ENG 2262 - The Arthurian Tradition

Credits: 4
This course investigates the major traditions of Arthurian literature from the Middle Ages to Monty Python. Students will focus on the medieval development of the myth of Arthur in Celtic, Latin, and French texts (all read in translation), as well as in Middle English literature including Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Malory’s Morte Darthur, and medieval romance. In the second half of the course, students will examine the transformation of the Arthurian legend according to changing values of different eras by analyzing Victorian and modern adaptations such as Tennyson’s Idylls of the King, T.H. White’s The Once and Future King, and Marion Zimmer Bradley’s feminist revision of the legend, The Mists of Avalon. Students will also consider the Arthurian legend in several films including Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Excalibur
McDaniel Plan: Textual Analysis.