The beloved affairs

I'm sure like most people in the class I was shocked about what happened in The Saga of the Mantle.
I think what shocked me the most was the fact that only one women was found to be faithful to her beloved in the story. I didn't even think women back then even had affairs let alone let their men actually touch them, hence the courtly love rules. Appearently even women back then like today , have problems staying faithful to one man. I was also surprised that not one women even thought about questioning the men in the room. If that many women were unfaithful, my first instinct would be to also find out how the men in the room add up. I did find it funny that the group of women just kept getting bigger and bigger as they tried the mantel on like " oh hey just add yourself to the large group of women over there, it's no big deal. " I know the men in the story were mad about the affairs, but I thought they would be a lot more upset about it. The one thing I enjoyed was at the end of the story when the knight told his beloved that she didn't have to try on the mantel because he believed in her and he didn't care if she was unfaithful or not, he would still love her either way .  This made me believe that true love can still exist.

Sex Control Rant

WARNING:  the following content is a rant about the sexism inlaced in the mantle story.


*walks onto an empty stage*

I couldn't help myself from getting so irritated reading this story.  At first I kept giggling out loud; a random guy appearing out of nowhere, on behalf of an unnamed elf woman is so random it's funny.

But, like so many historical texts, the testing of a woman's "faithfulness" is being called out.  The all-mighty, objectified "virginity" is prized over medieval men for some reason that remains unknown to me.  The concern of a man's woman only having sex with him (because you know, she's property) grew into an obsessive form of control.

Why do these knight obsess over whether or not "their" women are only having sex with them?  They're  having sex with other people...so why does that matter?

Examining this whole courtly love theme and being a knight in the time of Arthur...honor always seems to be the underlying factor.  Is it simply honor?   But how did honor evolve into sex control?


*drops mic*

Hilarious saga of the mantle story

I wanted to write this before class today, but ran out of time. I really enjoyed reading about the Saga of the Mantle. I noted a couple of quotes while reading this that I found to be hilarious. The first is the beginning of the story, when King Arthur is described. "He was the most valiant man at arms, the most generous with gifts, the gentlest in words, the cleverest in his designs, the most benevolent in mercy, the most polished in good manners, the noblest in all kingly craft, godfearing in his undertakings, gentle to the good, harsh to the wicked, merciful to the needy, hospitable to the companionable, so perfect in his entire authority that neither ill will nor malice was found in him..." This quote is so dramatized, that there is no way this is describing ONE person. It seems as if the original author is describing GOD. This is absolutely hilarious to me. However, this is King Arthur and everything about these stories are over the top.

The next quote I thought was even more funny was when Kay wants his beloved to try on the mantle. He was so much faith in her loyalty to him that he doesn't even think twice about the mantle not fitting her. Low and behold, "the mantle became so short for her in back that it hardly reached the hollow of her knees; in front, however, it did not even reach the knee." Kay was absolutely embarrassed by the others, but took happiness when the other knight's beloveds did not have a victory. Kay goes on to talk about the other women stating, "I  shall not be the only one to be disgraced today because of my beloved...I can easily interpret what that means: this beautiful maiden has raised up her right leg but the left leg she let lie quietly while she allowed the man she liked to do what she wished him to do...I shall lead you a seat beside my beloved because there are no two women more alike than you two are." Once I read this, I had to stop and laugh. Kay calls her a beautiful woman, then he embarrasses her in front of everyone as if they could not see what the cloak had revealed for themselves.

At the end of the story, Karadin and his beloved triumph over everyone. He really shows the reader and the other knights what a real man is. He treated his woman with respect and loyalty. I believe this contributed to her not wandering astray from him. Although King Arthur ordered all the woman try on the mantle, she would not until she received Karadin's permission. The other knights of the court, especially Kay, embarrassed all of the women (with the exception of the last) and disrespected them. This is not one of the 31 rules of courtly love. Respect is a part of love, to me, and it goes both ways. These beloved women are stepping outside of their relationships probably because their men do not treat them the way they ought to be treated. King Arthur should set an example because in every story so far, Guinevere has cheated on Arthur. Although it does not specify in what way in this story.

