SoSe 13: Medieval English Literatures-HS- Sir Thomas Malory: Morte Darthur and Medieval Arthurian Literature
Klaus Dietz
Comments
The course centres on the last prominent work of Middle English Arthurian epic poetry. It starts with a general view of English Arthurian literature, its development and its sources.
The central part will deal with Sir Thomas Malory's prose novel Morte Dathur. The course will combine close reading and translating selected parts of the 8th and last book of the work with the discussion of general as well as of specific aspects such as structure, sources and their treatment by the poet, the character and the behaviour of the central figures, their motives and the causes which eventually led to Arthur's death and to the end of his kingdom. Last but not least, the reflexion of the Wars of the Roses and the experience the author gained during the Hundred Year's War against France will be analyzed.
Each participant will receive a detailed bibliography of the relevant literature which will be commented on at the beginning of the course.
Recommended edition: S. A. H. Sheperd, Sir Thomas Malory: Le Morte D'Arthur or The Hoole Book of Kyng Arthur and of His Noble Knyghtes of the Round Table (New York: Norton 2004).
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Regular appointments