This blog is designed specifically for Hanover High School students in Ms. Piro's early English literature course.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Question of the Week (10/23/09)
Looking forward to our study of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, share what you know about Arthurian legends? Post your response by Sunday 10/25. Enjoy your weekend.
I know that Arthurian legends were written in the fifteenth century but are set much earlier around the eight or ninth century. They are stories about a great king Arthur and his wife Guenevere. They have a court of great knights who gather around a round table. There are tales about each of the knights and their exploits. The knights are always brave and go off on quests to slay mythical beasts like dragons to win to hand of a lady. I also know that there are stories about the inner workings at Camelot but I don't know what. I remember that sir Gawain fights some sort of horrid monster and I think there is some kind of affair with Guenevere.
Honesty I don't know too much about Arthurian tales, and when I think of them I think of Monty Python and the Holy Grail and that sort of setting (except more serious). I also think of brave knights, dragons, and other sorts of ominous creatures. For the most part, if not always, the huge creatures lose, and the brave knights win, and their glory is praised throughout the kingdoms. The knights strictly follow the code of chivalry, and therefor they are heroic and just characters.
i really don't know much about Arthurian legends, but I have heard a few. I'm not sure if the word Arthurian comes from King Arthur, but that would make sense if it did. I think that they usually have some sort of hero, there's a monster or dragon involved, and a lady or town gets saved by the hero. The knights are always very chivalrous and the tale is meant to be a noble one. I almost always think of the knights of the round table when I think of Arthurian legends, which then leads me to think about The chronicles of Narnia so I really don't remember what it's about, but I remember liking the tale.
I don't know much about Arthurian legends either, except for what I've seen in movies and heard in latin class. (I don't put much faith in the movie's historical accuracy, so I won't relate it.) According to Mr. Glenney, Arthurian legends may have been based on events that occurred after Rome vacated Britain. At this time Britain, which had been a Roman province for several hundred years, was left defenseless from the northern Caledonii and invaders from Scandinavia. Hypothetically, independent Roman/British leaders (i.e. Author) may have taken the initiative to protect the hapless citizens of Britannia from invasion. Hundreds of years later, these stories may have been incorporated into an Arthurian legend.
This is pretty much in line with what I know of the actual content of the legends. I don't know if all the legends are incorporated into one unified tale, like the Odyssey, or if they are simply many different stories that share the same themes, like Batman comics/movies/tv shows. I wonder if Chaucer's description of the Knight was influenced by Arthurian legends.
When I saw the term "Arthurian Legends”, my narrow understanding of the term lead me to recall the tale of King Arthur, and the round table. The scruffy old Merlin even appeared in my tainted imagination. In all honesty I dont know much about Arthurian tales, made apparent by my description above. I am reminded of the term chivalry, and consider what requirements are necessary to be knighted. Tales such as The Sword and the Stone, as well as the Quest for the Holy Grail have very magical elements with strange fears of monsters (and evil bunnies :P ). However, the basic strive for good overcoming evil is still seen in many stories today. In response to Gaia; I think we both have a lot of romantisized ideas when it comes to the term “Arthurian Legends”. The whole shining knight path; however, I think may be too narrow when describing the term. In all honesty, I'm just guessing, so now I may go look it up.
The term Arthurian Legends makes me think of King Arthur and the knights of the round table. This would be my best guess as to what Arthurian legends are about, although I don't really know. They are about great knights, princesses, and dangerous dragons. My assumption would be that they are from King Arthur's time. Of course the knight defeats the monster and saves a kingdom and is then honored. But again, I really don't know much.
I think we are all saying basically the same thing about the legends being about knights and dragons. Also, from our limited knowledge, chivalry seems to be a very important part of these legends.
When I think of the Arthurian legends, they evoke memories of learning of King Arthur and the knights of the Round table in grade school. I remember really enjoying all the fantasy and finding King Arthur to be a really cool guy. But the thing that comes instantly to mind is one of my favorite movies, King Arthur. This movie was made a few years ago, it is the one with Clive Owen and Keira Knightley. I know that a lot of the historical information in the movie is fabricated, but it brings a really interesting perspective to the Arthurian legends. The theme of the movie centralizes around Arthur protecting Britain from the invasion of the Saxons. I know that this actually happened, somewhere around the 5th or 6th century. But other things in the movie I'm not so sure about. Merlin is presented as an evil woodsmen magician, who leads a band of Wards to fight Britain. They eventually team up with Arthur to fight the Saxons. Guinnevere is one of Merlin's people, whom Arthur finds half-dead in a prison and nurses back to health. The knights of the round table are actually various sons of peasants that have been forced to serve Arthur for several years due to a contract their ancestors signed. I could go into a lot more detail with this.. but that's what I know from the movie. In response to Gaia, Monty Python and the Holy Grail also comes to mind for me, pretty much the exact opposite of this movie.
In response to everyone: What you all are saying is pretty much what I know/think about when someone mentions Arthurian legends. It is a pretty vague topic for me...
