Favourite Medievalisms

Some don’t-miss medievalisms:

ELIZABETH EMERY TALKS ABOUT THE MEDIEVAL TIMES RESTAURANT AND TOURNAMENT AND RENAISSANCE FAIRES. Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament consists of nine modern-built castles spread through the United States and Canada (a single location in Toronto) in which customers purchase seats to dinner and a theatrically staged tournament. Food is served by ‘wenches’ to ‘Lords and ladies’ decked in paper crowns who eat with their hands. Commercialization surrounds the event: swords, glasses, banners, and other objects are constantly proposed for consumption throughout the day’s or evening’s activities. The company was begun by Jose Montaner, who created a medieval-style attraction infl uenced by the fi lm El Cid to enhance his barbecue restaurant in Majorca. He exported the model to Spain and then to Kissimmee, Florida (near Disneyworld) in 1983. It was absolutely unique for its time and well-reviewed in newspapers, particularly for the staged tournaments featuring jousting and equestrian feats performed on beautiful Andalusian horses. It welcomed 183,272 visitors the fi rst year and 257,350 the following. In fi ve years the initial number had more than doubled. The original location near Disneyworld is a testament to Medieval Times’s family-oriented focus. Its web site caters to the fantasies of children (the voice-over on the site in 2012 featured a boy chanting: ‘I dreamed I was a prince, a mighty warrior’, followed by an adult voice: ‘The fantasy comes alive. Incredible jousting, thrilling combat’) and it offers steep discounts for children and school groups. The phenomenon is so well-known in the United States as to have been satirized in a recent children’s book (as ‘Medieval Days Family Restaurants’). The narrative arc of the Medieval Times performance changes every few years, but comes straight from Arthurian romance. The lord welcomes the guests to his castle to celebrate peace with a tournament (this includes explanation of medieval customs and clothing, demonstrations of falconry and weapons, and other information about medieval life). An interloper arrives to issue a challenge and a knight must leave the court. He is captured and ransomed. Other knights must fi ght for his rescue. The storyline is diffi cult to follow, particularly since it is accompanied

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by booming microphones, swelling Hollywood-style music, and light shows, but it weaves the action sequences into what is a fairly informative and action-packed show about the Middle Ages in which the audience cheers for the knights representing their section of the arena. It is an inclusive setting, where all participate in the festivities (eating, cheering, receiving fl owers from the knights). This is a ‘fantasy’ of romance, adventure, and combat (as the voice on the web site proposes), but it also features impressive pageantry, from the horses themselves, to the costumes, banners, staged jousting, and horse tricks. Visitor Bill Taylor summed it up well in a 20 August 1993 Toronto Star article describing the recently opened site: ‘There’s an element of circus, a touch of rodeo, a huge chunk of all-in wrestling. You know the fi ghting is fake from start to fi nish— of course it is— but you’re still on the edge of your seat and wincing.’ In fact, if full-contact jousters criticize Medieval Times so sharply, it is probably because it is where many of them got their start (familiarity breeds contempt). Like many other children who bought into the dream of becoming a knight, Shane Adams became a theatrical jouster for the company: ‘I thought by working at a dinner show, my childhood dream of being a knight would be lived. But instead, I realized I wasn’t a true knight in shining armour. I was only a knight in shining polyester and tinsel.’ From the outside, Medieval Times seems shining and magical, but the courtly tournament, like the advertised ‘four-course meal fi t for royalty’ (a greasy chicken leg, fried potatoes, cornbread, and cookie) does not live up to the marketing. The same criticisms about authenticity are often made of the Renaissance Faires that have fl ourished throughout the summertime in North America since 1963. They are ‘partly a craft fair, partly historical reenactment and partly performance art,’ as the national organization’s web site puts it:

People working at Faire dress in costumes (garb) typical of the late Elizabethan period. Booths sell crafts and food. Parades wind their way through the crowds. Jugglers, musicians, magicians, and other entertainers perform through the day. Your day is spent wandering about, examining wares, sampling foods, watching plays and performers, and of course drinking fyne English Ale’.

‘Some are Renaissance era, some Medieval, but all have a home for Pirates, Elves, Fairies, Vikings, Klingons and You.’ None of this is particularly authentic, nor is it particularly medieval, but Renaissance Faires have become an important part of what Americans think of as ‘medieval’: an eclectic amalgam of picturesque costumes, foods, and commercial activities through which one ‘wanders’ in order to forget the present. From Disney’s Epcot Center to Las Vegas casinos, Americans have long adopted elements of world culture, recreating them in miniature according to their own tastes. Excalibur and Luxor Casinos, Medieval Times, and Renaissance Faires all follow in this spirit of appropriation, recreation, and family entertainment, and it is at these venues that one is most likely to experience live jousting in North America. By Elizabeth Emery (see her essay, Medieval Times: Tournaments and Jousting in 21st century North America, in the book accompanying this website)

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MAGGIE WILLIAMS AND LAUREN RAZZORE ASK WHAT IS THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY MEME? One of the best known medieval memes was designed sometime around 2002, by Bjorn Karnebogen and Gerd Jungbluth, two students at the Kunsthochschule für Medien (Academy of Media Arts) in Cologne, Germany. They created an interactive Flash application called The Historic Tale Construction Kit. Even though the original generator was eventually removed from the Internet, the site’s popularity inspired a replica that appears here: http://bayeux. datensalat.net. The designers expressed an interest in the interactive or participatory nature of their work, frequently referring to users as ‘authors’ who are ‘essential parts of the whole.’ The application allows users to drag and drop fi gures, animals, architectural structures and other images into a frame, where they can formulate their ‘own stories’ by dragging ‘images to the canvas to compose story panels.’ It is also possible to ‘click the canvas to enter text,’ which appears in a font that closely resembles the design of the embroidered letters in the original work of art. The background is rendered using Photoshop to resemble plain linen cloth, worn with age and sewn together in places. A sandy beige colour, the fi eld initially appears with the pale red silhouettes of two fi gures on horseback brandishing shields and spears. A sidebar at the left explains the activity, with a tool kit for editing your creation and a start button at the bottom. When you click the start button, the silhouetted fi gures disappear, leaving a blank space available for your work, and the tool kit is replaced with a selection of images that resemble bits of embroidered fabric. Five tabs offer a selection of ‘beasts,’ ‘misc,’ ‘brave,’ ‘folc,’ and ‘buildings.’ Once you have arranged a scene from these elements, you can mirror, enlarge, miniaturize, or rotate them to create a narrative. Text can also be typed into text boxes at any location. By engaging in the creative process in this way, you are reinventing the Bayeux Tapestry in a new context. Rather than passively receiving the imagery and/or information, you actively engage with the object, rearranging the composition, adding new text, and completely altering the meaning and function of the medieval work. Generating such medieval memes makes the Middle Ages present in the modern world, and it changes the way that contemporary people interact with medieval art. In fact, it is entirely possible that a visitor to the Bayeux Tapestry meme site has never encountered the original object before making her own rendition of it. Once completed, your design resembles a panel from the eleventh-century embroidery commonly known as the Bayeux Tapestry. The so-called Bayeux Tapestry is a 220-foot long embroidery depicting the Battle of Hastings in 1066, probably made in England shortly after the historical events. A unique and fascinating work of medieval art, the textile has infl uenced generations of viewers in astounding ways. As Martin Foys, Karen Overbey, and Dan Terkla put it in the introduction to their recent collection of essays on the subject, the Bayeux Tapestry has long been a ‘visual and historical magnet, pulling on both the popular and academic imagination.’ The Historic Tale Construction Kit allowed users from across the globe to play with the embroidery in a direct way, creating their own variations on a medieval theme. Many of the resulting designs are humorous, often incorporating amusing messages in a quasi- Shakespearian ‘medieval-ese.’ For instance, one user offered a reference to the 2006 Samuel L. Jackson fi lm, Snakes on a Plane. (http://medievalsoap.ytmnd.com/) The image includes a

