Arthur, I almost believe and other thoughts

Throughout this class I have been surprised, disappointed, and excited by and about many different Arthur's. I have had many feelings that were positive and negative, but I am so glad that we read all the many versions of Arthur that we did. I think without having read those I would not firmly be able to say that my Arthur would definitely be Will Wagner from Avalon High. Though he is young and has a lot still to learn he showed the promise and the goodness that I believe Arthur should have. Avalon High was my first ever literary exposure to King Arthur as far as I can remember. That may be slightly why I am so attached to this version. By being a leader in his school as student body president and a leader on the field as captain and quarterback on the football team, Will shows he could be a leader as a king and as a string warrior. He is gentle and kind when the jocks are picking on that kid Ted. He forgives Jen and Lance and too me that was very important because my King Arthur would not hold a grudge but he would forgive them and even wish them well because that what is right for his conscience. I love that Ellie and Will get together I think it's Meg Cabot's way of making it very clear that there is no way Mordred/Marco won because usually with Gwen leaving him, Arthur's Camelot crumbles, but by giving him love with Ellie Meg Cabot is showing he will continue on with his life and his rule.

This class has made me really want to find more about King Arthur, I want to know so much mire about everyone and see the beauty of the story brought to life in so many different ways by many different Arthur's. After reading about Arthur in high school and running for mayor, I would really like Meg Cabot's theory of reincarnated Arthur to come to play in many stories, I think he could be so many historical figures and countless stories could be told where he and Mordred were once again making history through war and various other mediums. I have decided to watch is many of the King Arthur movies I never watched before and I hope to continue to be captured by this story.

Throughout our entire class we have talked about whether or not King Arthur is real. I have two very conflicting opinions on this subject. Part of me says yes the people existed and that's all but there is another huge part of myself that wants to believe that everything happened. I want to believe that Lancelot and Guienevere fell in love and betrayed Arthur, I want to believe in Merlin as a powerful magician, and Modred and Morgan as two who sought to bring Arthur's end. I want to have the magic and mystery and battle be real and historical. I will not say that I am a 100% believer in King Arthur but I will say I believe there was a man named Arthur who had soldiers that fought by his side and a wife who may or may not have been faithful to him. Even if I cannot 100% say that the magic and mystery is true I will say that I have faith in the legend and I wish it could all  be real. King Arthur will always have a special place with me as part of my childhood and now as part of my growing into an adult.

This has been a great course and I thank everyone who made it that way :)

This is 5 of 5

Avalon High... oh High School

First off, I love this book so much. I have read it multiple time before and I have been looking forward to reading it since I found out it was on our reading list for the semester. I love the way this book is written, its really funny and interacts with the reader. The character of Ellie is wonderful; she is very easy to relate to; she is a regular high school just like I was. She feels like her crush on the hottest, most popular guy in school is a waste of her time. In a way I love the way that Cabot works the cliche in a wonderful light. There's the quarterback dating the cheerleader. He has a dysfunctional home life and finds relief in hanging out with new girl. It is so typically high school or rather the high school we find in novels. I really love Will, he is my perfect Arthur. He's nice and strong and a great leader. The defends the weak and supports the strong and still finds time to be a smart guy. I have always loved the character of Lance and his romance with Jen. I feel like this book is the reason the "real" Lancelot was so heartbreaking and hard to deal with for me. If I had not been exposed to Lance I would have felt different about Lancelot. Will and Ellie make me remember the beginning of my relationship with my fiancé in high school, the way she thinks about him and talks about him makes me smile and remember how good that part of high school. Ellie and Will are exactly what every high school couple aspires to be and I can't let go of high school me when I read this book and it adds so much to the memories. 

This is 4 of 5

MIsts of Avalon... WHAT?

As I read Mists of Avalon, both sections, the word "what?" crossed my mind quite a few times. I said what about their religion because I did not understand it and I was interested. That was not a bad what, especially when there were many more whats to come. I was very confused and said what about Galahad deciding that he wanted to change his name. I was completely thrown by that change and I did not like it. I saw the necessity of it to show that Galahad was no longer a part of Avalon.The first reading did not have me saying what as much as the second set. When I began the second section I was nervous, already questioning the reading  I was getting ready to read. As I started and the ritual was explained I was like "what the heck", I definitely wanted to stop reading after that but I knew I had to keep going. As Morgaine was painted and "probed" I was definitely starting to feel uncomfortable. This reading succeeded in continually being uncomfortable; from Morgaine and Arthur sleeping together to Arthur bringing it up again. When Arthur and Morgaine slept together for the second time it was so awkward and I was questioning every single thing that was happening. I was talking to the reading like I talk to the TV. "Why don't you know your sister! Why do you want to sleep together, its your sister! STOP! STOP! STOP!" I got over it long enough to finish the reading but I was still completely weirded out and questioning Viviane more than anyone. Arthur only made everything worse when he told Morgaine he would always love her and would always remember her as his first time; before he realized it was Morgaine it was awkward, the second time it was agonizing to read. I was talking to Arthur and it was like in movies when you "say go in there" I was telling him "close your mouth, stop talking" This was my biggest question and I was completely done with this reading. My "WHAT" was so far gone that there was no point in even trying to figure anything out or questioning it because there was too many questions and no answers to make me feel better.

