Sites of Arthur: Mythic Quests for Cultural Identity and Value
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Sites of Arthur: Mythic quests for cultural identity and value Benjamin Earl Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies Cardiff University March 2007 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy UMI Number: U584114 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U584114 Published by ProQuest LLC 2013. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Declaration This work has not previously been accepted in substance for any degree and is not concurrently submitted in candidature for any degree. This thesis is being submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD. This thesis is the result of my own independent work/investigation, except where otherwise stated. Other sources are acknowledged by footnotes giving explicit references. A 39-page bibliography is attached. I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter-library loan, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations. Signed (candidate) Date .. For William Edmund Richardson and Thomas Charles Earl. “Marvellous! ” Acknowledgements The approach of Phil Mogg, lead vocalist for UFO, had always appealed to me. As the guitarist Michael Schenker spent time self-indulgently writing to celestial spirits and saviours, Mogg would simply say: ‘Thanks.’ Acknowledgements: Part II As I thought about it however, I realised I might have to be a little self-indulgent myself. Not being the best at expressing myself face-to-face, there are a number of people who deserve me putting on record an expression of debt and gratitude. So, accept this page as the words of someone who just needs to say ‘Thanks.’ Matt Hills has been a formidable supervisor. The number of books he’s read can only be matched by the number of books he threatens to write in a year. However, the effort of trying to hang on to his coat tails has stopped this thesis being quite as slap dash as it could have been. I’d also like to thank James Thomas for his constructive criticism, and helpful comments as it neared completion. Thanks also go to Sara Gwenllian Jones for looking through the work at the end. So on to those without whom I wouldn’t have got where I am today (to paraphrase CJ from Reginald Perrin!). To my parents I owe my existence... along with a huge wad of cash and the sanity that comes from not being forced to be an Accountant. Friends are hard to find, still harder to keep, so the following deserve a mention for going beyond the call of duty. Steven Rowe’s still about, even though we’re getting ever older 20 years later! Does anyone deserve to suffer me for quite so long?!? There was a former life, when I was the kind of student who exasperates me now. For those who shared that time, it’s worth recalling the nights me, John Gilheaney, and Matthew Pearce spent drinking and philosophising about nothing. By the way Matt, why are you having to gazump me by doing yet another degree? Ruslan Ekkel remembers those times as well, hopefully he’ll remember me in the future when his movie earns him fame and notoriety. Richard Coad deserves a mention for loyalty, goodwill, and turning up in the middle of the night thoroughly unexpectedly when needed, while Kurt Hitchen keeps the Nitelight Burning! Stephen Henning put up with living with me for a couple of years, and (barely) complained. Maybe, one day, a couple of his truly fantastic TV proposals might see the light of day. Rebecca Hancock has had the grace to visit and distract whilst, occasionally, getting emails about boring academic things while my supervisor’s got emails about me stuffing cheeseburgers down my throat by mistake. All in the best possible taste! Without Abigail Grater’s confidence in my ability, this wouldn’t even have reached so far as a proposal. Now it’s finished, it’s worth saying a big ‘Thanks’ (or a big ‘Grrrrrr!’ maybe?) for helping to start the whole thing off. Meanwhile there are also those who, without their help, this thesis quite literally wouldn’t have been possible. Step forward Bobby Jack and Layla Paggetti. Talking of Nitelights, Yan Wu has allowed me to see the light can bum just when you think it’s all gone dark. Choon Key Chekar has kept me afloat, when I threatened to be holed below the water-line, Rakesh Kaushal has suffered the fate of watching Coventry in Wales, and shown the value of perseverance. Rebecca Farley meanwhile, has reminded me that culture is just as ‘important’ as media, journalism or politics. I’m sure I’ve missed some people out, but you’ll just have to believe me when I say ‘Thanks’. iv Abstract From the Gododdin to Gary Hughes, from Sir Thomas Malory to Bernard Cornwell, from Tintagel Castle to the Camelot Theme Park, the Arthurian myth has continued to exert a fascination and pull over the centuries. Different interpretations are appropriated by different cultures, subcultures and individuals as a marker of distinction, yet they find themselves tied to the dominant chivalric myth even when positioning themselves against this form of Arthur. This thesis looks at the cultural-historical conditions that result in certain Arthurian texts being valued more highly than others, and argues that contrary to Barthes’s assertion of ‘The Death of the Author’, Foucault’s author function allows for an understanding as to why the Romance chivalric version of the myth as exemplified by Malory has come to be dominant. By showing how Arthurian signifiers are ‘floating signifiers’ that allow meanings to be contested at any one time according to the taste-cultures concerned, this thesis looks at how the Arthurian myth is appropriated as a means of distinction for cultures, subcultures, and individuals. This contest over meanings sees different sections of society attempting to naturalise and value certain interpretations of the Arthurian myth as ‘authentic’ in order to legitimate their own taste-culture. Drawing on Bourdieu’s notions of Cultural and Symbolic Capital, and Fields of Production, it is possible to look at how the Arthurian myth is used to naturalise the position-taking strategies of both producers and consumers. Analysis consists not only of certain representative ‘Sites of Arthur’, but also of inter-texts surrounding these works, and audience research in relation to specific case studies. The thesis focuses not only on the response within the cultural fields themselves, but also at how Arthur is appropriated by those outside of the respective fields, and looks at the cultural contexts in which Arthur is sited. Contents Declaration.........................................................................................................................i Dedication.......................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... iii Abstract.............................................................................................................................. v Contents............................................................................................................................ vi List of Figures and Tables...........................................................................................viii Introduction: Siting Arthur ............................................................................................ 1 Siting This Thesis.........................................................................................................2 SECTION I- THEORY..................................................................................................11 Chapter 1: Authorial Sites of Arthur: Questing for authorial value...................................................................................................................................12 1.1 The Once and Future Author: Roland Barthes and authorship ..........................13 1.2 Sir Thomas Malory and Authorial Cultural Construction .................................16 1.3 The Editorial Role of Caxton in Malory’s Cultural Construction ....................20 1.4 Cornwell’s Intertextual Positioning .................................................................... 30 Chapter 2: Mythical Sites of Arthur: Questing for subcultural mythical value.................................................................................................................................. 37 2.1 The Once and Future Myth: Roland Barthes and the uber-myth ..................... 40 2.2 Sir Thomas Malory and Mythical Cultural Construction ..................................50 SECTION II- FILM.......................................................................................................64 Chapter 3: Online and Filmic Sites of Arthur: Caught in the (Arthur)net..........65 3.1 Academic Language As a Barrier To Entry ........................................................69