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boat at the centre, with two shields artfully placed to resemble airplane wings. A photograph of a snake coils itself around one end of the boat, and a fi gure at the lower left wields an axe. The text reads, ‘Tis it! I hath had it with these mother trysting serpents on thine mother trysting fl ying barge!,’ a medieval translation of Jackson’s line, ‘Enough is enough! I have had it with these motherfuckin’ snakes on this motherfuckin’ plane.’ Visually, the image offers a collage of slick modern imagery in the body of the snake and the richly textured fabrics of the Bayeux Tapestry; the text plays upon the same odd juxtaposition, making jokes about both the formality of ‘medieval’ language and the campness of the contemporary movie. In fact, many of the Bayeux Tapestry memes mashed the eleventh-century imagery with modern popular culture. For example, in ‘autobotsrollethout,’ the user arranged a collage of elements from the Tapestry to create a giant robotic fi gure intended to recall a transformer, a popular children’s toy. (http://autobotsrollethout.ytmnd.com) Transformers are vehicles that morph into robots, some of whom are called ‘autobots,’ and ‘roll out’ is a common command for them. Their memorable slogan—and the song from the related television show—proclaims that they are ‘robots in disguise.’ The meme’s text reads, ‘Transformers’ across the top of the page, with ‘autobots rolleth out’ and ‘buildings in disguise’ to the left and right of the fi gure’s head. Some designs are animated, such as ‘medievalwry’ in which two fi gures are fi ghting. The ultimate victor pushes the other aside, the screen turns blue for a moment, then the dominant fi ghter throws ten knives from each of his fi ngers into the other character, who falls down to the right. After that, a horse falls from above and the word ‘wryyyyyy’ appears across the top of the panel. ‘Wryyyy’ is a transliteration of the Japanese for useless or futile, often used in anime, manga, and video games when a character overwhelms a weaker enemy with quick and repeated attacks. Once again, the meme offers users an opportunity to recast certain favourite elements of contemporary popular culture as medieval fantasies (http://medievalwry.ytmnd.com). It is also no surprise that Internet gaming culture plays a role in many memes, medieval or not.

By Maggie W. Williams and Lauren C. Razzore (see their chapter, Medieval Memes, in the book accompanying this website)

RENÉE WARD ON HARRY POTTER: UNIVERSAL’S THE WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER, THE WARNERS BROS Studio Tour and English heritage sites associated with Harry Potter

A number of historical sites attract tourists by offering a range of interactive activities connected to the fi lms and books. Much like the experiential medievalism of medieval fairs, which allow ‘enthusiasts to re-create and participate in the past’ (Pugh and Weisl 2013, p. 122), these activities allow fans to participate more directly in Harry Potter culture. Gloucester Cathedral and Christ Church College, for instance, both run tours that highlight fi lm set locations. The Harry Potter Gloucester Cathedral Tour promises to reveal secrets about how the religious

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nature of the buildings, along with their modern amenities, were camoufl aged during fi lm production (Gloucester’s Harry Potter Trail 2003), while the Behind the Scenes tour at Christ Church teases that its Great Hall has only one moving picture, but that it is an important one (Visitor Information: Harry Potter 2011). The village of Lacock offers Harry Potter inspired seasonal events, including its Witches and Wizards Potion Trail, which leads people through the Abbey grounds and highlights the ingredients they must collect in order to concoct their ‘very own pretend “Lacock Potion”‘ (What’s On 2013). Alnwick Castle provides more elaborate ‘Potter-themed activities, from Broomstick Training to magic shows [that] feature characters inspired by Harry and Hagrid’ (Film and Television at Alnwick Castle 2013). The attraction of experiential activities is most evident at Universal’s The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, in Orlando, Florida, and at the Warner Bros. Harry Potter Studio Tour, in Leavesden, England. Annually, an astounding volume of people travel from around the globe to these sites. Universal’s addition of the immersive Wizarding World, for example, boosted the resort’s overall attendance to record-breaking levels (The Wizarding World of Harry Potter 2013). While on the grounds, fans engage in a variety of activities based on Harry’s experiences. They attend a wand demonstration at Ollivander’s; drink butterbeer at The Three Broomsticks; buy Cauldron Cakes from Honeydukes; explore novelty items such as Sneakoscopes and Extendable Ears at Zonko’s; and travel through the full-scale replica of Hogwarts while en-route to the main attraction, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. This ride simulates a Quidditch match and exposes fans to some of the dangers Harry faces in the series, such as Acromantula, dragons, and Dementors. While some of these attractions demonstrate fi delity to the books and/or fi lms—for instance, the Ollivander’s experience employs narrative verbatim from The Philosopher’s Stone—a number are primarily amalgamations. Although Universal identifi es its Harry Potter village as Hogsmeade, many of the shops derive from Diagon Alley. Likewise, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is a composite experience rather than a simulacrum of a specifi c Quidditch match. At the time of writing, though, Universal appears to be working towards greater similitude. A second theme park opened in 2014 featuring Diagon Alley. New shops and experiences will be available to fans, including Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions and Quality Quidditch Supplies. For the peckish, a British pub-meal can be acquired at the Leaky Cauldron, while those with a sweet tooth can seek treats at Florean Fortescue’s Ice-Cream Parlour. Perhaps the most promising additions, at least for thrill-seekers and those who desire an immersive experience, are Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, which Universal describes as a “multi-dimensional new thrill ride” (The Wizarding World 2014), and the Hogwarts Express, the family-oriented ride that connects the two Harry Potter parks. The latter option includes an experience of passage from King’s Cross Station to the magical Platform 9 ¾, as well as “never before seen” views of the Black Lake as the train approaches Hogwarts (Rumor SPOTLIGHT 2014). Riders beware, however. This immersive train-ride will also expose fans to an actual Demontor attack, “replete with ice-cold air being pumped into the cabin” (Rumor SPOTLIGHT 2014). Fans who desire an experience with greater fi delity might prefer the Warner Bros. Harry Potter Studio Tour. An exploration of the Leavesden studio, the tour provides considerable behind-the-scenes information about the creation of sets, costumes, props, and special effects, including those with medieval origins. The tour’s fi rst stop is the Great Hall. Here, fans explore the medieval-inspired architectural features of Hogwarts, such as its stained glass