I really enjoyed this story. It was short and humorous at the same time. I hope we read more stories like this one, as far as length is concerned. Many King Arthur stories are way too long for my taste. But entertaining. I also added the picture below because it reminded me of the elf who wove the mantle. 

A Mantle, A Maiden, and An Outrage

"The Saga of the Mantle" challenges the rules of courtly love, in my opinion. The rules of courtly love are generally directed at men, not women. These rules also imply, if not explicitly direct lovers not to have contact. This story as well as Lancelot take it to a point where these rules are broken. "The Saga of the Mantle" also only calls women out on their infidelity which, in my opinion, is wrong. These women cannot be unfaithful to their husbands or their beloveds without another man to help them. Generally women are seen as those who are shamed but at the same time the men who they were in faithful with should also have been shamed or even better the beloveds, knights, who were so distraught at their women's infidelity should have been tested because there is little chance that they would come out as perfect as the final maiden had. On aspect I enjoyed was the reaction of the last knight, he loved his maiden far to much to know of any infidelity which is how I feel many couples act and feel today, I mean how often do men or women deny infidelity by their significant other due to the fact that they love them too much to accept it or believe it. I was greatly bothered by Arthur's response to the mantle in the first place, immediately calling for his wife to try it on, like does he not trust her or is it just because she is indeed the queen and should be allowed to go first. Also it was not revealed his reaction to his wife's unfaithfulness as some of the other knights' feelings were revealed. I feel that Arthur's feelings on Guinevere's infidelity is crucial to the overall Arthur legend. Lastly, Guinevere lost some points in my book by getting so enraged then having the "brilliant" idea to then humiliate all of her ladies, who she probably had some knowledge or inclination that they were just as unfaithful as she.

The Mantle of Relationship Doom

So as I was reading The Saga of the Mantle I couldn't help but laugh as all the knights put their girlfriends up on pedestals. Like "I'm absolutely certain that my girl is totally faithful!" and then...well...nope. One by one all these women failed to be faithful and yet the knights were still all convinced that their 'lady love' would be the one who got to keep the mantle. Then they all started getting pissy when things didn't go their way. They started giving each other crap and then they started throwing shade at the women. My personal favourite on that count has to go to Sir Kay who while leading another unfaithful women to the growing circle said: "I know for certain that there will soon be a large and fine gathering here." Like, damn son. Have you no faith? Although I guess he was right not to.
I also kept laughing at the last knight, Karadin, who told his lady not to do it because he loved her too much. The one guy who really really didn't want his girlfriend trying on the cloak is the only one who came out unscathed. Good job sir.
So between this mantle of relationship doom and the horn from the Lai du cor (as mentioned in the intro) there is a lot of public hating on unfaithful women. Can we have a story about knights being useless cheating jerks and publicly shamed? Because I would be all over that fresh change of pace. Why are the women the horrible flawed parts of the relationship? And why do all these knights get offended that their 'lady loves' are cheating on them? Like yeah, get offended, but look around too. Your girl has to be cheating with someone and more likely than not it's one of your bros (Just ask Arthur, he's an expert on this one).

Anyway, that's my ramblings.

Making Love with Sir Lancelot

While reading Knight of the Cart, my heart was full of wishful thinking. Surely you can be passionate about somebody AND marry them? Right...?

*crickets*

Well, apparently in this story, one cannot have their cake and eat it too. Not only do people fall in love with those they are not married to, but those who are betrothed do not love who they are married to as much as they should. What do I mean? While people in this class have been ranting about the hoe-bag Guinevere is (a point that is not altogether untrue), King Arthur does not love his wife nearly as much as he should. He is tricked out of giving away his wife by the evil Meleagant (whose name has an uncanny resemblance to Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty). What does he do? He basically says "my bad," suffers "great sorrow," and then sends Gawain and Lancelot to win her back.

Has Arthur gone soft since he's become king? Is some kind of tradition preventing him from rescuing his own queen? Make excuses all you want, Arthur, but I won't buy it.

I won't buy it.

