Arthurian Legend: A Romance Narrative and The Romance Hero

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Arthurian LegendA Romance Narrative and The
Romance Hero

• Mrs. Eckman Wissler
• 12th Grade English

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Chivalry is

• Reached its height in 12th-13th centuries
• Boys from the nobility were raised in code of
  chivalry
• At 7- Became pages in castles
• At 14- Became squires, serving knights, learning
  horsemanship
• At 21- Became knights
• Loyalty to God, lord, and lady who he had sworn
  his love
• Represented Christian and military idealsfaith,
  modesty, loyalty, courtesy, bravery, and honor

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Is Chivalry dead?
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King Arthur Fact or Fiction?

• Did Arthur truly exist?
• White and Red Dragon
• Excalibur the sword in the stone
• Merlin
• Lady of the Lake
• The Round Table

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Arthur was real BUT.

• ..Little is known
• .Scholars are not entirely sure if he was real
• . He was a Briton
• ..He was a leader against Anglo-Saxon invaders
  in 6th century
• ..Oral poets in Wales celebrate him as a HERO

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Geoffrey of Monmouth (1135)

• Produced semi-historical History of the Kings of
  Britain from Welsh legends
• His book became popular amongst French, German,
  and English writers
• Writers updated the stories to reflect notions of
  chivalry
• He wrote about King Arthur because it was Good
  for Morale, Public looking for a HERO and for
  National Pride

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King Arthurs Family Tree

• The genealogy of King Arthur and his family has
  changed from one generation to another, during
  the medieval period. The main difference between
  one source from another, is that of number of
  sister and half-sisters, or the number of nephews
  Arthur had.
• The spelling of names had also changed, depending
  on languages or regions.
• Source http//www.timelessmyths.com/arthurian/ho
  usearthur.html

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There are many variations

• Family Tree of King Arthur (Geoffrey of
  Monmouthsversion)

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Family Tree of King Arthur (Chretien de Troyes'
version)

• The family tree of King Arthur shown here, comes
  from Chretien de Troyes' five Arthurian romances.
  Chretien was the first to introduce Lancelot and
  Perceval into the legend. He was also responsible
  for beginning the Grail legend.
• Here, Morgan le Fay is Arthur's full sister. He
  had another unnamed sister in Conte du Graal
  ("Story of the Grail" or "Perceval). But if we
  followed the First Grail Continuation, then her
  name was either Norcadet or Morgawse. Also,
  Chretien had listed three brothers to Gawain, but
  no Mordred.

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Family Tree of King Arthur (Vulgate /
Post-Vulgate version)
(This is) almost identical to the next family
tree, which used Sir Thomas Malory's work, Le
Morte d'Arthur, 1469. The difference is mainly in
the spelling of Arthur's nephews and the number
of his sisters. Notice that here, Morgeuse and
Morgan are Arthurs half sisters.
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Family Tree of King Arthur (Sir Thomas Malory's
version)
This is one of the more popular versions.it is
based on the work by Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte
d'Arthur (1469)
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Romance Narrative

• A Romance Narrative or a Medieval Romance is a
  dramatic verse or prose narrative that usually
  involves adventurous heroes, idealized love,
  exotic places and supernatural events (Holt
  McDougal Literature 229)
• First appeared in France in the 12th Century-
  quickly spread to England
• Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is considered one
  of the best examples of this genre in Arthurian
  literature.
• So- what does this really mean?

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Characteristics of a Romance Narrative

1. Idealized or Larger- than-Life Characters
2. A hero who faces a challenge or test
3. Exotic Settings or Supernatural/magic Elements
4. Hidden or Mistaken Identity

The adventures of a knight/hero on a quest
(good-vs-evil), overcoming danger to save a noble
lady or for love
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The Romance Hero.

1. Born under mysterious circumstances
2. Grows up in obscurity
3. Undergoes childhood initiation (usually involving
   a magical weapon)
4. Fights evil-promotes good
5. Aided by magical weapons wise mentors
6. Mysterious events surround his departure from
   earth (death?)

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