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windows, ribbed pillars and vaults, and decorated capitals and lintels. Next, they examine a series of scale models and a narrative of the set’s relationship to the Great Hall at Christ Church College. The potions classroom similarly demonstrates the infl uence of medieval architecture, this time through Romanesque features such as those at Durham Cathedral and Lacock Abbey. Gilded calligraphic lines—primarily of the English and Latin names of potions ingredients—frame the dungeon’s rounded archways. At the Gryffi ndor common room, fans view the full-scale replica of a medieval tapestry and watch a video that discusses the room’s design inspirations. The video includes information on The Lady and the Unicorn: To My Only Desire, the fi fteenth-century tapestry upon which designers modelled the Gryffi ndor wall-hanging. The Warner Bros. tour culminates in an experience that borders on reverent and that evokes the spiritual aspect of medieval pilgrimage. Although fans meander within the two main studio buildings at leisure, the tour exit requires that they pass through a type of holy space and pay homage to the on-site relic: the 1:24 scale model of Hogwarts Castle and grounds. The tour’s fi nal phase starkly contrasts the sensory-overload that characterizes many of the sets. The path out of Diagon Alley takes tour-goers into a pristine and bright space called the Production Designer room, where black and white images and diagrams, along with plans for sets, animatronics, and paintings, paper the walls. The Production Designer room opens into a similarly lit hallway that features artists’ renderings of characters, sets, and costumes, and then feeds into an ascending switch-back ramp. On display along the ramp are white paper models of sets, ranging from Hogwarts’ classrooms to the Durmstrang ship. As tour-goers ascend the ramp, the volume of the Harry Potter soundtrack, which plays in the background, increases. Intermittent light changes—blue to white, then white to blue—fl ood the entrance of the room at the top of the ramp. The displays emphasize the care that went into every item within the fi lm franchise, while the path builds to the collection’s masterpiece. At the top of the ramp and around the corner, fans encounter the Hogwarts model, set alternately in day-time and night-time lighting. The tour’s fi nale is awe-inspiring. With his adaptations of Philosopher’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, director Christopher Columbus initiated the trend of employing medieval historical sites as sets for the Harry Potter fi lm franchise. Columbus selected locations such as the Gloucester Cathedral Cloisters and Alnwick Castle as the backdrop for Hogwarts and its environs. The Gloucester Cloisters includes examples of Romanesque and Gothic architecture, and is especially known for its fan-vaulting, decorated capitals, and medieval and heraldic stained glass windows. Audiences can glimpse such features while viewing the fi lms: the East Cloister becomes a Hogwarts hallway, while the West Slype, the entrance to the West Walk, houses the doorway to the Gryffi ndor Common Room; the Cloisters’ courtyard, the Garth, becomes the garden space in which a tearful Hermione rushes past Harry and Ron, and the North Walk Lavatorium transforms into the hallway in which the boys fi rst encounter the troll. Similarly, the exterior and grounds of Alnwick, a composite construction upon the foundations of a Norman castle, are the site of the Quidditch lesson in the fi rst fi lm, and the site of the Ford Anglia crash in the second fi lm. Other medieval sites used in the fi lms include Durham Cathedral, which appears as interior and exterior shots of Hogwarts and provides the backdrop for Professor McGonagall’s

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classroom; the Lacock Abbey Chapter House, which appears in classroom shots in the early fi lms; and Lacock Village, which operates as the village where, in fi lm six, Dumbledore and Harry seek Horace Slughorn. Durham Cathedral demonstrates some of the earliest examples of the architectural developments of the High Middle Ages. Most notably, it provides some of Britain’s best examples of late eleventh- and early twelfth-century Romanesque stonework, and illustrates the transition from groin-vaults and rounded archways to ribbed-vaults and pointed archways. These developments increased the weight-bearing capacities of buildings and allowed for greater heights to be reached, thus paving the way for the Gothic style. The thirteenth-century Lacock Abbey includes various Gothic and Gothic Revival features, such as fan-vaulting and oriel windows, while the connected medieval village includes architectural styles ranging from period cottages to half-timbered houses. The most recognizable architectural reference for Harry Potter fans, though, is likely to be the model for the Great Hall at Hogwarts: the Great Hall at Christ Church College, Oxford. With its Christ Church-inspired high, vaulted ceilings and stained glass, the Great Hall at Hogwarts appears repeatedly in the fi lms, and has a variety of functions. It serves as a dining and gathering space; as the location of the Yule Ball; as overnight accommodations in times of duress; as the location of the fi nal duel between Harry and Voldemort; and, in the aftermath of the fi nal battle, as a place of recovery and mourning. While the fi lms themselves are inherently anachronistic—their sets may have medieval origins but remain imbued with contemporary trappings—they provide for audiences visual access to excellent examples of medieval architecture. In short, their anachronistic nature is not necessarily negative; rather, the directors use these sites, as Pugh and Weisl would say, ‘to achieve striking aesthetic, narrative, and pleasurable effects’ (2013, p. 84). While one can, for instance, tour the Gloucester Cathedral Cloisters searching for all of the artifi ces used to disguise modern features such as electrical outlets, this does not detract from the artistic achievement of the fi lms or their impact on the viewer. The fi lms increase interest in the medieval period as people research and visit fi lm-related sites. In fact, many of the organizations that run these sites emphasize their connection to the Harry Potter franchise in order to increase tourism. By Renée Ward (See her chapter, Harry Potter and Medievalism, in the book accompanying this website)