I know that the Arthurian legends are legends about King Arthur and the knights of the round table, an example being Sir Lancelot. The only Arthurian legend that comes to my mind is that of Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone. I think that they town they are in is Camelot, and the legends take place in the medieval time period.
I first thought of the disney movie The Sword in the Stone, which is one of my favorites. I think of the knights of the round table and medieval life and speaking styles. Sir Lancelot and Camelot and King Arthur are involved. I don't know much at all about it, but I'm guessing we'll learn a lot, so that's good. in response to Nick: what you said about Sir Gawain sounds familiar, especially about Guenevere's affair with him.
When I was a little kid, I remember reading numerous books about King Arthur. As a kid, he pulled the sword from the stone, and proved he was the rightful king of Britain. He had a round table at his castle in Camelot so that when he and his knights sat around it, not one of them would be in a more powerful position than any other (as it would be if they used a normal, rectangular table). Arthur's best knight was Lancelot, but the affair he had with Arthur's queen, Guenivere, eventually lead to the kingdom's downfall. I remember having read the story of the Sir Gawain and the green knight, but I forget the details. I think it involved this huge green knight riding into camelot and Gawain cutting his head off, but then Gawain had to go to this place to get his head chopped off too.
In response to Clark: I remember the King Arthur movie you talked about, and it portrayed King Arthur as a roman centurion who had to fight off the viking hoards. I recall the scene where they had to fight the army on the frozen lake was awesome.
When i was little i remember reading picture boooks about the knights of the round table and i remember thinking that they were the coolest dudes alive. Not only were the all very strong and worthy in battle, they also were very nice and chivalrous. I am excited to read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight because i have always liked this sort of story.
In response to Keegan, its cool that you remember reading the books to, we probably read many of the same ones. I always like the pictures and how the knights were depicted.
I really don't know too much about these legends. I had a picture book with some stories that had the Knights of the Round Table, led by King Arthur, who was a great and noble king and his wife, Guenevere. Also, if I remember correctly, she supposedly had an affair with another knights, I think Lancelot. I saw Monty Python and the Holy Grail, but I don't think that's very accurate in terms of Arthurian legends.
In response to Megan: That is a great movie! I'm never going to be able to think of King Arthur without thinking about Monty Python. :)
I know that Arthurian legends were written in the fifteenth century but are set much earlier around the eight or ninth century. They are stories about a great king Arthur and his wife Guenevere. They have a court of great knights who gather around a round table. There are tales about each of the knights and their exploits. The knights are always brave and go off on quests to slay mythical beasts like dragons to win to hand of a lady. I also know that there are stories about the inner workings at Camelot but I don't know what. I remember that sir Gawain fights some sort of horrid monster and I think there is some kind of affair with Guenevere.
ReplyDeleteHonesty I don't know too much about Arthurian tales, and when I think of them I think of Monty Python and the Holy Grail and that sort of setting (except more serious). I also think of brave knights, dragons, and other sorts of ominous creatures. For the most part, if not always, the huge creatures lose, and the brave knights win, and their glory is praised throughout the kingdoms. The knights strictly follow the code of chivalry, and therefor they are heroic and just characters.
ReplyDeletei really don't know much about Arthurian legends, but I have heard a few. I'm not sure if the word Arthurian comes from King Arthur, but that would make sense if it did. I think that they usually have some sort of hero, there's a monster or dragon involved, and a lady or town gets saved by the hero. The knights are always very chivalrous and the tale is meant to be a noble one. I almost always think of the knights of the round table when I think of Arthurian legends, which then leads me to think about The chronicles of Narnia so I really don't remember what it's about, but I remember liking the tale.
ReplyDeleteI don't know much about Arthurian legends either, except for what I've seen in movies and heard in latin class. (I don't put much faith in the movie's historical accuracy, so I won't relate it.) According to Mr. Glenney, Arthurian legends may have been based on events that occurred after Rome vacated Britain. At this time Britain, which had been a Roman province for several hundred years, was left defenseless from the northern Caledonii and invaders from Scandinavia. Hypothetically, independent Roman/British leaders (i.e. Author) may have taken the initiative to protect the hapless citizens of Britannia from invasion. Hundreds of years later, these stories may have been incorporated into an Arthurian legend.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Nick,
ReplyDeleteThis is pretty much in line with what I know of the actual content of the legends. I don't know if all the legends are incorporated into one unified tale, like the Odyssey, or if they are simply many different stories that share the same themes, like Batman comics/movies/tv shows. I wonder if Chaucer's description of the Knight was influenced by Arthurian legends.
