Woe be the Day Where it All Ends

                                                      The King In Disney's Tangled

Every great reign has got to come to an end, and it seems that the end of the King Arthur class will be included in this great ending. I will miss this class and everything it was able to teach me about the man and the legend. It explored the depths of the beloved king who I grew up with in writing and through the screen of the television. He was the king that I thought all kings were supposed to be like, and as a small girl of eight watching Quest for Camelot, I thought that our country should also have a king like Arthur. Even when my mom explained that not all kings were good I did not believe her. Even as a kid, I still swore loyalty to King Arthur and even though he was not tangible, his beliefs and charisma had captured the heart of that little girl and continues to hold it to this day. So I was overjoyed to find and take this class on my beloved Medieval King, read about something that was consistently present through my life, and analyze texts for their relevance and believability.  

               

               

                        Tristan (top) and Galahad (bottom) in the King Arthur movie 2004

When I first began this class I thought that I really would not learn much more about a topic that I was well versed in. I believed that King Arthur was just one man with many knights, an evil son, a weird sister, a magical wizard, a loose wife, and a great kingdom. However, there are many faces and portrayals to the King Arthur legend and the king himself. Overall,  I enjoyed learning about his fellow knights the most. This is why the reading of Le Morte D'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory was my favorite reading of the class this semester. This is depicted above with Galahad and Tristan (or Tristram) as they fight their way to victory. I enjoyed hearing about the men who protect the king and are usually left in the shadow of Arthur or the other two well known knights: Lancelot and Gawain. In Malory's book he explores two knights that I had barely heard of before and it refreshing because with the new knights that I was learning about, there was a new adventure and story. There was a grail of greatness and a religious aspect to King Arthur that had nothing to do with war and defending God through combat. Also, Galahad was Lancelot's son, which frankly, I never read about the knights of the Round Table having children. There is a story of a boy of relatively noble birth fighting for greatness and honor without revealing his name because he had killed the son of the liege who he stayed with to heal. So Sir Tristram and his secretive name Tramtrist was a humourous and exciting twist on the King Arthur legend. It delves into the mind of a man and his journey to become a knight, much like the story of the Grail and how Galahad had refrained from fighting and sin to achieve holy goodness. They were exciting stories because they were new, and different, and although they were dry at times, I liked their message and story!

             

                                           Arthur's death  in the TV show Merlin

Although this class has explored the many faces of Arthur, including the child, teenager, adult, and old man who explored different gateways and personality traits like being righteous, honorable, lazy, ambitious, dependent, and wise I have realized that in the end, Arthur always dies. That he is human and not a machine that keeps going into time and space as an immortal shell of a man. He dies from flesh wounds just as his men do, and that makes him real, a leader that risks his life, and can die by the hand of a sword. Just like he is depicted in the Merlin series above; Arthur dies and his good friend Merlin watches him drift off as preparations for his Viking funeral. However, besides getting to read about Arthur's knights and their stories on becoming a chivalrous representation of the Round Table (and sometimes not) I was really happy to see this vulnerable side to Arthur. Although he may have Excalibur, steel armour, and a barrier of knights defending him he still fell because he was still a man who bled. The difference between Arthur and other kings also became apparent through this class. Arthur wanted a kingdom full of people; not an empty kingdom full of wives and children waiting for fathers, brothers, and sons to come back from a battlefield.   

*Sniff Sniff* Last Post

With this being the last post, I will have quite a lot to talk about.   The class in general was always a pleasure going to.  I enjoyed everyone’s comments brought to each discussion, as well as the energy throughout the class. It wasn’t one of those ‘sit back and let the teacher talk for an hour and a half (some lecture classes).   I enjoyed the class from start to finish. I now know a hell of a lot more about King Arthur than I did coming into the class. Coming into the class I really had no idea who or what King Arthur actually was except a king during the medieval era (my actual thoughts). Coming out of this class, I’ll be able to further explain all the mythologies, tales, and tribulations that has brought the origins of the legend of King Arthur.