LAURIE FINKE AND SUSAN ARONSTEIN ON THE RUINS OF TINTAGEL CASTLE So what of the only ‘real’ offered in the midst of this Arthurian absence, the ruins themselves? They sprawl across two headlands, connected by a narrow wooden bridge, both accessible only by the steep and daunting stairs installed by English Heritage. There isn’t much to see; the views of the beach below and the cliffs and coast in the distance are more compelling than anything at the actual site: the bare foundations of chambers, the famous ‘medieval’ toilet, a few intact walls and window-slits. The most commanding fragment, the arched door and wall through which the visitor enters the great hall, turns out not to be not medieval at all, but

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a nineteenth-century recreation of a medieval original. Even here, however, Arthur frames visitors’ experiences; the fi rst sign-board admits that ‘what is known provides little evidence for the Arthurian legend,’ but immediately asserts the mythical authenticity of the landscape: ‘when the mist comes swirling through Merlin’s cave, it is easy to see how the myth has survived to this day.’ Only then does Arthur disappears from the site’s limited subsequent signage as the tourist gaze is directed toward the sites’ ‘authentic’ history with illustrated boards. Few visitors, however, bother with any of the signs; most are not here for Richard, or for authenticity, but for an ‘Arthuricity’ that promises access not to origin but to narrative, in which the ruins function as an Arthurian metonymy, allowing visitors to conjure their own Arthurian real.

By Laurie Finke and Susan Aronstein (see their chapter, Conjuring the Ghosts of Camelot: Tintagel and the Medievalism of Heritage, in the book accompanying this website)

ELIZABETH EMERY ON FULL METAL JOUSTING The ‘warrior class’ jousting advocated by Adams in Full Metal Jousting, the reality show programme he developed for The History Channel (fi rst aired in February 2012), is not subtle about military analogy, beginning with the programme’s title and continuing with its web site, which multiplies references to danger (‘the most dangerous collision sport in history’) and brutality (‘a bone-crushing competition’). The site selectively characterizes the history of jousting as ‘history’s fi rst extreme sport’, much more about ‘physical, dangerous exploits’, than about ‘chivalric knights and their adoring maidens’. The courtly context of tournaments is noted, but downplayed. The directors also downplay jousting’s long history as elaborate spectator sport by giving the show a narrative arc reminiscent of ‘boot camp’ buddy fi lms like Full Metal Jacket. In Full Metal Jousting, sixteen recruits leave their home to bunk together in rural Mississippi while bonding and learning ‘full contact jousting’. Yet unlike boot camp, where the ultimate goal is military team building, the ‘red’ and ‘black’ team members in Full Metal Jousting compete among themselves for a purse of $100,000: ‘The teams are forced to choose who will face off in the $25,000 Joust. After weeks of pressure and pain only one warrior will survive and be the fi rst champion of Full Metal Jousting’. Furthermore, the show has been edited to resemble the Survivor series (it was, in fact, produced by the co-executive producer of the Survivor series), featuring an eclectic mix of rodeo stars, polo players, former Marines, stuntmen, fi re fi ghters, horse trainers, students, and ‘theatrical jousters’. As in all reality television programs, which seek to maximize dramatic tensions among contestants, fi nal participants were selected from a large audition group (600 men and women), of whom thirty made it to a preliminary jousting camp. In the programme, the sixteen light-skinned male fi nalists (all from the United States) are regularly interviewed about their motivations in scenes that seem to be selected to build up the tensions between the ‘tough guys’ and the more cerebral types (among them a philosophy Ph.D. student). While some are

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in it for the experience, most seem committed because of the purse. This removes them even further from a chivalric context by painting jousters as mercenaries, once again emphasizing the military nature of this man-on-man combat. Episode titles include ‘Charge On’, ‘Go to War’, ‘A Killing Machine’, ‘Blood and Guts’, ‘Death Sticks and a Coffi n’. This is a resolutely white male world dominated by metaphors about combat, viscera, and death. If one puts aside the Survivor-like format, Full Metal Jousting does provide a very good sense of jousting’s potential as a modern ‘extreme sport’. The interactive elements of the web site lay out the equipment, the fi eld, and the scoring techniques. The armour may look like tin cans, even if made from stainless steel and based on sixteenth-century German models, but its weight (about eighty pounds) makes it both protective and cumbersome, thus emphasizing the physical prowess necessary for jousting. Journalists like Neil Genzlinger, who reviewed the show in an 8 February 2012 article for the New York Times, were shocked by just how heavy and disabling the armour was: ‘I was not expecting quite so tight a fi t. Or the weight. Or the de facto blindness. Or the sensation of being baked alive.’ The eleven-foot solid-wood lances test even the most seasoned athletes and can infl ict serious bodily harm (bloody injuries dominate several episodes). Seeing these contestants learn to ride wearing this armour, to aim a lance while moving at speeds of twenty miles per hour, and to take crushing blows from lances, is an impressive feat that reveals how paltry modern conditioning is in comparison to that of the Middle Ages. Although it is cloaked in warrior lingo and the competitive trash talking of reality television, the slow-motion replays, scoring rubrics, and voice-over evaluation of performances in Full Metal Jousting would have been perfectly at home on a sports channel. Like its brother programme, the The Knights of Mayhem, which premiered fi rst (November 2011) on The Geography Channel, Full Metal Jousting appeals to viewers looking for violence and bloodshed. John Gonzalez, the assistant head knight at Medieval Times in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, put it aptly:

It’s going to be kind of [a] NASCAR [car racing] effect. [Viewers are] going to be looking for the accident rather than the actual race, looking for that moment of violence and carnage. And if something goes wrong, it’s gonna go wrong really badly.

By Elizabeth Emery (see her essay, Medieval Times: Tournaments and Jousting in 21st century North America, in the book accompanying this website)

BEOWULF AND DANTE IN DIGITAL GAMING Another gaming genre that engages the neomedieval is the action-adventure game, often a ‘hack-and-slash’ escapade, and two recent games in particular take on well-known medieval precedents: Beowulf: The Game and Dante’s Inferno. Based as much on the 2007 companion movie as the medieval epic, Beowulf: The Game fi nds the player taking on the title character in a revision of the classic Anglo-Saxon text.

