My name is Carol and I am your tutor for Arthur: History and Myth (ATS2604). It's a great subject and I know you'll enjoy exploring the legends and possible historical background of King Arthur as much as I do. We've had to make a tutorial room change which I think has been entered in Allocate but if not, this is a reminder that we will be meeting in building 55 room 210.
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| Clive Owen as King (?) Arthur in the 2004 film. |
We'll be considering the history of the myth of Arthur and discover that, at least in English speaking countries, stories about this British King have maintained a popular position for many centuries. A consideration of "medievalism" will be integral in this unit.
The image below is a miniature from Matthew Paris' "Flores Historiarum" round about 1250. As you can see it illustrates the coronation of Arthur and you might even be able to read the "rubric" for this (red writing, top right of the image). You can see all the usual paraphenalia for a medieval coronation here - the regal rod with a fleur de lys emblem, the crown being placed on Arthur's blonde curls by two bishops (note mitred hats and bishop's crook), the throne and so on. The artist has made no attempt to portray a coronation of the 5th or 6th centuries, when the real Arthur might have lived, but instead has given us a very good idea of what a mid 13th century royal coronation looked like. So, though the stories about Arthur may be fictional, they still have much useful information for historians.
In the weeks to follow, I will be asking you to make a blog comments on a
question which, with the accompanying reading, will prepare you for the
week. For now however, go to week 1 and see what's ahead. You're
welcome to comment of course, but don't feel you have to.
I'm looking forward to working with you this semester - Cheers, Carol.
I agree with Pamela's response above that the accounts written at
ReplyDeletedifferent times demonstrate that the details and perceptions of an
event are subject to change over time. A historical question that
could be answered by the accounts is "How is the early history of the
Britons perceived by different scholars over time?" Other questions
that could be answered are "How were Briton's leaders perceived by
scholars over time?" or "What role does religion and/or superstition
play in historical accounts?" These questions are discussed in the
excerpts, for example, with Gildas' strong opinion about the Kings of
Briton being tyrants. Also, there is a prevalent theme that religion
plays a significant role in the outcome of the wars waged in the early
centuries, for example, "In short, the fire kindled by the hands of
the pagans, proved God's just vengeance for the crimes of the people"
(Bede), "The Lord assented, and the battle went their way" (Gildas)
and "Arthur bore image of the Holy Virigin Mary on his shoulders; on
that day the pagans turned in flight and were slaughtered in great
numbers" (Nennius).