Monday, August 6, 2012

Calogrenant Week 4

A note on Myrddyn's comment on the geographical instability of Brocéliande... If Arthur ever existed, he would have been a Romano-British warlord in 6th century Britain, coordinating efforts to forestall an invasion by Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and Frisians. Ultimately, these Anglo-Saxons won, creating what is today England and giving meaning to my job as an English teacher. Humans generally do not let go of their heroes, and the Welsh kept Arthur alive through hero tales. These tales travelled across the channel to Brittany, and Breton bards spread the stories through France. Through the early Middle Ages, the stories of Arthur and his knights were told in French courts, and the tellers went so far as to place Arthur's realm not in Britain but in Brittany. The forest of Brocéliande figures in many of these romances as a magical place, and key events in the legend take place there. And even though there is a real Brocéliande in Brittany, when the stories returned to Britain with the Normans, Brocéliande was transplanted as well. Even Tennyson, whom one would think would know his geography, places the forest in Britain.

Oh! And a prize to the first person who can tell me what work of art is directly parodied on this page.

8 comments:

Abby said...

The drawing of the entry into Brocéliande appears to come directly from Peter Jackson's filming of the third novel in the Lord of the Ring cycle, The Return of the King.

Gillian said...

It may, dear, but it didn't directly influence these drawings. The parody, by the way, is mostly in the first panel.

Sophie said...

Are you carrolling ?

Gillian said...

I'm not exactly sure what you mean, Sophie. Lughnasadh was last Wednesday, and I'm afraid I didn't participate. What I'm doing right now is steeling myself for the fall semester.

Abby said...

In that case, I haven't got a clue.

Darya Teesewell said...

Albrecht Durer's " Knight, Death and the Devil". Thankyouverymuch.
Seriously, I recognized it as familiar, but didn't get it until you said "parody".

Gillian said...

AND WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!

Gillian said...

Arrrgh! I'm dense!!! It took me seven months to get Sophie's reference to Lewis Carroll! We might not all be mad here, but Yours Truly is a little dense.