Arthurian Literature

EN 398E
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:002:15
Room: LOVE 103
Professor Anthony Adams
Email: ajadams@colby.edu
Office Hours: Tuesdays 11:3012:30, Wednesdays 12:002:00

COURSE DESCRIPTION
Arthurian literature is among the most influential cultural forces of all time. Playing a
major role in the development of courtly love, it gave rise in turn to modern romance. It
was essential to Gothic, Victorianism, and Modernism, and remains so for young adult and
contemporary fiction. This course introduces students to the historical and cultural origins
of modern love through close reading of medieval literature, history, and later adaptations.
Readings will include Malory's Morte Darthur, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gottfrieds
Tristan, Chrtiens Perceval, and Welsh and Latin texts in translation, as well as T.H.
Whites classic The Once and Future King; topics will include Merlin, the Grail, Lancelot and
Guinevere, courtly love, chivalry, and sacrifice. Films will provide an additional backdrop
for study, along with television programs, a graphic novel, and a video game.

COURSE GOALS
To understand the origins and development of the Arthurian legends and myths,
in terms of their historical periods, and their internal and external influences;
to become better acquainted with the processes and techniques of historical and
literary study of past ages;
to gain an acquaintance with several genres and themes of medieval literature
to further academic writing and research skills;
to connect literary texts with other forms of art, such as cinema, painting, or drama;
to understand the relationship of Arthurian mythology to concepts such as
romance, sacrifice, chivalry, and nobility;
to become better viewers of cinematic form;
to gain an understanding of the long-term popularity and influence of Arthurian
literature and mythology.
COURSE TEXTS (available at the Colby Bookstore)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, ed. and trans. James Winny, Broadview
Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, ed. Stephen H.A. Shepherd. Norton Critical
Editions
Gottfried von Strassburg, Tristan, tr. A.T. Hatto, Penguin
Chrtien de Troyes, Arthurian Romances, tr. William Kibler, Penguin
T.H. White, The Once and Future King, Ace
I will also be assigning additional readings more or less weekly, which will be made
available to you either online or through handouts

FILMS: one of the components of this course will be a weekly film viewing, which is mostly
optionalmostly because you will have to see at least one, and write up a review of the
film, discussing it in the light of some course-related themes or issues. You are welcome to
come to as many as you like, however, but there is no obligation to see them all!
The current plan is to have film showings on Wednesday evenings at 7 pm, but this may be
subject to change. Location TBA

COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Three short essays, responding to weekly discussion questions, 34 double-spaced pp
(worth 10% each); these should be handed in to me within two weeks of the discussion
(e.g., an essay on a question we talked about during the week of Feb 13 and 15 must be
given to me by Feb 29th; all short response-essays must be turned in by May 4 in any
event)
Project on contemporary Arthuriana (20%); this can be on modern fantasy literature, video
games, RPG, films, Romantic, Victorian, or contemporary poetry, or anything else you
choose.*
One research paper, 1015 pp (30%); due May 8
One short review of a film, 23 pp (10%); due within two weeks of the showing
Class participation (10%)

*more details will be forthcoming in time

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LETTER TO STUDENTS
Welcome! I am glad you have chosen to enroll in this course, so that we might explore
Arthurian literature together. The semester will be intellectually challenging and eye-opening
for you and for me. I know that you have many other responsibilities in your life: some
academic, some work-related, some personal. I certainly did when I was an undergraduate,
and I still do today. Given how busy and complicated most of our lives tend to be, I think
its best if we take some time now, at the start, to consider some good approaches to how
we will be learning and thinking in this class together. I believe strongly that mutual
communication over expectations and hopes will make it possible for all of you to stay, and
to succeed at a very high level, in the class. I also hopethough I cannot guarantee this
that many of you will find the semester to be a truly enriching experience, one that you will
remember long after you leave.
Our teaching and learning will take place in this classroom. It is bounded by the shape and
size of its walls and ceiling, by its lighting and chalkboards, and so on, but it remains a
space that you and I can mold together. We can shape its atmosphere, its space. I agree,
with Parker Palmer, who wrote in his book The Courage to Teach that the ideal classroom
space required our attention to six paradoxes. They are:
The classroom space should be both bounded and open. We will respect the
boundaries established by the topic of the class, and the specific questions we will
be considering each week. We will also allow the texts we read and the questions we
seek to answer to establish much of our learning agenda. However, these are gentle
boundaries, not walls, rather like lines on a football field guide the game, but do
not completely restrict the players movements. I want you to feel free to explore
your own questions, and to map out your own terrain, as the semester proceeds.
We will follow the tracks of whatever questions come up, keeping an eye on our
maps.
The space should be both hospitable and charged. The learning space in this class
is meant to remain inviting and trustworthy. It is common for teachers to remind
students that there are no stupid questions, but I want to add that there are also no
unnecessary questions. In this space I, too, am a learner. An instructor, to be sure,
with a certain amount of expertise, but I am here to learn as well, and I expect you
to teach me. However, too much comfort can create a sleepy environment, one that
encourages learners to avoid conflict and challenges, and that is not what we want.
Ideally, this space will be one in which both you and I, as students, feel safe to take
risks, and to challenge ourselves intellectually and personally.
The space should invite the voice of the individual and the voice of the group. You
are all welcomeand encouragedto make your voices heard, to speak your minds.
Do not be afraid to express your ideas, your concerns, your wonders. Do not feel
that your own personal insights, and your own experiences, have no place in the
classroom space. On the other hand, if we gain nothing but the chance to offer our
own individual experiences to each other, we will not have succeeded as a learning
community. We want to be willing to argue, to discuss, to consider topics from