 

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                From all the stories we read this semester, I have a few that I would call my favorites for this class. I really enjoyed the story of “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”, that was probably the first one where the stories started to peak my interest, even though “The Knight of the Cart” was interesting too.  However, I found SGGK was weird in which made me like it even more. Another story that I liked was obviously the Grail Quest.  The quest stories would always have me deep into the pages. I like some of the romance section but when I read stories I follow well with more actions than talking.  Being said I did like the poems of the Lady of Shalott and The Passing of Arthur. It was really cool dissecting them in class so I could better understand what was being said.  Once and Future King was really great to read. It was new seeing the young Arthur, especially after watching Sword in the Stone.  Knight Life sort of intrigued me, mostly because it was seeing the same old Arthur but changing the time period and throwing him into New York City. Before we were assigned to read it and the professor was explaining it I felt it sort of reminded me of the movie Enchanted, except without all the Disney influence. I liked the twist of Medieval Arthur living in modern times (even running for mayor).  I would have to say that Avalon High was a real joy to read. Like I said in my earlier post, it was a guilty pleasure of mine. All the other readings weren’t bad to read. They each help give different interpretations of Arthur, but the ones that I pointed out were most interesting to me. 

 I don’t think there would be anything I would change from this class, it was a very enlightening.  Our professor, Mitchell-Buck was a veryyyy good instructor. The energy and enthusiasm she brought to each class really made it always a pleasure to be in class. Maybe this is just wishful thinking for the future, but it would have been awesome to watch Quest for Camelot. I think it would be a great addition to next semester’s class! Thank you so much for putting together such a great lesson about King Arthur. Thanks a ton for the donuts and not having us WATCH Avalon High.

-JH

Idylls of a Student

Avalon High was an interesting take on King Arthur…felt like the ending was awkward. I simply didn’t like the “happily ever after” ish ending. Other than the ending, I enjoyed reading the book. It was entertaining, silly and a very light read. *sighs* So this is the end of King Arthur, an end of an interesting class and end of a semester…the last semester of my college career. It’s a weird feeling to be graduating, like…hmm, what’s next? In a weird way I feel like me finishing college and the Idylls of a King story have something in common. The way it ended with Bedievere looking over the ocean and once the sight of Arthur disappeared, he felt that that was the end of a previous life and the sun rising was a new world… Yeah this is definitely corny. Yeah, ending college is kinda like that. Nostalgic, confusing, at first terrifying… Well it’s been a really interesting class, so thanks everyone for the intriguing conversations. this is 5 out of 5

Arthur vs. Predator

I’m still sticking to my movie idea of King Arthur vs. Predator.  I feel as though if it weren’t a movie, then it could be a comic book or graphic novel for sure! I had the idea when I saw my dad looking at one of the Wolverine vs. Predator comic. It gave me some ideas of Arthur vs. Alien, but Predator is pretty badass, and I’d like to see two badass fighters go at it.  I think if I were to cast Arthur in such a role, I think it would be Chris Hemsworth, just because I’ve seen him as Thor and it would see him just as fitting playing King Arthur.

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I did like Ruth’s idea about the BBC version with Mi6/SIS agents. However, whenever I think of this I think of James Bond (probably because I watched Skyfall the other night).  But I think would have definite potential.  Would Daniel Craig be a good Arthur, if it were ever a topic?

With regards to my theory of Leonardo DiCaprio playing Lancelot (in any King Arthur film adaptation) I still think it would be a perfect match.  I know we all dislike Lancelot, but the attractive features that characterize him match perfectly to how any girl would see Leonardo DiCaprio (well…in my opinion). Even if he is a hated character but is “beautiful” on screen, I do recall a certain movie in which DiCaprio played a vicious plantation owner (Django Unchained). Here we have the same scenario because everyone loves Leonardo DiCaprio, but his character is a terrible, cold hearted plantation owner, in which the audience is obviously going to hate. However, being the hated character that he is, we still find him interesting nonetheless. In fact, besides Christoph Waltz’s character, Calvin Candie (DiCaprio) was my second favorite character in the movie. This, in my opinion, would be the same outcome I could see happening if DiCaprio were to ever be casted as Lancelot.

