Game(s) of Thrones: Medieval Literature and Popular Culture

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Some useful links for medieval culture and historical background, etc.:

Completely confused about when or what the Middle Ages was? Kahn Academy has a decent intro: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/medieval-world/medieval-europe

The Public Medievalist (excellent source of podcasts, articles, and op-eds on medieval literature, history, and medievalism) : https://www.publicmedievalist.com/

Interested in more resources unpacking the history of the Middle Ages and race? A great bibliography can be found here: https://medievalistsofcolor.com/resources/pedagogy-bibliographies/

Medieval sourcebook (a collection of primary sources on a range of topics): http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html

Catholic Encyclopedia (have a question about medieval Christianity? this is a good place to start): http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/index.html

All assignment handouts can be found here. You can also turn in your essay here.

Read/watch the following, and complete the forum post described below. We'll have our first online class discussion Wednesday at 9:30. 

March 30: Monty Python and the Holy Grail 

April 1: GoT ep. 5 & read Mandeville's Travels (linked below)

Let me know if you have trouble accessing Monty Python or Game of Thrones now, and we can brainstorm alternatives.

You can access our online class discussion by clicking this link. The link is pretty straightforward, clicking on it should take you directly to the meeting. You may have to select whether you want to view in a browser or in an app. If you want to use the app, please download before the start of class. If you have questions, email me!

Read Richard Coer de Lyon (I recommend breaking this into two chunks, 149-192 and then 192-229). And read the two articles from Geraldine Heng. All linked below.

Before you read--some quick notes. This week we're reading two really challenging texts: Geraldine Heng's articles on race in the Middle Ages and the medieval crusade romance, Richard Coer de Lyon.

So some quick background: what is a crusade romance? This is a medieval genre that is an adventure tale with fantastical elements set against the backdrop of the medieval wars fought over control of the Holy Land (the crusades are complex--I've linked to a thorough explainer, but we can also talk more on Wednesday if you have questions). These crusade romances were written in Europe and typically pitted Christian Europeans against the Muslim Ottoman Empire (a powerful empire that controlled much of the Middle East and North Africa). It's important to know that European justifications for the Crusades relied on stirring up notions of Christendom--an imagined community of all Christians--in order to inspire a sense of religious devotion in European Christians that would unite them against the religious others "the Ottomans" who Europeans demonized (Ottomans were also often called Saracens so keep an eye out for that term).

A quick note on Geraldine Heng: Heng's language is dense, but her idea is really important. Essentially, she is responding to a MAJOR problem in the way people think about history and race. As she discusses, people write off the Middle Ages as a time before the category of race existed. This causes a major problem because then scholars and ordinary people think that it isn't necessary to talk about race when talking about medieval concepts. Heng writes her two articles in order to argue (very astutely) for the fact that race did exist during the Middle Ages, that it is essential to talk about race and the Middle Ages, and so she offers her own definition of race.

Read two sections from C.S. Lewis's The Horse and His Boy (pp. 1-69 & 71-162). Then read Edward Said, Orientalism, pp. 132-148; the Said is linked below. You should own a copy of the Lewis, but let me know if you're having trouble accessing it.

This week we're turning to two important and influential texts: C.S. Lewis's wildly popular novel The Horse and His Boy from the children's book series The Chronicles of Narnia and excerpts from the philosopher Edward Said's groundbreaking book Orientalism. These two texts builds on our conversation from last week about how social groups construct difference--particularly racial difference--for social and political gain. 

While The Horse and His Boy is a relatively simple text, it's one that merits careful scrutiny. In particular, pay attention to how it represents the social and ethical clashes between the West (Narnia) and the East (Calormen). To unpack everything fully, I recommend reading it alongside Said's Orientalism.

Two quick notes on Lewis and Said. I suspect many of you are familiar with C.S. Lewis and the larger Chronicles of Narnia series. Lewis was a medievalist (he taught medieval literature at Oxford for decades) and was famous for his work as a Christian theologian. So be on the lookout for themes similar to others we've already encountered in class. 

Edward Said was one of the most important philosophers to analyze how Western Europeans (called the Occident) have conceptualized the East (called the Orient, largely referring to the Middle East and Asia). Said's language is challenging, so give yourself time to unpack it slowly, and just see what you can pick up about the main ideas. Bring any questions you have to the forum and/or to our Teams meeting on Wednesday!

I've also attached the directions for our final project to this page. Take a look at it, and email if you have questions.

Finish Lewis' The Horse and His Boy, pp. 163-241. Watch Game of Thrones episodes 6, 7, & 8. If you're having trouble accessing Game of Thrones, let me know.

Also--keep an eye on this space as I'll be posting a short intro on how to use Wordpress for our end of the semester project in the next few days.

Read Gawain and the Green Knight (I recommend splitting this up into two readings. Read Fitts 1&2 then 3&4). Then read the selection from Eve Sedgwick's Between Men linked below (we may not get to this one until next week). You should have a copy of Simon Armitage's translation of Gawain and the Green Knight, but if you can't find your copy, I've uploaded a pdf of another version that you can use.

Some quick notes on the book--if you haven't read it before, you're in for a treat! I do want to warn you: if you're using the hardcopy of the book, don't be alarmed by all of the Middle English! I don't expect you to read that, just read the translation on the opposite side.

Usually, I'd give you the hot takes on the Gawain-poet as way of an introduction, but we don't know anything about him except that he wrote at the end of the 14th century (so a couple decades later than Richard Coer De Lyon and about 100 years before Malory) and was likely a priest or minor cleric working in upper crust circles in nortwestern England. This poem, Gawain and the Green Knight, is his most famous. It draws on so many of the concepts we've encountered over the past weeks: stories of King Arthur, treacherous magic, the ever popular trickster woman. As you're reading, especially pay attention to the subtle ways the poet thinks about and critiques chivalric discourse. Consider how King Arthur is portrayed; descriptions of Gawain and his heroic deeds and his failures; the plot twist at the end. All of these are tied up in the author's efforts to think critically about the costs of the culture of chivalry.

And finally, just enjoy how over the top it is. And if you keep wondering--what's up with all of the green?--I recommend googling "the green man." Be prepared to fall down an internet rabbit hole about this mysterious medieval figure.

Watch GoT episodes 9 and 10, and continue working on your final projects!

I'm also copying here a few key logistical reminders. Be in touch if you have questions.