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 multiple points of view, and to learn what the collective wisdom is, as well as our
personal wisdom.
The space should honor the little stories of the students, and the big stories of
disciplines and tradition. As I have emphasized, your own personal insights are
always relevant, and welcome. I want to hear your opinions and insights, and so do
your peers. On the other hand, I would not be an adequate instructor were I to
expect no further progress in our thinking than the borders of our own brain, and
our own experiences. One of my roles as expert and instructor is to reveal, and
explain, the pre-existing opinions that have been formed by other people who have
thought about these issues. Every discipline has its history, and its sense of what is
important, vital, inspiring. I hope to introduce you to these, regularly, so that you
will have a chance to consider your own story as one star in the constellations of
other voices, and so that you might feel comfortable joining the conversation.
The space should support solitude and surround it with the resources of
community. Learning requires a great deal of solitary activity: reading, doing,
reflection, writing. Yet it also requires community, however smallour model of
learning needs dialogue with others, in order to challenge our own biases, and
often to confirm our insights. This common dialogue is not one that stifles
individuality, in favor of groupthink and homogeneity, but rather one that helps
each of us to become better learners. Like participation in a jazz band, the thrill of
communal creation encourages each of us to hone our individual efforts.
The space should welcome both silence and speech. As many teachers have
observed, and as Parker Palmer writes, Words are not the sole medium of
exchange in teaching and learningwe educate with silence as well. We should not
be embarrassed or made uncomfortable by silence in the classroomit is necessary
for reflection, consideration, and, sometimes, rest. It is also true that those of us
who are instructors often rush to fill silences, lest we be thought to have lost
control, or failed to inspire, or to be uncertain. Yet it is often the case that if an
instructor waits long enough, students will take up the discussion themselves, once
they have prepared their thoughts. It is a worthwhile maxim for you to remember,
that your questions will usually be better than my answers; and your answers may
be, too.

BASIC CLASS ETIQUETTE (I.E., RULES)

No texting or phone calls during class.
Computer use in-class is restricted to note-takingno Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, email,
YouTube, Angry Birds, Sudoku, or any other form of pixilated entertainment. There are
no exceptions to this. If you are found breaking this policy, you will no be allowed to use a
computer in the class again.

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As per Colby policy, Students are expected to attend all of their classes and scheduled
course events in any semester or January and are responsible for any work missed.
Religious observances are the exception.
If you are a student-athlete, please remember that Colby rules state that students are
permitted to miss a class for a contest (at the professors discretion), but not for practice.

COURSE SCHEDULE

Feb 2: Introduction
Topics: the matter of Britain; historical Arthur; the evidence
Geoffrey of Monmouth (handout)

LANCELOT AND GUENEVERE

Feb 7 and 9
Topics: courtly love, troubador lyrics, Malory, Geoffrey
READINGS: White, The Once and Future King (read this quickly first, to refresh your mind as
to the general storyline of the Arthurian epic)
Malory, Morte Darthur, book VII (then start in on this, an actual medieval narrative)
FILM: Monty Python and the Holy Grail (dir. Gilliam and Jones, 1974)

Feb 14 and 16
Topics: Chivalry, Romantic re-imaginings, medieval contexts
READINGS: Malory, Morte Darthur, books VII and VIII
Tennysons Lady of Shalott (handout)
Keen, Chivalry (excerpt)
FILM: Excalibur (dir. Boorman, 1981)

Feb 21 and 23
READINGS: Malory, Morte Darthur, book VIII; Chrtiens Lancelot
FILM: Lancelot du lac (dir. Bresson, 1974)

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 THE GRAIL

Feb 28 and March 1

READINGS: Chrtiens Perceval
FILM: Perceval le Gallois (dir. Rohmer, 1979)

March 6 and 8
READINGS: Chrtiens Perceval
Malory, Morte Darthur, Book vi
FILM: King Arthur (dir. Fuqua, 2004)

March 13 and 15
READINGS: Malory, Morte Darthur, Book vi
FILM: The Fisher King (dir. Gilliam, 1991)
SPECIAL MEDIA: (medieval-themed video games?)

