King Arthur: History and Legend

by Dorsey Armstrong

Streaming video, 2015

Status

Available

Call number

942.014

Collections

Publication

Great Courses (2015), 12 hours, 24 lectures, 186 pages

Description

Literary Criticism. Nonfiction. HTML: The saga of King Arthur and his court is the most enduringly popular mythic tradition of Western civilization. For over 1,500 years, the Arthurian narrative has enthralled writers, artists, and a limitless audience spanning the Western world and beyond - and its appeal continues unabated in our time. No other heroic figure in literature compares with King Arthur in terms of global popularity and longevity; now, each year sees literally thousands of new versions of the story appear across diverse media, from fiction writing and visual arts to film and popular culture. Delve into the historical mystery behind the figure of Arthur, and discover the magnificent breadth of these epic tales. These 24 spellbinding lectures reveal the full scope of the Arthurian tradition, from its beginnings in post-Roman Britain to its extraordinary trajectory across the centuries and its latest incarnations in modern times. Your pathfinder in this world of mythic adventure and romance, Professor Armstrong, is one of the world's leading Arthurian scholars and the current editor-in-chief of the academic journal Arthuriana . Demonstrating both encyclopedic knowledge and an infectious passion for the subject, she leads you in tracing how the myth developed across time, clarifying many misunderstood aspects of the narrative, such as the origins of the Round Table and the figure of Merlin, the illicit love between Lancelot and Guenevere, and the varied manifestations of the magical Holy Grail. You'll discover how the legend was appropriated and assimilated by differing cultures, and how each writer and artist in the tradition reflected and commented, through the Arthurian narrative, on the concerns of their own time and place. The result is an illuminating look at one of the most engaging, entertaining, and influential legendary traditions the world has ever known..… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member lycomayflower
My most recent audio "book" was this Great Courses series of lectures on King Arthur. I'm reasonably knowledgeable about King Arthur, both because I've always been a fan and read a lot of Arthurian retellings and because I took an intense course on Arthur in college. So this series was a great
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combination of review and new material for me. I was especially interested in Armstrong's discussion of archaeological finds that are connected (or sometimes purported to be connected) to Arthur or other figures in the legends. Armstrong is really good at presenting this material (at first I thought she sounded a bit like she was talking (down) to seven year olds, but eventually I decided she was just trying to be personable in a situation that calls for that but is anything but (i.e. talking into a microphone)) and I was really into her little jokes and ways of talking in the end. My interest in Arthur waxes and wanes but pretty reliably sparks at least once a year (often in the summer, probably because I spent one memorable June in high school working through the mammoth Mists of Avalon), and listening to these lectures has really gotten my interest up again. I recommend them to anyone interested in the Arthur legends or the medieval period (most discussion is about medieval works, though we do get lectures on the 19th, 20th, and 21st century interpretations as well as discussions of Arthurian films and artwork (tapestries etc) other than texts). Fascinating, well presented, and easy to follow.
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Language

Original language

English

Local notes

[1] Origins of King Arthur [2] Arthur-like figure in Cornwall [3] King Arthur in the Latin chronicles [4] King Arthur in Wales : the Mabinogion [5] Monmouth, Merlin, and courtly love [6] Round Table : Arthur in Wace and Layamon [7] Chrétien de Troyes and Sir Lancelot [8] Arthurian tales in Brittany and Burgundy [9] Lancelot-Grail cycle [10] Early German Arthurian tradition [11] King Arthur's other German adaptations [12] Arthurian sagas of Scandinavia [13] Sir Gawain and the Green Knight [14] Alliterative Morte Arthure [15] Sir Thomas Malory's Le morte Darthur [16] Enriching the legend: Tristan and Isolde [17] Holy Grail from Chrétien to Dan Brown [18] Arthuriana in medieval art [19] Spenser, Milton, and the Renaissance Arthur [20] Idylls of the king: the Victorian Arthur [21] Wagner and Twain: King Arthur in the late 1800s [22] Once and future: 20th century Arthur [23] Camelot comes to Hollywood [24] King Arthur in the 21st century and beyond

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