Arthur and his Times

This summer, we will be able to offer  the course on King Arthur and his times. I have wanted to teach this for some time! We will be using Malory's Le Morte d' Arthur as well as a biography of Malory himeslf.
Thomas Malory lived in an age when knights and chivalry were themselves under seige. The Knights Templar had all been destroyed by the French King, Philip IV (1268-1314). (When I teach about Philip, I refer to as the "history killer." ) "Bastard feudalism" had replaced the code of loyalty once held by European knights. In short, everything Malory was taught to hold dear had been destroyed by "changing times."

In this context, Malory wrote the fantastic tales of Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.  These great stories and characters no doubt possessed some place in history, but as with the tales of Homer, much has been added over the years of passing the stories along.  Speaking of Homer, there is as much mystery about Malory as there is about the great blind bard from the ancient world the Aegean.  As Homer attempted to capture the glory of the days of the Trojan War, so too did Malory try to recall a time when fealty meant more than money; honor, more than pride.

We will have a grand time looking at Arthur and for Arthur in the stories of a man as enigmatic as that great Celtic King.