SPRING BREAK, MARCH 1725

MERLIN

March 27 and 29
READINGS: Welsh tales (Yr Afallennau, Yr Oianau, and others)
Vita Merlini
Prophetiae Merlini
Geoffrey of Monmouth
FILM: The Sword in the Stone (Disney, dir. Reitherman, 1963)
SPECIAL MEDIA: Merlin (TV show) and Mr. Merlin (TV show)

April 3 and 5
READINGS: Robert de Boron, Merlin (excerpt); Malory, Morte Darthur, Book i
FILM: Apocalypse Now (dir. Coppola, 1979)

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 [PASSOVER AND EASTER WEEKEND, APRIL 68]

TRISTAN AND ISOLT

April 10 and 12
READINGS: Berouls Tristan (excerpt); Gottfrieds Tristan
FILM: Tristan & Isolde (dir. Reynolds, 2006)

April 17 and 19
READINGS: Gottfrieds Tristan
FILM: The Da Vinci Code (dir. Howard, 2006)
SPECIAL MEDIA: Wagner, Tristan and Isolde (opera)

GAWAIN
April 24 and 26
READINGS: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Fitts 1 and 2
FILM: Gawain and the Green Knight (dir. Weeks, 1973) or Sword of the Valiant (dir. Weeks, 1984)

May 1 and 3
READINGS: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Fitts 3 and 4
FILM: The Big Lebowski (dir. Coen Brothers, 1998)

RESEARCH PAPER DUE MAY 8 (TUESDAY) BY 5 PM

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INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

Instructor: Anthony Adams, Ph.D., Assistant Professor

Office: Miller 219
Email: ajadams@colby.edu
Office phone: (207) 8595265
Office Hours: Tuesdays 11:3012:30, Wednesdays 12:002:00
Education: B.A. Wesleyan (English), M.A., Ph.D. Toronto (Medieval Studies)
Work experience: Brown University 20092011; Colby, 2011present
Research interests: Your professor is a Visiting Assistant Professor of English, specializing in
medieval languages and literatures. Currently Im working on my first book, which
examines sacrifice and violence in Middle English poetry. Past courses Ive offered have
examined outlaws, violence and sacrifice, trauma theory, memory studies, animality, history
of the English language, visions and concepts of the Otherworld, Old and Middle English,
Old Norse sagas and poetry, Old Irish, Middle Welsh, Medieval Latin, and horror fiction.
Other interests of mine include poetic difficulty, literary games, follies and nonsense,
cultural studies, cognitive science, historical linguistics, aesthetic theory, and holidays. I
have written on Old English and Carolingian poetry of war, Medieval Latin, Thomas
Malory, the Middle English Charlemagne romances, Norse sagas, Chaucer, and Beowulf,
and published (with George Rigg) the first complete English verse translation and
commentary of the ninth-century epic poem Bella Parisiacae urbis in The Journal for Medieval
Latin. My essay on Flann OBriens comic masterpiece The Third Policeman has just come
out in a special issue of The Review of Contemporary Fiction. Before coming to Colby, I taught
at Brown University for two years. I grew up in Massachusetts.
Outside interests: Cooking, guitar, contemporary fiction and poetry, Scandinavian studies,
jazz and blues, film, baseball, football, skiing.
Contacting me: The best approach is by email.

Forthcoming work
Chivalric Quest: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, forthcoming in The Heros Quest, ed. Bernard
Schweizer, EBSCO Critical Insights (Salem Press, 2012)
Theres No Hideousness like Show Hideousness: Why Attempts at Fidelity have Ruined Beowulf,
forthcoming in BADapatations, ed. I.Q. Hunter and Constantine Ververis
He took a stone away: Castration and Cruelty in Sturlunga saga, forthcoming in Historia
Calamitatum: Castration and Culture from Antiquity through the Early Modern Era, ed. Larissa Tracy
(Boydell & Brewer, 2012)
An Immensity of Bitter Air: Fate and the North in Haggards Medieval Novels, forthcoming in
Reappraising Rider Haggard, ed. John Miller (2012)