When I saw the term "Arthurian Legends”, my narrow understanding of the term lead me to recall the tale of King Arthur, and the round table. The scruffy old Merlin even appeared in my tainted imagination. In all honesty I dont know much about Arthurian tales, made apparent by my description above. I am reminded of the term chivalry, and consider what requirements are necessary to be knighted. Tales such as The Sword and the Stone, as well as the Quest for the Holy Grail have very magical elements with strange fears of monsters (and evil bunnies :P ). However, the basic strive for good overcoming evil is still seen in many stories today. In response to Gaia; I think we both have a lot of romantisized ideas when it comes to the term “Arthurian Legends”. The whole shining knight path; however, I think may be too narrow when describing the term. In all honesty, I'm just guessing, so now I may go look it up.
ReplyDeleteThe term Arthurian Legends makes me think of King Arthur and the knights of the round table. This would be my best guess as to what Arthurian legends are about, although I don't really know. They are about great knights, princesses, and dangerous dragons. My assumption would be that they are from King Arthur's time. Of course the knight defeats the monster and saves a kingdom and is then honored. But again, I really don't know much.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Gaia:
ReplyDeleteIt definitely makes me think of Monty Python. :)
I think we are all saying basically the same thing about the legends being about knights and dragons. Also, from our limited knowledge, chivalry seems to be a very important part of these legends.
When I think of the Arthurian legends, they evoke memories of learning of King Arthur and the knights of the Round table in grade school. I remember really enjoying all the fantasy and finding King Arthur to be a really cool guy. But the thing that comes instantly to mind is one of my favorite movies, King Arthur. This movie was made a few years ago, it is the one with Clive Owen and Keira Knightley. I know that a lot of the historical information in the movie is fabricated, but it brings a really interesting perspective to the Arthurian legends. The theme of the movie centralizes around Arthur protecting Britain from the invasion of the Saxons. I know that this actually happened, somewhere around the 5th or 6th century. But other things in the movie I'm not so sure about. Merlin is presented as an evil woodsmen magician, who leads a band of Wards to fight Britain. They eventually team up with Arthur to fight the Saxons. Guinnevere is one of Merlin's people, whom Arthur finds half-dead in a prison and nurses back to health. The knights of the round table are actually various sons of peasants that have been forced to serve Arthur for several years due to a contract their ancestors signed. I could go into a lot more detail with this.. but that's what I know from the movie.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Gaia, Monty Python and the Holy Grail also comes to mind for me, pretty much the exact opposite of this movie.
Ms Piro: Do we have to include a response for this question? Can you also take a look at my email about the essay?
ReplyDeleteI'm not really sure how to respond to this question because everyone is saying the same thing... but yeah Gaia I also think of Monty Python.
ReplyDeleteIn response to everyone:
ReplyDeleteWhat you all are saying is pretty much what I know/think about when someone mentions Arthurian legends. It is a pretty vague topic for me...
I know that the Arthurian legends are legends about King Arthur and the knights of the round table, an example being Sir Lancelot. The only Arthurian legend that comes to my mind is that of Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone. I think that they town they are in is Camelot, and the legends take place in the medieval time period.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Britany: I like your reference to chivilary. I agree that chivilary plays a big part of Arthurian legends.
ReplyDeleteand in response to Nick: that all sounds really, really fimilar. Good memory.
I first thought of the disney movie The Sword in the Stone, which is one of my favorites. I think of the knights of the round table and medieval life and speaking styles. Sir Lancelot and Camelot and King Arthur are involved. I don't know much at all about it, but I'm guessing we'll learn a lot, so that's good.
ReplyDeletein response to Nick:
what you said about Sir Gawain sounds familiar, especially about Guenevere's affair with him.
When I was a little kid, I remember reading numerous books about King Arthur. As a kid, he pulled the sword from the stone, and proved he was the rightful king of Britain. He had a round table at his castle in Camelot so that when he and his knights sat around it, not one of them would be in a more powerful position than any other (as it would be if they used a normal, rectangular table). Arthur's best knight was Lancelot, but the affair he had with Arthur's queen, Guenivere, eventually lead to the kingdom's downfall. I remember having read the story of the Sir Gawain and the green knight, but I forget the details. I think it involved this huge green knight riding into camelot and Gawain cutting his head off, but then Gawain had to go to this place to get his head chopped off too.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Clark:
I remember the King Arthur movie you talked about, and it portrayed King Arthur as a roman centurion who had to fight off the viking hoards. I recall the scene where they had to fight the army on the frozen lake was awesome.
When i was little i remember reading picture boooks about the knights of the round table and i remember thinking that they were the coolest dudes alive. Not only were the all very strong and worthy in battle, they also were very nice and chivalrous. I am excited to read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight because i have always liked this sort of story.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Keegan, its cool that you remember reading the books to, we probably read many of the same ones. I always like the pictures and how the knights were depicted.
I really don't know too much about these legends. I had a picture book with some stories that had the Knights of the Round Table, led by King Arthur, who was a great and noble king and his wife, Guenevere. Also, if I remember correctly, she supposedly had an affair with another knights, I think Lancelot. I saw Monty Python and the Holy Grail, but I don't think that's very accurate in terms of Arthurian legends.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Megan:
That is a great movie! I'm never going to be able to think of King Arthur without thinking about Monty Python. :)