The Medieval Period
The Return of Arthur’s Legend
~Sir Gawain and The Green Knight
~Morte D’Arthur
and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales,
though we’ll cover these later.
The Middle Ages: 1066 – 1500
The Medieval Period
Rise of the Middle
Ages
Decline of the Roman
Empire
Western Europe
Feudalism
Think of a chess set
Feudalism
Fiefs – land grants
Provide knights in
times of war
Military protection
Fiefs – land grants
service
protection
Based on mutual obligation
Feudalism
Manors
The lords estate –
 The lord
provided the serfs
with housing,
farmland and
protection
 Serfs tended
the lands, cared
for the animals,
maintained the
estate
Feudalism
Manors
Peasants rarely
traveled more than
25 miles from the
manor
Was home to 15
– 30 families
Self-Sufficient
community
 Peasants heavily
taxed, including a
tithe – a church tax
of 1/10 their
income
A violent society
 Noble’s constantly fought each other
 Defend estates
 Seize new territories
 Increase wealth
 Kept Europe fragmented
 Glorification of warriors
The Age of Chivalry
 The mounted Knights were the most important
part of an Army
 Professional solders – main obligation was to
serve in battle
 Rewarded with land
 Devoted lives to war
The Age of Chivalry
 Chivalry – a complex set of ideals, demanded that a knight
fight bravely in defense of three masters
1. His feudal lord
2. His Heavenly Lord
3. His Lady
 Meant to protect the
weak and the poor
 Be loyal, brave, and
courteous
The Age of Chivalry
Sons of nobles began training at an early age for
knighthood
 Page – at 7 they were sent to another lord
to be trained
 Squire – at 14 they act as a servant to a
knight
 Knight- at 21 they become a knight and
gain experience in local wars and tournaments
Castles and Keeps
Stone castles were encircled by
massive walls and guard
towers
 Home to lord and lady,
their family, knights
solders, and servants
 A fortress of defense
Castles and Keeps
ENOUGH HISTORY! LET’S LEARN SOME
LITERATURE!
King Arthur and His Knights
The Legend Begins…
•Arthur is the son of King Uther
Pendragon and Igrayne, wife of
Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall.
•Merlin the Magician forced the King
to “swear a solemn oath” to allow
Merlin to bring up Arthur as he chose.
•Merlin delivered the newborn
unchristened child to Sir Ector.
•Sir Ector christened the child and
raised him as his own, not knowing
he was the future king.
“Whoso pulleth this sword out of this stone
and anvil is rightly King of all England”
•King Uther died two years
after Arthur’s birth, leaving
England in turmoil – a
country without a king
•Several years passed, until
all the lords of the realm
gathered on Christmas Day
looking for a miracle to show
them who should rightly be
King.
•The “Sword in the Stone”
appeared in the church
courtyard, bearing the
famous inscription.
Who would be King?
•It was decided that a
tournament would be held to
determine who would win
the right to pull the sword out
of the stone.
•Sir Ector and his son, Sir
Kay, traveled to the
tournament.
•Sir Kay forgot his sword and
asked his younger brother,
Arthur to retrieve it.
•Arthur decided to get the
sword that was in the stone
and give it to Sir Kay.
Arthur becomes King
•Sir Ector and Sir Kay both
knelt down to Arthur and told
him of his true identity.
•The Lords were upset
because they did not want a
boy who was not of “high
blood” to govern their country.
•The commoners finally cried
out that Arthur was the rightful
King and should be crowned.
•Arthur was first knighted, then
crowned, by the Archbishop of
Canterbury.
•Arthur swore to his Lords and
Commoners to be a true King,
and to govern with “true
justice.”
The Land Called Camelot
Arthur ruled in peace
for many years…
•Guinivere, daughter of King
Leodegrance, married Arthur
• Sir Lancelot, son of the Lady
of the Lake, Arthur’s “First
Knight”
•Merlin, wizard and advisor to
the King
•Other Knights of the Round
Table: Sir Gawain, Sir
Galahad, Sir Percivale, Sir
Bedivere
The Age of Chivalry
Arthur and his Knights
practiced the Code of Chivalry…
•Courage
•Faith
•Justice
•Nobility
•Mercy
•Hope
•Generosity
Le Morte D’Arthur
•Arthur is fatally wounded
in a battle with Mordred.
•Arthur requests Sir
Bedivere to throw
Excalibur, his sword, into
the lake.
•After Arthur’s third
request, Sir Bedivere
throws Excalibur into the
lake, where it is reclaimed
by Lady of the Lake.
The Death of Arthur
The Tales of King Arthur
•Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
•Le Morte D’Arthur – Sir Thomas
Malory
•The Once and Future King & The
Sword in the Stone – T.H. White
•Camelot, a musical – Alan J.
Lerner & Frederick Loewe
•King Arthur-The Marvel of the
Sword – Mary Macleod
Truth and Lies
• “The Untold True Story
That Inspired The
Legend”
– Of Course! It comes from
the producers of the
honorably accurate
“Pirates of the Caribbean”
trilogy!
What is the
importance of
legends?
Does truth really
matter?
Do you care if it’s
true?
• What might be lost
with historical
accuracy?
• Would the legend be
more powerful if it
were all historically
accurate and
verifiable?
• What might be lost
with historical
accuracy?
We could not add the
“true” back story,
because it would
compete with history.
Moving history is a
tough task.
Moving words is a bit
easier…
Sources
Haskell, Merrie. “People in Arthurian Legend.” Merrie
Haskell’s King Arthur Page. November 2002.
http://www.personal.umich.edu/>8 June 2004.
Farrell, Scott. “The Seven Knightly Virtues.” Chivalry
Today. 2002 Shining Armor Enterprises.
www.chivalrytoday. 10 June 2004.
Prentice Hall. Literature. Bronze ed. Upper Saddle River,
New Jersey:Prentice Hall, 2000.
Price, Brian. “A Code of Chivarly.” The Knighthood,
Chivalry, and Tournaments Resource Library.
2003. <http:// www. Chronique.com>. 8 June
2004.