HIST 4950/5950 and ENGL 5950: King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is a survey of Arthurian literature and historical records from the late Roman period through the sixteenth century. This course is offered for both upper level and graduate level history credit, and for graduate level credit in the English department.

We will survey the historical context of the Arthurian legends, beginning with late Roman Britain and continuing through the Renaissance. We will explore the most recent historical scholarship on the historical aspects of the Arthurian legends, including speculations on who the "real" person who gave rise to the various legends surrounding "King Arthur" might have been. It is often the case that what actually happened is not nearly as important as what people think happened, and in the case of King Arthur, the legends prove to be more enlightening that the facts.

We will trace the evolution of the King Arthur legends from Welsh tales, to twelfth-century English and French works, to Sir Thomas Malory's compendium of Arthurian literature. During the course of our journey through the world of King Arthur, we shall explore the medieval ethos of knighthood and the quest for the Holy Grail. Our course will attempt to enlighten the cultural tenets of the western Middle Ages more than it will attempt to uncover the historic basis for "King Arthur." Whatever historic basis we may find for the legends of King Arthur, it would not much enlighten us about the true meaning of the legends. In this case, it is the legend more than the fact that will interest us as we attempt to unravel some of the mysteries of the Middle Ages. It is my hope that you will be inspired by the story of Perceval's quest to "ask the questions" that need to be asked.

Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:

1. Analyze the historic context of the Arthurian legend and various scholarly theories about the identity of King Arthur.

2. Compare and contrast the Arthur of Welsh legend to the Arthur of Geoffrey of Monmouth, Wace, Layamon, and Malory.

3. Analyze the evolution of the Holy Grail epics and the figure of Perceval, beginning with the work of Chretien de Troyes and continuing to Malory.

4. Analyze the various treatments of Lancelot and the reasons why Lancelot fails to attain the grail.

5. Analyze the historical scholarship on the possible locations for Camelot, Arthur's birthplace, burial, as well as other famous Arthurian sites.

About this web site:

As there are many, many, quality Arthurian sites on the web, this web site does not pretend to make any new additions to Arthuriana on the web, but only to direct students in this course to resources they may find useful for our various topics. It does not contain a complete listing of Arthurian sites on the web, but only those that are the most highly regarded by Arthurian scholars. The best place to start your exploration of Arthur on the web is the general resources section of this web site, which lists the most informative and/ro complete sites on the web. The headers on the navigation bar to the left direct you to subpages, which list links to online versions of our primary sources, interesting secondary sources, and other informative information relevant to those particular topics. You will also find our class handouts here, as well as other course-specific information.