bound to find one that tickles your fancy."
Drake snapped his fingers and totally modded changed the students' clothing to medieval garb. "OK! Sookie, you're Queen Guinevere. Sam, you're Arthur, and Tony, you're Lancelot. The rest of you are Knights of the Round Table -- even the girls, we're equal opportunity platemail here -- or ladies of the court, if you prefer. The Queen's just been caught in a compromising position with Lancelot. Art, you love them both. Guin, you love them both. Lance, you love them both. But the laws of the land demand a punishment, and the King cannot appear weak. Lance and Guin, you get to defend yourselves, if you can. The rest of you can argue for or against execution, banishment, forgiveness, or whatever you can come up with. And Arthur, you'll have to decide what to do."
[ Syllabus | Class Roster]
"Now, I happen to know the real story, because I know Arthur. Well, I know his current incarnation's mother's sister's ex-husband, so in some strange way, I'm his uncle on the demon side. He's just a toddler, though, so he's been forbidden to use Excalibur until he turns 18 or his mom will ground him."
Clearly, Drake had yet to meet the Arthur and Merlin in Fandom.
"Anyway, real or fictional aside, this is a literature class, so we're going to look at the legend. References to Arthur pop up in all sorts of medieval stories and poems, like the Welsh Mabinogion, but the story we all know and love was created by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his work Historia Regum Britanniae, or History of the Kings of Britain. This is where Merlin first appears, as adviser to King Uther Pendragon. Merlin was the son of a mortal woman and an incubus, from whom he inherited his power. He engineered the birth of Arthur by magically disguising Uther as his enemy, Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall, so that Uther could sleep with Gorlois's wife, Igraine. Not a shining moment for our Merlin there, though he believed he did what was necessary to ensure Britain got her king.
"After Uther died, Arthur became king. He carved out an empire by defeating the Picts and the Scots and conquering Ireland, Iceland, and the Orkney Islands. After a decade or so of peace, he got bored and decided to take over Norway, Denmark, and Gaul. While he was away fighting, his nephew Mordred seized the throne and Arthur's wife Guinevere, so Arthur had to hurry home to kick his ass. Unfortunately, Mordred managed to mortally wound Arthur, who was taken to the isle of Avalon and never seen again.
"Notice some things missing there? Like Lancelot and the Holy Grail? Those came later. The 12th Century French poet, Chrétien de Troyes, took a relatively obscure character and pumped up his role. See, his patroness was Marie of France, Countess of Champagne, daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Noble ladies back then were big into romance and chivalry, so Chrétien whipped up a love triangle to entertain them. So enter Lance, studly knight, who carried on an affair with Guin and ultimately brought down Camelot. Ooops. Chrétien also added in the Grail quest, little realizing what Monty Python would do with it in several hundred years.
"Nowadays you can find dozens of different interpretations of the legend. The Mists of Avalon, for instance, uses the perspective of the female characters of the legend, such as Morgan Le Fay, Arthur's half-sister, who generally gets cast as a villain, seducing her brother and exposing Guinevere's affair with Lancelot. In this retelling, Morgaine is trying to protect England and the pagan way of life. Or there's the movie King Arthur, which does away with the magic, turns Arthur into a Roman knight, and leaves the audience wondering just when Clive Owen and Ioan Gruffudd will just give up and make out. Or Camelot 3000, which has Arthur and his knights reincarnated in the year 3000. Check them out, you're bound to find one that tickles your fancy."
Drake snapped his fingers and totally modded changed the students' clothing to medieval garb. "OK! Sookie, you're Queen Guinevere. Sam, you're Arthur, and Tony, you're Lancelot. The rest of you are Knights of the Round Table -- even the girls, we're equal opportunity platemail here -- or ladies of the court, if you prefer. The Queen's just been caught in a compromising position with Lancelot. Art, you love them both. Guin, you love them both. Lance, you love them both. But the laws of the land demand a punishment, and the King cannot appear weak. Lance and Guin, you get to defend yourselves, if you can. The rest of you can argue for or against execution, banishment, forgiveness, or whatever you can come up with. And Arthur, you'll have to decide what to do."
[ Syllabus | Class Roster]