Fall 2000

English 65B/165B: Arthurian Literature

Week 2, Class 1

Preliminaries:

In addition to the bibliography suggested in Richard White, King Arthur, pp. 555-568, I recommend two works for reference and research:

Norris J. Lacy and Geoffrey Ashe, The Arthurian Handbook, 2d ed. (NY: Garland: 1997) Green Ref and Meyer PN685 .L3 1988;

Norris J. Lacy, ed., The New Arthurian Encyclopedia (NY: Garland, 1991 and supplement) Green Ref and Meyer DA152.5 .A7 N48 1996.

 

I. The Context:

A. Two Medieval Periods (divided by watershed of 11th-12th century, resulting in early and later medieval culture)

B. Two Arthurs:

1. Early Medieval:

a. Arthur a young warrior-lord

b. comitatus society, fort, camp, or field

c. clan ideology

d. centers on war, fighting, death

e. humor: coarse; heavy irony.

2. Later Medieval:

a. Arthur an older king; "eminence grise"

b. court society, trappings, castle life, banqueting

c. individual and personal testing

d. centers on the quest, joust, love

II. The Literature

  1. Arthur in Insular Latin and early Welsh Tradition:

    2. Parts 1 and 2 of White, King Arthur.

  2. The Tale of Culhwch and Olwen

For full version see Patrick K. Ford, The Mabinogi and Other Medieval Welsh Tales (Univ. of California Press, 1977), pp. 119-57, or consult other editions of the Mabinogi.

1. Vernacular poem, from oral tradition, with folk elements: triplets (triads), wordplay and comic burlesque. Artful or naive?

2. Tall tale, like Paul Bunyan: a Celtic pig god (Twrch Trwyth) vs. Arthurian clan and young hero relative

3. Structure: adroitly joined plots. Two quests (Culhwch’s, Arthur’s) combined, and a third, Custennin’s son’s, envelopes the whole.

    1. Led from rashness and vanity by trust in Arthur’s help. Clan, family assistance of early society.
    2. Quest: for partner in marriage (but not courtly love--note the ending), gained by confrontation with formidable oppressor.

Pronounce a As in father; ai, au, ei as in aisle; au as in now; c as in cat; ch as in Scots loch; dd as in then; e as in bed; f as in of; ff as in effect; g as in go; i as in bid; th as in think; u as in busy or bead; w as in with or as the vowel in tooth, y as in myth or city in a single or final syllable, and as in alive or glove in other syllables; ll as the l in clean. Stress is almost always on the next to last syllable.