Now, let's look at Lancelot. He stops at nothing to rescue his lady. He cherishes everything about her, even her hair, and resists the temptations of a woman who literally throws herself at him. Is that not enough for you, ladies? He crawls on a giant sword...yes a GIANT SWORD to get to her, and breaks through iron bars to make love to her (look back at the text: their time together is described as making love, and not just a one night stand). Compare him to Arthur and...

Well...if I were Guinevere, I'd fall for Lancelot too.

Perhaps that is why women identified with this story so much. Guinevere was like them: a woman married to a powerful man, but without the same passion in her marriage she wished for. Lancelot comes along, and not only is that s victory for Guinevere, but the female readers as well.

To wrap things up, I'll reference a story in which courtly love does result in marriage, and that is one of my favorite movies, The Princess Bride. It is because of this that I swoon every time my boyfriend says, "As you wish!"

Lancelot and A Knight's Tale- stories of love

As I was reading the second half of Chretien de Troyes "Lancelot", I kept thinking of several other stories. The one that would not leave my mind while I was reading was the movie, A Knight's Tale, with Heath Ledger. This is a film I really do enjoy and have watched often. At first when I was reading and the movie came to mind, I simply put it out as it was the knights making me think of the movie. As I continued particularly during the section with the tournament, I could not stop thinking about the movie. There is one part in particular in the movie where, William alias Ulrich, played by Ledger is at a tournament where his lady love, Jocelyn is in attendance. This is similar to the tournament the maidens put on in "Lancelot", this difference between the two can be seen in that Guinevere is not sure if the red knight is Lancelot and Jocelyn knows which knight is the man she loves. These two women think similarly both asking their beloved to "do their worst", and as these men truly love each woman respectively they do as they are bid. After the women are satisfied they decide it is time for their knights to do their best; Guinevere sends a girl to Lancelot and she tells him "Sir, my lady now orders you to 'do the best' you can." and Jocelyn sends a message to William/Ulrich that if he loves her he will win the tournament for her.

http://weeklyguiltypleasure.wordpress.com/2013/01/17/a-knights-tale/

Guinevere's Comb

Valentine's day weekend and courtly love--isn't that like a perfectly exaggerated "Hallmark" greeting card? Reds and pinks, ribbons and lace, hearts and cupids, decorating sentiments of "I'll always love you," or better yet "forever true."  A love like Lancelot's love will suffer, bleed, sigh, and swoon for his true love.  Our recent reading of Chretien de Troyes' Lancelot or The Knight of the Cart arrived with the Mylar balloons,  aisles of chocolates, and fresh cut flowers of Valentine's day.  People still long for romance.

After reading Kellen's  blog, especially her comments on Lancelot's obsession with his beloved's hair,  I couldn't resist posting some pictures of Victorian hair and mourning jewelry.  Hair of a loved one has captured romantic fancies for centuries. The first time  I saw a piece of hair jewelry it looked very much like the plain necklace pictured here.  It was owned by a family member. Imagine wearing a hair necklace, someone else's hair, next to the skin.  How close would you have to be to a person to wear his or her hair--intimate?






Narratives and myths featuring hair have captured the imagination of audiences for thousands of years.  Samson lost his strength when his hair was cut. Rapunzel  had trailing tresses.  Finding Guinevere's comb, Lancelot delights in touching pieces of her hair.   For Lancelot, there is power in her hair.

 Hair from St. Therese of Lisieux 

Saving a lock of a loved one's hair might be considered a sentimental gesture.  A mother might save a lock of her child's hair along with baby teeth the "Tooth Fairy" overlooked.  Celebrity hair clippings sell for high prices at auction.  According to the NY Times, a lock of Abraham Lincoln's hair sold for over $38,000.  In ancient Christianity, the hair from a saint would be considered a  relic--imbued with powers to heal or protect. In recent history a large clump of St Therese of Lisieux hair was saved for posterity (died 1897).  What better way to keep a treasure than in a picture frame or crafted into jewelry?  

