English 166

Description

King Arthur and his Round Table together constitute one of the most enduring imaginative inventions in the European literary tradition. In the modern era, writers and artists have created Arthurian plays, films, poems, novels, cartoons, paintings, and more, all rooted in the medieval traditions that we will encounter in this class. Starting with the earliest depictions of Arthur, we will follow the tradition as it emerges in French and English (all texts will be in English translation). 

Texts include: The Arthurian Handbook; Chrétien de Troyes' romances; the Vulgate Quest for the Holy Grail; Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; the Alliterative Morte Arthure; and Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur.

This course satisfies the pre-1800 requirement for the English major.