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"A Knight Life at Avalon High" By King Gary

Last week was very stressful and trying to get to the blog was the least of my worries (my bad).  I wanted to first share my thoughts on “Knight Life” before I head into thoughts on Avalon High. With “Knight Life”, I did enjoy the take on Arthur coming to terms with the modern times and seeing the familiar characters from previous readings.  I wasn’t into the political aspect of the story even though it did give the story a new twist on the Arthurian legend.  I did like the topics the reporters gave Arthur, including abortions and gun control.  I felt, like we discussed in class, that Arthur was honest with regards to his answers to those topics, even though the reporters thought his opinion as controversial.  I liked this outspoken Arthur, because he wasn’t afraid to speak his mind, even if it wasn’t appropriate.  I really enjoyed the fight scene between Arthur and the waiter.  It brought back that sense of the heroic Arthur who fought the waiter/demon.  After reading these excerpts and discussing the author, Peter David, I did some further research and found out that he was actually in charge of running Marvel’s Incredible Hulk.  More relatively, David did a sequel to “Knight Life” and made “One Knight Only” which depicts Arthur Penn as President.  I would think this would be another interesting read to future classes…perhaps.

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On a side note, I was watching a movie this weekend that had a scene relevant to King Arthur.  If anyone has heard of the movie, The World’s End, there was once scene where the main character, Gary (also refers himself as King Gary…actual name is Gary King) gets mad because one of his friends won’t drink beer.  He makes fun of him by asking if King Arthur asked for water after he fought in countless battles. I wish I could find a clip of this scene.  It is harder to explain because it’s funnier when the whole scene is played through.   Check it out if you want, it’s a great film either way.

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                As for Avalon High…I feel like this was the most interesting read from this class.  Don’t get me wrong, I did like the epic Grail Quest and the tale of Arthur’s youth, but this interpretation was actually a guilty pleasure.  I enjoyed all the drama and seeing the characters as high school students (and Merlin as a teacher) I would definitely keep this as a future read for other classes.  Even though some parts were a bit cheesy or over dramatic, it’s a teen drama, which means the audience is going to be people of that demographic who thrive off that stuff.  The story overall was very different than what I expected.  It was like King Arthurian times met any typical high school movie. However, I would have very much read this book than watching the movie on Disney.  After hearing all the reviews, I’m glad I missed out on such a terrible film adaptation. Enjoy the photo.

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-JH

 

If You Vote For Me All Of Your Wildest Dreams Will Come True

SO in the spirit of Knight Life, I thought it was only appropriate for a Napoleon Dynamite reference and supporting picture because it was a very....interesting movie that I used to quote in middle school. Also I feel that the idea of Pedro is very similar to King Arthur because his campaign is a little strange, as is his speech. He begins with "Hello, I don't have much to say. But I think it would be a good idea to bring some holy Sancho's to the high school..." which is definitely bizarre and attention grabbing. But whoa! This takes place in a high school which is the same as Avalon High! Look at me making connections, no it's okay, I know it's not funny. But yeah, Pedro, King Arthur, and I never thought I would be connecting the two, but I mean I think its okay since Knight Life was supposed to be funny or the author probably wouldn't have had weird demons, an invisible sword, a really dumb Percival, a whimpering Gwen, and a 9-year-old Merlin with as people have been mentioning...a lot of sass.

Also this book reminded me of a movie that I watched a long time ago and only remember the basic premise but it was called "A Kid in King Arthur's Court." Mostly because of the weird time gap in Knight Life and this movie; however, the big difference is that the modern kid is thrust into the world of Camelot instead of King Arthur being thrust into the modern world. It is a bit of a swap. Anyway I just get excited when I remember things and can relate them to the times when I was growing up. I haven't watched this movie in a LONG time and then after Knight Life I was like "Oh man this movie." However, it might be because I am also reading "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" but it still came through! I was just wondering how it would be if the roles were swapped, and if it was just a regular person from today that was tripping into a time portal to Camelot. I mean I would probably accidentally look at someone weird in the first two minutes and get chopped up ( they probably made this a kids movie to avoid the fact of imminent death) but hey there is always that small percentage of survival in this imaginary scenario that will never happen. But just imagine a kid from the modern world trying to become a knight! It is just as hilarious and ridiculous!

