LIT 130 King Arthur: Culture, Society & Tradition (was Ind & Soc)

3 hours 

Most people know the King Arthur story-the sword in the stone, the knights of the Round Table, Merlin the magician, Lancelot, Guinevere-or we think we know it. Different times have needed different Arthurs and have refashioned him to address the needs of the society. Did you know Arthur was a Roman general? Did you know that Merlin was the child of a nun and an incubus? How about that the Lancelot and Guinevere affair was made up and introduced for a very important female audience? In this course we will explore several different Arthurs, what they represent about the values of a society, the expectations they present for the individual living in it, and how to read stories within a larger tradition.