This is 3 of 5

Love, Lancelot, Guinevere, and Fate

So at the beginning of this class, Lancelot was my favorite knight, he was strong and mighty and being a sucker for romance his affair with Guinevere intrigued me. The story of the Knight of the Cart kept this view of Lancelot for me. In a previous post I mentioned the couple reminded me of Will and Jocelyn from the movie A Knights Tale. I loved his devotion to her and how their love was strong and true. As we progressed my opinions began to change. The biggest change occurred when my group did our project on Camelot. Seeing the illicit affair and the hurt it gave Arthur on the screen started to sour me to their epic romance and love. In most tales featuring their affair at the forefront up until I watched that had little to do with Arthur or his feelings. Watching him love both Lance and Jenny and get hurt by both of them made me hate their relationship. I realized as I read the end of Once and Future King that what really made me hate the character of Lancelot and his relationship with Guinevere was not only that I saw its affect on Arthur that made me not like it; it was the songs! They annoyed me with their constant singing and I just wanted them to go away and stop! As we read Once and Future King my warm feelings towards them began to come back, i'm not sure how much of it had to do with the fact that Lancelot was indeed ugly in this, so I saw real true love in their affair. I skimmed some of the chapters before this morning and saw some of the tenderness they felt for each other. I then rethought their on screen love in Camelot, minus the songs, and saw some of the same tenderness. I fully believe as I stated in class that Lancelot and Guinevere are fated and destined to be together, this however does not mean that they do not have free will. They used this free will to make some really bad decisions, they could have run when they fell in love instead of waiting 15 years, but you know what people say "You do stupid things when you're in love". Not only was their judgement blinded by their love, I think they could not leave Arthur. Lance loved Arthur, it was his best friend who had trusted him and they had been friends for years. Guinevere was Arthur's wife, whether she ever loved him, I'm not really sure but she did care for him. I feel like you cannot have some kind of care for the person you have been married to for years and especially if that person has helped you run a kingdom. I think their loyalty to Arthur kept them from running and that shows more about their character than the fact that they did not try and circumvent their destiny, as we saw so many try to do only to end up in the same place.

This is 2 of 5

Random Thoughts on The Lady of Shalott

I am not the biggest fan of reading poetry in order to analyze it and understand it's meaning. That being said, I find poetry to be really beautiful. This exactly how I felt the first time I read  The Lady of Shalott and after it was read aloud in class I found it even more beautiful and I understood it much better as well. I think it is interesting how different the Mallory selection was from Tennyson's poem. I will freely admit that before I read both the poem and the story from Mallory I assumed they were the exact same story and that the Lady of Shalott's name was in fact Elaine when in reality we do not know if that is her name. I think of the two plots I really do prefer the Lady of Astolat because it actually gives her some contact with Lancelot and she spends time with him and cares for him. I also like how there is a mention of Arthur existing in Mallory's tale. I feel like The Lady of Shalott was more Arthurian though, it had more magic and I almost feel like in Arhturian legend it is better if the maiden does not know the man she falls in love with so the Lady of Shalott simply wanting to be with Lancelot was very much in accordance to Arthurian legend. I'm really looking forward to rereading The Lady of Shalott again and reading The Passing of Arthur.

this is one of five

Half-way Through

Half-way through this semester, my views of Arthur have changed slightly. I thought that most stories of Arthur, would actually feature him as a main character as opposed to using him and his court as a stage for other great feats for knights and the court. I also had no idea that there were so many different personalities of Arthur that are very different. I think part of my expectations come from movies in my childhood like Sword and the Stone and  Quest for Camelot where Arthur has Merlin and his magic to guide him; this is not true in most of what we have addressed in this class. I like the new views I have on Arthur and his legends, but after watching Camelot I do prefer Arthur as a great warrior and king as opposed to dependent on Merlin. I also view Guinevere differently after this class; the romantic vibe I felt from her and Lancelot has diminished and now I feel much less friendly to her, seeing as she basically helped destroy the greatness of Camelot and the eventual death or "healing on Avalon" of Arthur.

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.

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/

I have been working on my influence map at the same time as I finished the reading. This combination of assignments has made me think about how I view King Arthur and his story.  I have an understanding of the Arthur story that is different than the one as told by Geoffrey of Monmouth. I have always accepted that Lancelot and Guinevere had an affair, Lancelot was not even mentioned by Geoffrey. I believed that Merlin had a much larger part in Arthur's life that this reading let on. Having watched Sword and the Stone and Quest for Camelot, I expected to see much of Merlin in this reading. Another part of the legend I was expecting to see was Excalibur, the sword only Arthur could remove from  the stone. I was also quite surprised to see Arthur as king for so much of the story, many King Arthur stories or legends lead up to his coronation, whereas this led up to his death. I would not say I did not enjoy this version of the King Arthur story but I felt like it was out of place as part of my knowledge of Arthur without the Round Table and some of the characters that I am so very familiar with when it comes to the story of Arthur.