ENGL 422 A: Arthurian Legends

The figure of King Arthur continues to emblematize the world of the Middle Ages --despite the fact that most contemporary portrayals directly reference texts originating in the modern period. The past twenty years, however, have seen a revolution in the study of genuine early medieval witnesses to the Arthurian myth. Predating Geoffrey of Monmouth’s twelfth-century invention of our most enduring Arthurian narrative, ancient Celtic accounts of a non-aristocratic Arthur; legendary, female-gendered prophets such as the Celtic visionary Morrigan (later Morgan le Fay); as well as the bestial Merlinus rusticus (a “Wild Man” characterization of Merlin), among other figures, have recently been edited and translated. Neglected manuscripts documenting the circulation of the legends in previously unsuspected social contexts have also come to light.  With an eye toward class members’ preferred theoretical approaches to premodern texts, the primary goal of the course will be to reenvision the Arthurian canon by providing a key to the latest advances in the study of the medieval sources.