Late Night Thoughts/FanFiction, Holt

Now that we have finished the Mist of Avalon, I was once again fascinated at getting a different perspective in which the women portrayed were the main focus even though Arthur was involved.  To me, it was interesting to see the female characters actually have a lead story built in besides Guinevere (even though she was included too). I do like change ups in story and this shed some new light as to how what the women were saying and thinking during that time. It was good to be in their shoes for once instead of being in the knights’ the whole time. Even coming through a guy’s point of view, I’ve wondered at times during some of the past readings what possibly could have been going through some of the maiden’s head.  When combined feminism with the Mist of Avalon, the part when Lancelot doubted Morgaine could climb the Tor because of her skirt really stuck in my head. Her best quote was “…surely men know that women have legs like their own. It cannot be so much of an offense of modesty to see what they must be able to imagine.”  I think this was the perfect quote to compare when talking about the ideas of feminist.  Morgaine wasn’t afraid to get rough and dirty as all maidens are supposed to have some moral of staying clean and proper for their men. Lancelot was surprised that she was out of the ordinary, but men today are shocked how women can do the same things men can do, even better. I am interested in reading Knight Life. I am looking forward to the kid-type merlin and a 1980’s Arthur running for mayor.

Unlike everyone in class, I thought the ritual of the hunting of the dear was stranger than the incest between Arthur and Morgaine.  It took me a while to realize that Morgaine was under the influence of something (basically drugs). However, the whole process of hunting the deer had me a bit lost until I read further and with a little more assistance in class.

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When we discussed fan fiction, I didn’t quite understand what it was until I investigated it further. I had an idea of what it was but my perception was a little off.  There is actually a site: www.fanfiction.net in which you can see all types of genres based on shows, games, movies, etc. All fan fiction. Some of the stories are so detailed to add an extra storyline to what has already been conceived.  It is crazy how people can carry on with such an imagination with their favorite novels or movies. I always thought of fan fiction for TV shows were related to spin off shows. For example “Breaking Bad” was a television show, but they are doing a spin off show concentrating on Saul “Better Call Saul” could this be a fan fiction? I don’t know how spin offs work but that’s what’d I’d imagine a fan fiction to be.

Why Merlin's Guinevere is the best Guinevere

During my Merlin presentation I repeatedly mentioned that it was my favorite and in my opinion the best representation of Guinevere I’ve encountered so far. Reading the excerpts from the Mist of Avalon has just reaffirmed that opinion. Gwenhwyfar is apparently the picture perfect beauty, so much so she causes the proud and strong Morgaine to become self-conscious, but all I see in her description is a wimp, a lost little girl who is pretty pathetic, especially in comparison to Morgaine. I hate that she fits snugly into the “damsel in distress” category.  I prefer a Guinevere with more bite to her.  I’d say I liked T.H. White’s Guinevere a tad more, but she tended to be too whiny and self-centered, much like the other Guineveres we have seen in our readings.

Movie wise I have yet to be impressed by a Gwen. With the exception of Keira Knightley’s Guinevere in the 2004 King Arthur movie, most other film depictions of Gwen make her meek and a very flat character, yet again a damsel in need of constant saving. And honestly the only reason I slightly like King Arthur’s Guinevere is because, well, it’s Keira Knightley and I think she is nice to look at and I’m not afraid to say so!

Anyway, Angel Coulby is by far the best Gwen recorded either by pen or film. (Also, I see it fit now to warn you all that spoilers of the show may follow in my rant about how great she is). 

First off, she is not the typical image of Queen Guinevere, which is one thing I truly love. I don't think I have to explain much in the way of how she is different, it's pretty obvious, but I will make the comment that part of her appeal as Gwen is that she isn't the traditional pale skinned beauty that most other adaptations described her as. BBC provides us with a unique and beautiful Gwen, which is truly refreshing. 

We don’t know much about Gwen’s background besides that she has a living father (for the first few episodes) and a brother who becomes one of Arthur’s knights of Camelot.  She serves as Morgana’s servant but their relationship is not so formal, they are best friends in truth, rather than mistress and servant girl. Not only is she mentioned to be a gifted seamstress, but she also knows a great deal about how to mend armor and work with weapons because her father is a black smith. In my opinion she gets major bonus points for such a skill. Merlin’s Gwen is not afraid to break social barriers that usually constrict women. And although she initially is timid and awkward, as the series goes on she begins to grown in self-confidence. Initially finding Arthur to be unapproachable and unlikable, as time passes she begins to open up to him. However, she never becomes doe eyed and enamored with him, or even Lancelot (with one exception, but she was under a spell so it doesn’t quite count). Gwen doesn’t fit the girly type. She’s brave and loyal and everything I want in a leading lady.