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Ostensibly set in 8th century Denmark, the game begins with Beowulf facing off with Brecca in the swimming race, and as Beowulf fi ghts the sea monsters, he is rescued by a mysterious goddess who gives him the power of Carnel Fury—a game mechanic that allows him added power against enemies but that can also inadvertently injure the thanes whom he commands. Back in Denmark, Grendel attacks Herot (sic). Beowulf seeks his fortune there, and he tears off Grendel’s arm, killing the monster. Grendel’s mother seeks revenge, and Beowulf is then seduced by her—the same goddess who rescued him as he battled the sea monsters. Beowulf becomes king of the Danes, and he fi ghts a demonic wolf at the village of Ingelthorp and defends the land against Brecca, who has returned to invade Denmark. Beowulf then ultimately fi ghts the dragon who, it turns out, he sired with the goddess. As in the 2007 Beowulf movie, Grendel’s mother seduces Hrothgar, yielding Grendel, and she likewise seduces Beowulf, yielding the dragon, and the game is populated with familiar characters like Wealtheow, Unferth, and Wiglaf. Playing as Beowulf, the player can choose between Heroic and Carnal mode to strengthen his abilities. Heroism increases with additional combat, particularly with combination attacks, and strengthens the player’s health. Carnal Fury adds bonus damage, but the player can also kill his allies. Players must therefore balance the Heroic against the Carnal as they manoeuvre through the game world as the hero Beowulf. Another medieval classic that gets the gaming treatment is Dante’s Inferno. Rather than a meditative pilgrim making his way through the underworld with the guidance of Virgil and the inspiration of Beatrice, Dante’s Inferno presents Dante as a butt-kicking crusading knight who thunders his way through the nine rings of hell to rescue Beatrice, now fi gured as a damsel in distress, from Lucifer. As Dante fi ghts his way through the circles of hell, recognizable from the medieval poem, he accumulates ‘souls’ from every foe he defeats. The souls—equivalent to experience points—are used to procure Dante’s Holy and Unholy abilities, special skills that aid in Dante’s quest through the underworld. Based on the internal settings the player selects, Dante passes judgment on each enemy he encounters. He punishes an enemy to accumulate more Unholy points, while absolving them awards Holy points. Holy abilities include Fortitude of Seneca (at level 1), Sacred Quake (level 2), and Martyrdom (level 5), while Unholy abilities comprise Retribution (level 1), Wisdom of Horace (level 2), and Diabolical Guillotine (level 4), among many others. In the action-adventure logic of the game, each enemy Dante attacks increases his Redemption meter in the lower left of the screen, until a full meter allows Dante to reach a state of Redemption where his attacks are more deadly. During his hellish adventure, Dante can also collect Judas Coins (which give him more souls), encounter Beatrice stones (which automatically absolves damned souls), and amass relics (which grant special powers). Another prominent feature of Dante’s Inferno’s game mechanics are special ‘mini-games’ called Quick-Time Events (QTEs), which require the player to press the controller buttons in sequence with instructions given onscreen, usually to defeat an enemy. Dante’s Inferno converts some of the Inferno’s memorable characters into ‘bosses,’ like King Minos, Cleopatra, and Marc Antony, whom the player must defeat often at the end of a level in a ‘Boss Fight.’ After battling his way through the nine rings of hell, Dante ultimately frees Beatrice from Lucifer’s clutches and is absolved of all the sins he committed during the crusade.

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By Daniel T Kline (from his chapter, Contemporary Neomedieval Gaming: an overview of genres, in the book accompanying this website)

MERIEM PAGÈS: MY FAVOURITE MEDIEVALISMS

1) HBO’s Game of Thrones (of course) 2) BBC’s Merlin 3) The French series Kaamelott 4) Mutton and Mead (the annual Franklin county medieval festival enacting the legend of Robin Hood)

Maggie Williams and Lauren Razzore’s favourite “Medieval Memes”

Link to the tumblr page that we created with most of the memes we discuss: http://medievalmemes.tumblr.com

A few other sites that have appeared since we wrote the article in Medieval Afterlives in Contemporary Culture: http://fyeahmedievalrenaissance.tumblr.com/page/4 http://ronstontheknight.tumblr.com https://imgur.com/gallery/gOZL6

Two of our favourite heritage sites: http://www.bedesworld.co.uk http://www.inhp.com

The most popular American medieval afterlife: http://www.medievaltimes.com

Two artists who create medieval afterlives in the physical world: http://www.pergamena.net http://www.marygriep.com

ROBERT S. STURGES: MY FAVOURITE MEDIEVAL THE SIMPSONS, GAY BARS, AND KING ARTHUR During its second season, The Simpsons aired an episode entitled “Dead Putting Society,” about a miniature-golf match between Bart Simpson and his neighbor Todd. What qualifi es

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this episode as a “medieval afterlife” is the miniature-golf setting itself. On Bart’s fi rst visit, it’s introduced by a sign at the entrance: “Sir Putt-a-Lot’s Merrie Olde Fun Center,” with a cartoon icon of a jousting knight; further attractions listed include “Her Majesty’s Batting Cage” and “Merlin’s Video Dungeon.” The “Merrie Olde Fun Center” itself, shown in the background, is a pseudo-medieval castle, and throughout the episode attentive viewers may catch sight of signs for “Ye Olde” everything: “Ye Olde End of Course,” etc. I’m always charmed by this episode because these post-medieval features are treated as throwaways: they’re not necessary to the plot, and no one calls attention to them; indeed, the viewer has to slo-mo through the entrance sign if s/he is to appreciate the Fun Center’s features. It’s all just part of the lower-middle-class decor, and thus refl ects an important aspect of the medieval Arthurian afterlife in the USA: its association with class aspirations. Everyone has seen a trailer park or motel named “King Arthur’s Court,” and the creators of The Simpsons clearly understood this phenomenon as widespread enough to be satirized for the TV audience. The association of the Arthurian with American seediness reminds me of my second- favorite medieval afterlife: when I was a young gay man living in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the seediest gay bar I frequented was called “King Arthur’s Round Table.” In addition to the class disjunction evident in The Simpsons, this bar’s name also exploited the implicit homoeroticism of the Arthurian brotherhood. From The Simpsons to bar culture, the Arthurian legend penetrates everywhere in the American class imaginary.

ANN F. HOWEY’S TOP 5 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ARTHURIAN YOUNG PEOPLE’S LITERATURE The following is a list of my favourites—at the moment.

