Arthurian Traditions for Tuesday

[godinakilt.livejournal.com]

"All right, class, today we'll be NaNoing like mad continuing our discussion of the role of women in Arthurian legends," Camulus begins without preamble. "We were talking about the segregation of the sexes in the City of Legions and how the chivalric code was tied to this." He grins. "Today we will be talking about how women are, in short, the reason for all the evil in this world. Not that I, myself, have anything against women. I happen to be an equal opportunity overlord. However, in Arthur's world women were the clue that held society together and functioning. More specifically, it was the virtue, chastity, and self-control of women that kept society functioning. You can imagine what happened when the women gave into their, ah, animal desires.

"I suppose this needs some explaining. Arthur's queen was Guinevere, who was the pinnacle of women in the City of Legions. Arthur also had a knight named Launcelot. Let's just say that Barbossa would be reporting with glee what these two got up to behind Arthur's back. Of course, Arthur found out and Launcelot was banished. Some stories say that Guinevere was burned at the stake for her adultery, but that is a very recent addition to the legend that isn't in any of the materials we work with. After Launcelot was gone, Arthur also had to leave, as he was called away by the Pope, who I believe is the First Prime of the Christian God. While he was on his way to see this man, his nephew seized power for himself. But more importantly, he seized Guinevere. Adultery number two on her part. She escaped Mordred and became a nun, but the important thing is that it is the so-called Rape of Guinevere that causes Arthur to come stampeding back to his death. Guinevere is also the reason that Launcelot and a good number of Arthur's knights are unable to aid him in this final battle, in which he dies.

"The begetting of Mordred himself is the sin of woman, as well. Mordred was not only Arthur's nephew, he was his son by Morgan le Fay. Morgan made sure the whole court knew about this relationship, as well. Morgan's bitterness was supposedly caused by being cast out of the court following an affair with Merlin, Arthur's chief advisor, who was also a wizard or a druid.

"Why then do we care? Because all this came to a head in the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, which we will be looking at next." He frowns down at the books stacked on his desk. "I couldn't find a suitable modern translation for you to read, but I can get one. I'll leave it in the classroom and you can pick it up sometime before next class."

He looks up at the class. "No homework, but I do have a question - what is the connection between the Holy Grail and Guinevere?"

[[So true about lack of Gawain online. I'll still be looking, but it may be in the form of scans of one of my books. Seperate post to follow.]]

Comments

[sensethevisions]

Phoebe thought about this for a moment.

"Guinevere was supposedly the perfect woman who wasn't supposed to be touched by anyone but the king. The Grail is an object that was said to grant magical things to those who could find it. Both are unttainable, both are symbols of woman and perfection in some of the early stories."

[godinakilt.livejournal.com]

"Good analogy," he says, nodding. "Especially making the connection to the yonical imagery of the cauldron and comfort images, rather than a grail-per-se."

[sensethevisions]

"The thing is, they could both be the comfort images, or the key to eternal comfort and happiness. What they can never be is the exact same thing for all people." Phoebe pauses for a second, thinking.

"I can understand Arthur getting upset at the idea of betrayal between his wife and his best friend. He loved them both a great deal, but he had no idea until it was pointed out to him that they shared love and lust between them. This pissed him off, and I can sort of understand why. Guinevere was *his* comfort, his eternal happiness. So, she and Launcelot betrayed that feeling of security and comfort in his eyes." Phoebe chewed on her pen.

"On the other hand, he encouraged his knights to seek out the Grail and to have eternal happiness or comfort if they did find it." She sighs and then looks back at Camulus. "People now say that Arthur suffered from hypocrisy or lack of forethought. He was determined to keep his Guinevere as his own idea of purity and beauty, while at the same time, setting the hunt for the Grail. I don't think he had any idea of how the meaning of his queen and the Grail would become the same unit."

[demonbelthazor]

Belthazor walked into class and took a seat by Phoebe.

[valentine-tart.livejournal.com]

Beka tossed Bel a note that said:

Did you hear what Angelus said? (http://www.livejournal.com/community/fandomhigh/336793.html?thread=16198809#t16198809)

[demonbelthazor]

Belthazor wrote back:

We're not so he can't...right?

[valentine-tart.livejournal.com]

Beka shrugged.

He could? And the difference between us not being and being is the difference between a fireball and a...