You Can Call Me Al

Ever seen something that you find so humorous, but then you rethink what makes it funny and realize how sad it truly is? The first thing that comes to mind for me is the demon spawn show, Jersey Shore. I once watched fifteen minutes of that show (my other option was watching paint dry), and chuckled inwardly at the stupidity of everybody on that show. However, I soon became disturbed at the fact that people who are so influential in the world are also so ignorant.  
 

Why is this popular? At all.

The Saga of the Mantle was also like this for me. The true corruptness of the characters are what makes it humorous, and at the same this humor is an indicator of the cultural anxieties of the time. The fact that "well respected" people in Arthur's kingdom are full of disloyalty and adultery makes me wonder how much better other kingdoms are (and according to the mysterious visitor who brings the mantle, not by much). It also makes me question the successful-ness of courtly love.

Is Guinevere's affair with Lancelot a reflection of marital problems with Arthur, or is she just greedy with her love? I'm not sure yet.

Let's look at one couple, however, the one who ended up getting the mantle: Karadin and [insert name here]. Did anyone notice how Karadin treats his beloved...can we call her Betty? (A high five for anyone who gets that Paul Simon reference.) When she is asked to put on the mantle he says, "...I love you so profoundly that I don't want to lose your love- not for all the gold in the world, even though I were to be aware of any misdeed of yours." See, unlike the other couples, this mantle is merely a material object, less important than their love. His beloved answers, "...If my beloved does not take it amiss, then I will put on the mantle." The mantle ends up fitting her, and it is safe to say that neither one of them have been cheating on the other. Their love (a two-way street) reminds me of Odysseus and Penelope from The Odyssey. 
 

Odusseus and Penelope by Francesco Primaticco

Odysseus is gone for twenty years on a voyage, and Penelope stays faithful to him, after he is thought of as dead, after suitors enter her home and demand she marry one, after she is bullied time and time again. Odysseus returns, disguised as an old man, and beats Penelope's suitors in an arrow-shooting contest that only he could win. Returning to his normal form, Odysseus remains happily for the rest of his life with Penelope. It is stories like The Odyssey and The Saga of the Mantle that emphasize the importance of loyalty to the one you are betrothed to, and the troubles it can save you from. 

This makes me think...is courtly love good or bad? It gave Lancelot the strength of ten men, but humiliation to the women loved by such men.

Have a good day, fellow Arthurians! And if you never got my reference, this title will be 100% awkward.