And let’s not forget that she eventually becomes the queen of Camelot. Talk about climbing the social class ladder! 

I’m not saying it wasn’t a very challenging climb, the director of the show tried to make it as believable as possible (or as believable as any BBC show about magic can be), but she made it none the  less and stood up against the nay sayers, the principle one being Arthur’s own father. When she does become queen, she rules alongside Arthur, and in his absences she is strong willed ruler. we can also assume that after his death she continues to rule Camelot as Queen Regent, which shows how respected she is despite her "low" birth. She does not shirk away from the responsibility.  She also has a darker, manipulative side to her, which I absolutely LOVE. I want a Gwen who isn’t perfect, a Gwen who gets a little power hungry and creative with her royal liberties from time to time. That keeps things interesting!

Anyway, that is my rant about Merlin’s Guinevere. You should all give the show a try, if not for the best Gwen yet, then at least to hear Olivander’s voice come from a cheesy CGI dragon.

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The Passing of Arthur (1/5)

      I know that this is late, however, I've been having trouble with the website, so bear with me as I catch up. Lord Alfred Tennyson's poem "The Passing of Arthur", though beautifully crafted, nearly made my heart break. Personally, I love anything that has to do with the romance and magic that is associated with the Arthurian time period, and this ending of the legend left me curled up in bed with a mug of coffee and Disney's "The Sword in the Stone". Does anyone else feel this strongly, or is it just me? Even if you don't share my love for this time period, anyone with eyes can appreciate how beautifully this poem is written. One particular set of lines that drew my attention was "As from beyond the limit of the world/Like the last echo born of a great cry/Sounds, as if some fair city were one voice/Around a king returning from his wars" (Lines 288-292). I found these lines very interesting because the first line in this stanza almost makes an allusion that Arthur is leaving this world, not merely dying, and going to heaven after the long, violent years on Earth. After all, where else would Arthur go? He was the greatest Christian king ever recorded. Did anyone else wonder if he would become some high powered official (if they even have those), in heaven? Food for thought...

    Another line that I found interesting was "And the new sun rose bringing the new year" (Line 300). Though we did talk about this particular line in class, I can't help but wonder why or what caused the end of this era. Was it because Arthur was such a great king that there was no way anyone else could fill his shoes, or was it because God decided it was time for the world to move on to a new era? As someone who is really not religious in even the slightest of ways, I tend to lean towards option one. However, if option two is correct, what a fascinating book that could be!

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.

Legend of King Arthur and Legend of Zelda

Thinking over what I know about King Arthur and the stories about him and what we all learned in class about him, I've noticed similarities with the Legend of Zelda.  The Legend of Zelda is basically a series of games made by Nintendo about this boy (named Link) who is a selfless, virtuous hero who in most game plots saves princess Zelda, the people of Hyrule (Zelda's castle) or some group of people.

Take a look at the intro video for my favorite Legend of Zelda game, Windwaker, that I put rto the left and you can see that there are some similarities between the boy hero Link and King Arthur.  The idea that a selfless, virtuous hero saves countless people for a cause assigned to him.  ANOTHER striking similarity is Arthur's sword excalibur and the Master Sword in the game.  Link goes into a castle to pull the master sword and only the true hero is able to pull it up from the stone inside a castle-King Arthur was the only one who was able to pull excalibur from the stone...IT'S JUST TOO SIMILAR!
I find that the legend of King Arthur has pieces that are mysterious to me (same with the Legend of Zelda); concrete details about his existence seem to be unknown or unreliable.  I think it's that aspect of legends that make them easy to believe in and glorify.  King Arthur seems to be seen almost like a god because of his selfless sacrifices and his origins are written about vaguely similar to writings about Jesus.

I'm branching off right a lot now so I think this is where I'll end my mini rant about King Arthur being similar to the Legend of Zelda and apparently Jesus.

Happy Sunday everyone!