Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature Monika Němečková The Reflection of Medieval Times in Arthurian Legends Bachelor’s Diploma Thesis Supervisor: prof. Mgr. Milada Franková, CSc., M.A. 2017 I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. …………………………………………….. Author’s signature Acknowledgement: I would like to sincerely thank to my supervisor prof. Mgr. Milada Franková, CSc., M.A. for her patient guidance and for the precious time she dedicated to my work. Especially I would like to thank her for her kindness that supported me and enabled me to finish this thesis. Table of Contents 1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 5 2 Arthurian Legends .............................................................................................................. 7 3 Cultural and Literary Background of Medieval Age in France .......................................... 9 3.1 Lanval ......................................................................................................................... 14 3.1.1 Reflection ............................................................................................................ 16 3.2 Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart ................................................................................. 19 3.2.1 Reflection ............................................................................................................ 22 4 Cultural and Literary Background of Medieval Age in England ...................................... 25 4.1 The History of the Kings of Britain ........................................................................... 28 4.1.1 Reflection ............................................................................................................ 30 4.2 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight .............................................................................. 33 4.2.1 Reflection ............................................................................................................ 36 4.3 Le Morte d’Arthur ...................................................................................................... 40 4.3.1 Reflection ............................................................................................................ 44 5 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 47 6 Works cited ....................................................................................................................... 49 7 Summary ........................................................................................................................... 51 8 Resumé.............................................................................................................................. 53 1 Introduction In the imaginary world of legends there comes about a certain development as the legends survive through the ages. It means that in the course of time the original story, which is the core of the legend, begins to change, it evolves. Those legends existing in the oral tradition change from man to man as the people invent more and more details and add something extra to the original story, whereas those that are written, are affected by the writer; they serve to the purpose of the one who records them. The legends are used as a source material for other forms of narration and their original meaning might be suppressed. The Arthurian legends create a big part of the cycle known as the Matter of Britain that is told to be a key element of medieval literature. The first mentions of Arthur come from the Early Middle Ages while their greatest popularity the legends reach in the High Middle Ages. For the development of Arthurian legends it is significant their favour in France. One can say that the origins of the legends lie on the British Isles, but they got their future form in France, from where they returned to Britain, forever changed. The aim of this thesis is to analyse selected literary works dealing with the Arthurian topic from both French and British background and to confirm the presupposition that the era in which the legends came to the light reflects in those legends. The form of the reflection can be either cultural, supposing that the cultural phenomenon that was in favour at that time affected writers in their re-writing of the legends, or historical. It means that some significant historical events or a political situation is encoded in the story. The second chapter of the thesis introduces to readers the Arthurian legends in general; it describes their roots and focuses on their historical development until the end of 5 the Middle Ages, for this particular era is crucial for the thesis. In the third chapter, the cultural and historical background of medieval France is described for following analysis. The special emphasis is put on the phenomenon of courtly love, knighthood and chivalry. The area of France is incorporated into the thesis because of the eminent impact French culture had on the future form of the legends in Britain. The subchapters deal with the respective analysis of two literary works; both of them are 12th century poems. As the third chapter, the forth one describes selected topics of the cultural and historical background of medieval England. There is described very briefly the form of medieval literature and the question of the origin and existence of legendary King Arthur. The focus of this chapter is devoted to significant war conflicts that affected not only the developments in England but also the local literature. In the subchapters, there are analysed three literary works, a 12th century chronicle, a 14th century chivalric romance and a 15th century compilation and reworking of existing Arthurian tales. 6 2 Arthurian Legends Arthurian legends are stories and romances focused on the mythical figure of King Arthur and his loyal knights also known as Knights of the Round Table. There are many interpretations of the legends and many variations of Arthur, which differ according to the time and place of their creation. The beginning of the legend goes to the 7th century, when the Welsh poem Y Gododdin is created shortly after the battle of Catraeth as a lament dedicated to British warriors of the kingdom of Gododdin, who died in a fight with Angles. In stanza 99 the poet praises one of the warriors, Gwawrddur, by comparing him to Arthur. It is therefore suggested that the figure of Arthur as a ruler is already known when the Welsh monk Nennius makes the alleged first mention of Arthur in the important Latin work Historia Britonnum. The work is supposed to be finished around the year 830 and most probably stands as a basis for other medieval writers such as Geoffrey of Monmouth, who later gave rise to the legendary figure of King Arthur. As E.K. Chambers states: “Early in the ninth century, then, Arthur was not merely a national hero; he was also the centre of popular aetiological myth in South Wales and in Ercing, which is Herefordshire” (Chambers 7). There is a passage in Historia Britonnum in which Nennius talks about twelve Arthur’s battles against the Saxons. The eight battle was the battle near Gurnion castle and it is significant because Arthur carried an image of Virgin Mary upon his shoulders (alternatively shield). It caused that “through the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the holy Mary” all Saxons were put to flight and then pursued with great slaughter, for “no strength can avail against the will of the Almighty” (Nennius 29). This transformed Arthur into a Christian figure and from then on King Arthur stood always on the side of Christianity. 7 The High Middle Ages were crucial for the Arthurian legends. There were two branches of traditions of the legends coexisting side by side. One was the tradition of British origin and the other was French. Worthy of attention is the name of Chrétien de Troyes who invented the Arthurian romance. In the legends of French origin, Arthur is called roi fainéant, the lazy king. He does not play the central role in those stories, which are mostly concentrated on Arthur’s knights and their adventures outside of the court. The heart of those stories is always a lady, for the focus is put on the love interest. On the other hand, Arthur of the British tradition is an active participant of the adventures and is one of the main protagonists of those stories. In the 14th century the two tradition coexist in Britain, although the French tradition dominates. As Heaney notes: There were constant connections between different regions and kingdoms of medieval Europe, especially England and France. Their histories were cemented by shared rulers, constant land changing hands, court languages, and finally literature. It is impossible to look at the more contemporary retellings of the legends of King Arthur without seeing both the English and the French. At its very core, Arthur is English since he came out of the histories of the people of Britain and his military prowess stems from the Welsh, but all the drapery and personality really come from the French (Heaney 22). In their book, Lacy, Ashe and Mancoff point to the decreasing popularity of the Arthurian legends after the end of the Middle Ages. They note that although it did not disappear entirely,