Meg Cabot’s Avalon High (2006) Cabot uses a female fi rst-person narrator in this high-school novel, and that narrator is (like so many of Cabot’s narrators) witty, self-deprecating, and ultimately beautiful, smart, and heroic. The use of the Arthurian parallels for characters is handled very effectively, though the ending (which I will not spoil) has more impact if one is familiar with the legend before reading this version.

Gerald Morris’s Squire’s Tales series (1998–2010) and Knights’ Tales series (2008- present) Morris’ extensive rewriting of the Arthurian legend demonstrates his thorough knowledge of the tradition and his sense of humour. His fi rst series includes the epic battle of good vs evil common to fantasy, but it also incorporates parody, particularly of some of the chivalric conventions that have become standard in retellings. The Knights’ Tales series is written for younger readers, and although it introduces some of the usual Arthurian characters (as evidenced in The Adventures of Sir Lancelot the Great [2008] or The Adventures of Sir

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Gawain the True [2011]), it also includes non-traditional characters (The Adventures of Sir Givret the Short [2008]). As with any parody, the full depth of the humour may be lost to readers unfamiliar with the legend, but enough survives to make these enjoyable introductions to King Arthur and his knights of Round Table.

Lisa Ann Sandell’s Song of the Sparrow (2007) Sandell’s book is unique in that it rewrites the Elaine of Astolat story using forty-four prose poems. Also unique is her resolution to the love of Elaine and Lancelot. The form is necessarily spare, yet Sandell creates some haunting images, and reimagines Elaine’s story in a “dark age” setting of Arthur’s battles with the Saxons.

Nicky Singer’s Knight Crew (2009) Singer’s book deals more explicitly with violence and sexuality than some others on this list and so is directed to an older youth audience. Some prior knowledge of the legend is helpful in order to recognize the parallels between Singer’s inner-city characters and their Arthurian counterparts, but the tragic destiny of the main character is effectively communicated, regardless of one’s familiarity with King Arthur.

Jane Yolen’s The Young Merlin Trilogy (Passager, 1996; Hobby, 1996; Merlin, 1997; omnibus edition 1998) Yolen created this trilogy by expanding short stories from her collection Merlin’s Booke (1985). The result is at times poetic and a version that incorporates diverse traditions about Merlin while creating a unique prequel to the usual Merlin-Arthur relationship. Yolen’s picture book Merlin and the Dragons (1995, illustrated by Li Ming) also deserves mention for its reimagining of the Merlin-Arthur relationship—the older Merlin tells the boy Arthur a story about a young Merlin—and for its beautiful illustrations.

Gail Ashton loves: The Coruscant or Star Wars Tapestry is a wonderful medievalist text designed and fabricated by British artist Aled Lewis as ‘very much a homage’ to the Bayeux Tapestry. It depicts the fi rst six episodes of Star Wars, complete with iconic moments from the movies, just as the Bayeux tapestry gives us its tales of heroes and warriors. A mere 10 metres long – Bayeux is 60 – its ‘han-stitched’ continuous length took six months to complete. Each scene is translated pixel by pixel from its ‘original’ computer image and framed in black borders full of quotes from the fi lm in Aurebesh, the basic language of the Star Wars Universe. Currently priced at around $20,000, it was exhibited in LA in the summer of 2014.

See www.aledlewis.com/portfolio/the-coruscant-tapestry/

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Check out medieval memes and don’t miss my favourite site, www. fyeahmedievalandrenaissancememes.tumblr.com for its Eleanor of Aquitaine and Chaucer’s California Dreamin’ Mamas and Papas style General Prologue. Google it or take a look on YouTube.

TV MUST-SEE AGAIN The Pillars of the Earth (2010) based on Ken Follett’s bestseller and his sequel World Without End. Set in the 14th century, this epic saga-drama of war and plague stars Rupert Evans, Cynthia Nixon, Miranda Richardson and a host of others. Not one for the purists but great fun.

Starz’s Camelot (2011)

HBO/Sky Atlantic’s cult Game of Thrones (debut 2011) is adapted from George RR Martin’s fantasy sequence A Song of Ice and Fire. This award-winning show pulls in viewers from around the globe.

BBC1’s 5-series, now ended, Merlin which drew UK audiences of over 7 million and was screened in 208 countries. Its action scenes really did have stunt doubles/actors dressed in the full armour of medieval jousting. Series 4 was fi lmed on location the 14th century Chateau de Pierrfonds, France, former home to Napoleon III and here doubling as the fairy-tale castle of Camelot.

GALE OWEN-CROCKER LIKES THE STAFFORDSHIRE HOARD Discovered by a metal detectorist in 2009, with 81 further pieces discovered after ploughing in 2012, The Staffordshire Hoard consists of over 3,500 items, mostly gold, a few silver. Although the majority of the pieces are tiny, the collection is the largest, and most valuable, fi nd of Anglo-Saxon metalwork ever made. The value of the original fi nd was assessed at £3,285,000 (£3.285 million) a sum which has been shared between the fi nder and the owner of the land. The supplementary fi nds from 2012 are worth £30,000. Over 60% of the objects are from weapons: exquisitely made pieces from the hilts of swords and fi ghting knives, decorated in various techniques such as fi ligree and cloisonné. These were the ornamental of the weapons; the iron blades were not included in the hoard. Parts of a helmet – a very rare object in Anglo-Saxon context – were found in both the 2009 and 2012 discoveries. There was evidence of a Christian community: there were several crosses and a strip of gold engraved with a dragon’s head and a Latin biblical inscription invoking the aid of the Lord against enemies. The Staffordshire Hoard, like the Sutton Hoo Ship Burial, is unusual in representing only masculine identity; most Anglo-Saxon burial sites are cemeteries, and women’s dress

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accessories are well represented there. Swords were only owned by the upper stratum of society and a man would only carry one sword; that so many precious sword-parts were assembled here raises awareness of the extent of the male elite. The hoard was found south of Lechlade, Tamworth and the Roman city of Wall, near Watling Street, a major Roman road which was probably still in use when the treasure was buried, in the seventh or eighth century. Although this was in the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia it is not known if any or all of the objects were made there or elsewhere: cloisonné garnet and zoomorphic gold interlace are typical of Kent; mushroom shaped cells, lidded cloisons and zoomorphic cloisonné are typical of Sutton Hoo. Unusual techniques, such as engraved garnets and new motifs, including a warrior in an eagle-head helmet, another with a wolf-head, inspire speculation. Research continues. The reasons for the selection of only precious metal items and the burial of the treasure are unknown. The hoard could have been a votive deposit; booty; treasure hidden from an enemy; or a collection of items intended for re-cycling, including fi tting of new blades to the weapons. The crumpling of some of the crosses could refl ect anti-Christian sentiments (King Penda of Mercia, died 655 was a notorious pagan, enemy of the Christian kings of Northumbria and Wessex); or it could simply result from redundant metalwork being packed compactly.