Abraham Lincoln's Lock

Some of pieces of hair jewelry are very elaborate others are simple. Keep a piece of your dearly departed close; have jewelry made from a loved one's hair.  Wouldn't Lancelot have taken the hair from his queen's comb and tucked it in a safe place?  Romantic love wouldn't allow Lancelot  to leave Guinevere's comb or  golden hairs behind.

A Bitch, a Fool and a Beheading

So... Who else was highly disappointed with the end of The Knight of the Cart? I know I was, "here ends the romance of Lancelot of the Cart." This was like the series finally of Dexter that left everyone hating the writer.

Next, lets talk about that last battle for a moment. Meleagant definitely got what he deserved, I just wish he had put up more of a fight. For such a "strong" knight he went down so fast. On a side note, I binged Game of Thrones last week and Meleagant kind of reminds me of King Joffrey. He thinks very highly of himself, and things are his way or the high way. His father though is quite the honorable, chivalrous man that drew the short straw when he had children.

Thirdly, pardon my word choice, Guinevere is a BITCH. This valiant knight has travelled so far to save her from capture and puts his honor on the line to fight for her and she's like, " Sir, in truth he has wasted his efforts. I shall always deny that I feel any gratitude toward him." (Pg. 151) So, he leaves to find the man she does want to see Gawain and in the process gets kidnapped. To which she gets sad and expresses that she was joking earlier, and does love Lancelot.  I have a couple of problems with this scenario. First, you played mind games with a man that would go to worlds end for you and cross a sword bridge to free you. Secondly, YOU ARE A MARRIED WOMAN!!!!!!! Therefore, Queen Guinevere, I am putting you on bitch notice. I won't go on anymore about my feelings about this vile woman.

Lastly, I will say that it is admirable to try and strive to be a chivalrous knight that follows the tradition of Courtly Love, as Lancelot does. With that said, Lancelot is a FOOL.  I completely understand that you love the aforementioned woman but that doesn't mean you have to be whipped. YOU CAN'T EVEN TOUCH HER. she's MARRIED.

All in all. I appreciate the literary work, but in my own opinion whomever was commissioned to write this Romance should be taken out back and walled up in a tower for writing such a irking story.

HEY GUYS!

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The Knight of the Cart comments

I found this reading to be very amusing and entertaining. From the off the wall conversations, to the crazy, intriguing scenarios, I found myself having crazy looks and smurks on my face reading every page.

First off, I find it ironic how you could have someone come tell you that they
have your people held hostage and you basically just reply with saying "Oh that sucks". Then agree to abide by whatever this person requests.  Kay basically tells the King, "Hey I have your people, and there is no way you can get them back, oh, and you will die before you are able to save them". And the King literally just takes it.When I read this I was confused, considering my impression is that a knight will fight till the end and won't let anyone walk all over them. Then the queen is just handed over to Kay upon his request like it's a walk in the park.

What kept my mind racing was once the king, Gawain, and the knights decide to go find the queen and run into the dwarf,  the knight (Lancelot)  ends up roaming around in a cart while practically being tormented by other people. Talk about a sacrifice. They all are staring at him, yelling atrocious comments to the dwarf and neither the dwarf nor the knight decide to respond.That would be terrifying having everyone around you knowing your business and asking questions out loud about how you may be killed. Definitely not my cup of tea!

Okay, not trying to skip over numerous details, cause this reading is awesome, but I have to get to my favorite part. When the girl informs everyone of the paths to get to the queen, and how each one will involve encounters with extreme difficulty, this created a suspenseful kind of rush for me. My visualization consisted of a dark background and that serious, suspenseful kind of music when it sounds like all hell is about to break loose. I pictured Lancelot gaining confidence and the nobility that a knight consists of, and the determination to rescue the beloved queen.

Actually, he gains so much confidence, that it causes him to ignore a guard that is prohibiting him from crossing the ford, and is suddenly struck off his horse. Not exactly how we probably pictured that to turn out but hey, knights aren't perfect.

This reading was a roller coaster of emotions and I enjoyed every page, even with some of it seeming odd, but that's what makes it fun to read. I felt that I could understand the style of the way this was written because it seemed more modernized for me. Awesome reading!