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Feudalism: system of land ownership
Noblemen swear allegiance to king in
exchange for land
Chivalry: code of conduct developed by
nobles
Knights are to be brave warriors and virtuous
Christians
Chivalry emphasizes honor and loyalty
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Ideals of chivalry gave rise to legends such as
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round
Table
Legend of Arthur based on the life of a Celtic
warrior who fought Anglo-Saxons in the 6th
century
He was known as the defender of England
and set the ideal for knights
By the 11th century the legend of King Arthur
was widely known
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British romances derived from Breton lays
 Lay: a short narrative or lyric poem intended to be sung
 Stories of romance believed to have been based on Celtic
legends
 Sir Launfal
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Medieval Romance is an adventure story that
features kings, knights, and damsels in distress
Tells of quests, battles, and doomed love
Many medieval romances concern King Arthur and
his knights
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Heroic figures and memorable deeds
Quests, contests, and tests
Patterned events
Embellishment of legends
Detailed character descriptions
Plot twists
Connections to Beowulf and Anglo-Saxon
times…?
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Author unknown
Based on dialect of poem, though, from rural England
Almost an exact contemporary of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales
Tells the story of Sir Gawain, King Arthur’s nephew
Combines two plots common to folklore and romance: the
beheading contest and the attempted seduction of the hero
by a lady
He is tested by three challenges
As a hero he “gains in human credibility what he loses in
ideal perfection” (160)
Story begins at the New Year’s Eve feast at King Arthur’s
Court in Camelot
Festivities are interrupted by the arrival of a massive green
knight, riding a green horse, and carrying an ax…. Sounds
like trouble!