The hoard is well documented on http://www.staffordshirehoard.org.uk The objects are distributed between museums in Birmingham and Stoke: Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, Chamberlain Square, Birmingham B3 3DH, Phone 01213031966 http://www.bmag.org.uk/birmingham-museum The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, Bethesda Street, Cultural Quarter, Stoke-on-Trent ST1 3DW, Phone 01782232323 www.stokemuseums.org.uk

Gale R. Owen-Crocker is Professor of Anglo-Saxon Culture at the University of Manchester, UK, and Director of the Manchester Centre for Anglo-Saxon Studies. She has published books and articles on Old English literature, art and archaeology and on medieval dress and textiles, especially on The Bayeux Tapestry. She is the co-founder/editor of the annual journal Medieval Clothing and Textiles.

KATHLEEN KELLY LOVES THE BBC CANTERBURY TALES In the chart below, I furnish summaries of Chaucer’s original tales and the BBC’s program blurbs for each. Moreover, in order to emphasize that Chaucer himself was engaged in retelling and adaptation, I also include what are generally considered to be Chaucer’s sources for as well as analogues to the tales. Note the degree to which the television episode guide is a genre in itself: it offers an enticing description but never divulges the conclusion. As such, the BBC synopses of the Tales are examples par excellence of media packaging and marketing.

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Tale Tale (MS by or c.) Third th (c. 1450), and the Confessio Amantis Roman de la rose Adversus Jovinianum (mid 13 in the The Wedding of Sir Gawain The Wedding c.) In these three tales, the c.), the Marriage of Sir Gawaine th th c.), and as well medieval th and Dame Ragnell ballad, antifeminist commonplaces. Analogues to the tale: Gower’s of Florent (c.1390), mid-17 night. (13 hag tells Gawain that he can choose to have her beautiful by day Chaucer’s Major Sources and Analogues Indirectly derived from Boccaccio’s Decameron Day, Fourth Tale? A lost fabliau? Tale? Fourth Day, Analogues are found in Flemish, German, Italian. Many critics have is the noted that the Miller’s Tale inverted. Knight’s Tale (late 4 The Prologue: St. Jerome’s ood oat until the waters depends on deeds gentilesse ood is due, all three climb up into the tubs. John ood has come, cuts loose his tub and falls breaks arm. Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales John is an old and jealous carpenter of Oxford who has a young wife, the clerk Nicholas, makes advances to Alisoun, Alisoun. Their boarder, and devises a plan for tryst; Absolon, the effete parish clerk, also lusts for Alisoun. Nicholas tricks John into thinking that Noah’s fl is coming again. John suspends three kneading tubs from the ceiling in the barn, in which he, Nicholas, and Alisoun can fl recede. When the fl goes to sleep; Alisoun and Nicholas go the bedroom. Absolon comes She promises him a kiss and puts her to woo Alisoun at the window. Absolon kisses it—to his disgust. He gets a backside out the window. hot coulter (plow blade) from the smith and returns to ask for another kiss. Nicholas puts his backside out, Absolon strikes it with the red-hot the carpenter awakes and thinks Nicholas yells for water, coulter, fl The Wife of Bath opens with an excursus on love, men, and marriage. of Bath opens with an excursus The Wife before the friars drove away fairies, a knight of In Arthur’s day, the king’s court raped a young maiden. He is taken and condemned to die, but the king, in deference Queen Guenevere, sends him on a quest for a year and day to save his life only if he can tell them what it is that women most desire. He about to return without the answer when he comes upon an old and ugly woman. She says that if swears to do whatever she will next ask him, tell him the answer. He agrees and returns with the answer: women most desire to have sovereignty over their husbands. Guenevere and her ladies are amazed; On their they grant him his life. The hag demands that he marry her. telling her that she is old and wedding night; he turns away from her, ugly and low born. She argues that true rather than birth. She offers him a choice: he can have her old and ugly and faithful or young, beautiful, possibly unchaste. He tells her to She turns into a beautiful maiden, choose: he grants her sovereignty. and they live thereafter in perfect joy. nds comfort in the arms of her 1 BBC Canterbury Tales, in order of in order BBC Canterbury Tales, airing Bowker, (writer Peter “The Miller’s Tale” director John McKay), 11 September 2003. runs a pub in John (Dennis Waterman) He hosts a regular Karaoke suburban Kent. night, where his much younger wife Alison (Billie Piper) is queen bee. One night a Nick (James smooth talking stranger, Nesbitt), arrives claiming to be a talent scout and declaring that Alison has what it takes Alison is drawn to him by the to be a star. promise of fame, but his motives aren’t quite what they seem. “The Wife of Bath” (writer Sally “The Wife director Andy DeEmmony), 18 Wainwright, September 2003. Beth Craddock (Julie Fifty-three-year-old is a successful television actress who Walters) still believes in Mr Right, despite a number When her of failed marriages behind her. husband of 16 years leaves her for another woman, she fi Nicholls). co-star Jerome (Paul 22-year-old They fall passionately in love, but behind the smiles the pressures of their age difference are never far away.

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th (6

Continued c.) ( th Thebiad (1313–1375), Teseida (mid 13th c), First Tale, Tale, (mid 13th c), First Analogues from Boccacio’s Decameron Eight Day, “The Lover’s Gift Regained.” Other French analogues: Other French and the Lady”“The Priest (13 Boccaccio’s in turn derived from the Statius (45–96 C.E.), and Boethius’s De consolatione philosophiae c.) and Eustache d’Amiens’ “The Butcher of Abbeville” (13 A rich merchant of Saint Denis (near Paris) has a beautiful wife and A rich merchant of Saint Denis (near Paris) maintains a splendid household. One day the monk Dan John, who claims he is a cousin, comes to call when the merchant busy in his counting house. He makes advances to the wife, who says her wretched husband will not give her a hundred franks, which she needs to pay debt; if he can give her that amount, she will show gratitude. He does. When the merchant must go on business to Flanders monk borrows a hundred franks from him. He gives the money to wife, When the merchant returns and and he takes his pleasure of her. Dan John says he repaid it to the wife. When asks for his money, Merchant later asks his wife for the money (which she has spent), turns the tables, telling him she spent it on clothing, since is to his honor to have her richly dressed. She will pay him back in bed. Theseus, duke of Athens, returning with Ypolita from his conquest Theseus, duke of Athens, of the Amazons, stops to defeat tyrant Thebes. Among and Arcite, young Thebans of royal blood. wounded are Palamon the window Theseus condemns them to perpetual imprisonment. From with whom both Ypolita’s young sister, of their cell they see Emily, fall in love. Arcite is released but then banished; so ravaged by love, and takes service he is no longer recognizable, so returns to Athens escapes. He hides in a wood where he meets with Theseus. Palamon The two former friends engage in Arcite bemoaning his love for Emily. comes upon the deadly battle. Theseus, hunting with Ypolita and Emily, duel and stops it. The ladies plead for the lives of young men, Theseus spares them and arranges for a great tournament to determine to grant him Emily prays to Venus Palamon who shall have Emily. and Mars and the goddess agrees; Arcite prays to Mars for victory, loses the tournament; Arcite rides through arena agrees. Palamon in triumph. But a fury sent from hell by Saturn frightens his horse, who suddenly rears and fatally injures him. Theseus then proposes the They live in perfect love, with never a marriage of Emily and Palamon. harsh word between them. gure to his community. gure to his community. lm noir set in the Asian community of “The Sea Captain’s Tale” (writer Avie (writer Avie “The Sea Captain’s Tale” Luthra, director John McKay), 2 October 2003. A fi Gravesend. Jetender (Om Puri) is a wealthy and importer/exporter: an money-lender Asian ‘Godfather’ fi He goes into business with the young Pushpinder (Nitin Ganatra), who falls in love with Jetender’s beautiful and extravagant Meena claims wife, Meena (Indira Varma). that Jetender is a tyrant who makes her life hell. Pushpinder borrows money for though, Meena from her husband. Slowly, Pushpinder starts to learn the truth about Meena and her manipulative, lying ways. “The Knight’s Tale” (writer Tony Marchant, (writer Tony “The Knight’s Tale” director Marc Munden), 25 September 2003. (Chiwetel Ejiofor) (John Simm) and Paul Ace are two young prisoners who’ve been friends since childhood. When they fall in love with Hawes), the same woman, Emily (Keeley a teacher at the prison, their friendship is torn apart and they become bitter enemies. has served his sentence, both When Ace become consumed with bitter jealousy—each thinking that the other will be closer to escapes from jail, And when Paul Emily. events hurtle towards a tragic conclusion.

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c.) and th (13 ), Sixth Day, ), Sixth Day, c.). Perhaps c.). Perhaps th (False-Seeming) (False-Seeming) (14 Vitae duorum Offarum Vitae Decameron La belle Hélène de (early 14th c.), in turn c., attrib. Matthew th Roman de la rose Faux Semblant Faux Prologue: perhaps the monologue perhaps Prologue: of Chaucer’s Major Sources and Analogues in the and Paris) Constantinople Boccaccio’s Many analogues in Tale. Tale. Tenth a variety of languages exist. Anglo-Norman Nicholas Trivet’s Chronicle based on the (mid 13 Chaucer knew John Gower’s version. Many analogues. nd gold; and the youngest nd death under a tree. They fi Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales The pardoner describes his professional tricks in prologue and then of three riotous young delivers a sermon embodying an exemplum men, frequenters of a tavern, who set out to kill Death. They meet mysterious old man and rudely demand that he tell them where death is. They then fi then goes into town for food and drink. He poisons the wine. When he returns his two friends kill him and then drink the wine die. Syrian merchants tell their Sultan news of the beautiful and virtuous He loves her unseen and Custance, daughter of the Emperor Rome. agrees to adopt Christianity if she will be his wife. The Sultan’s mother, enraged that her son has determined to take a new faith, arranges Custance, who massacre at the welcoming banquet. All are slain except is set adrift in a rudderless boat. She drifts to Northumbria, and taken in by a constable and his wife Hermengild: they convert to Christianity. An evil knight slays Hermengild and blames Custance for the deed. King Alla holds court, and the knight who accuses Custance is struck dead. Alla marries Custance. They have a son, Maurice. Donegild, the and makes Alla think Custance has borne a monster, king’s mother, she contrives the exile of Custance and her son. They are set adrift in the rudderless boat which she arrived. Alla learns truth and slays Donegild. Custance drifts near a castle, where the lord’s steward comes aboard and tries to rape her; aided by heaven, she knocks him senator comes upon Custance and overboard and drifts on. A Roman Meanwhile, King Alla has set out brings her and son to Rome. to do penance for killing Donegild. Alla and Custance are for Rome reunited when Alla sees Maurice and recognizes his resemblance to Custance. Later Maurice succeeds to the imperial throne. Alla and Custance return to Northumbria. When Alla dies, returns her father in Rome. nd the (writer Tony (writer Tony

1 BBC Canterbury Tales, in order of in order BBC Canterbury Tales, airing “The Pardoner’s Tale” proves to be their downfall. missing Amy, Grounds, director Andy De Emmony), 9 October 2003. still in The local community of Rochester, shock after a girl was raped and murdered launch a search for the previous year, Arty (Jonny Lee Amy. missing teenager, Miller), Colin and Baz are three unemployed drunken wasters who try to cash in on the search, falsely starting a collection for all the volunteers. But their greed and treatment of who’s desperate to fi a girl called Kitty, “The Man of Law’s Tale” (writer Olivia “The Man of Law’s Tale” Hetreed, director Julian Jarrold), 16 October 2003. Constance (Nikki Amuka-Bird) is a Nigerian refugee found on a small boat in the Chatham docks by a couple, Mark and who take her in. A devout Christian, Nicky, Constance, cannot remember what has church a young man, At happened to her. But the feelings are not falls for her. Terry, mutual, as Constance is falling in love with Mark’s boss, Alan (Andrew Lincoln). When physical advances, Constance rejects Terry’s his violent revenge has tragic consequences for all involved.

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(ENDNOTES) 1 I have slightly edited and shortened Larry Benson’s summaries of the Canterbury Tales at http:// www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/canttales. Descriptions of the BBC episodes are taken from the BBC website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/canterburytales/. Last accessed 23 November 2013.

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