CE5163: The Mythical History of King Arthur and the World of the Round Table

School Continuing and Professional Education
Department Code LEARN
Module Code CE5163
External Subject Code V390
Number of Credits 10
Level L4
Language of Delivery English
Module Leader Dr Nicholas Jones
Semester Autumn Semester
Academic Year 2017/8

Outline Description of Module

The adventures of King Arthur and the knights and ladies of his Round Table conjure up images of a romantic and heroic past, but what do we know of the events that actually shaped it? Using material drawn from folklore, medieval romance and modern film and fantasy literature, this course will examine why the Arthurian tradition has proved so durable.

On completion of the module a student should be able to

Knowledge and Understanding:

  • Demonstrate a broad knowledge of the main themes and mythical historical events discussed in the course.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the Arthurian themes and motifs in selected areas or folklore, literary works and films.
  • Demonstrate an ability to gather, assimilate and interpret knowledge drawn from literature, folklore and film.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of modern scholarly approaches to Arthurian studies.

 

Intellectual Skills:

  • Demonstrate an understanding of the kinds of evidence which may be drawn from literature, folklore and film.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the complexities of belief systems and the way they influence culture.
  • Initiate, undertake and articulate analysis of information drawn from a wide variety of sources.

 

 

 

Discipline Specific (including practical) Skills:

  •  Identify strengths, weaknesses, problems, and/or peculiarities with alternative historical interpretations of belief systems.
  • Initiate, undertake and articulate a basic analysis of historical information.
  • Deepen understanding of the broad themes and developments considered in the course through the analysis of a historical source or sources.
  • To research, plan and structure essays and/or projects.
  • To recognise, evaluate and interpret different types of evidence.
  • To develop, at a basic level, subject-specific and critically-discerning information literacy skills

How the module will be delivered

This module is taught in 10, two-hour sessions, delivered on a weekly basis. These sessions will consist of a 1-hour lecture followed by class discussion and group work on specific topics relating to the module. The discussion and group work will enable the students to think critically and contribute to the debates and topics presented during the lectures. The discussion-led sessions and the lectures will be supplemented by resources available to the students via Learning Central.

Skills that will be practised and developed

Academic Skills:

By the end of the period of learning, the typical student will have:

  • found relevant resources in the library and online;
  • assessed the reliability of different sources of information;
  • demonstrated a critical approach to academic texts.

 

Transferable/employability Skills:

By the end of the period of learning, the typical student will have shown that he/she can:

  • work effectively as part of a group;
  • present an argument, accurately, succinctly and lucidly, and in written or oral form.
  • time manage and organise study methods and workload;
  • gather, organise and deploy evidence, data and information; and familiarity with appropriate means of identifying, finding, retrieving, sorting and exchanging information.

How the module will be assessed

Type of assessment               % Contribution Title Duration (if applicable) Approx. date of Assessment

 

Short written exercises              40                 500 words.                                                     Weekly for Weeks 1–5.

 

Essay                                         60                  c.1000 words.                                                Set in Week 4/5 and submitted at the end of course

 

 

Assessment Breakdown

Type % Title Duration(hrs)
Written Assessment 100 The Mythical History Of King Arthur And The World Of The Round Table N/A

Syllabus content

Topics to include:

 

  • Arthur: Myth or History?
  • Morgan le Fey and the supernatural in Arthurian tradition
  • Knightly adventures
  • The search for the Grail?
  • Arthur in art
  • Fantasy and the Arthurian world
  • Merlin, past and future

Essential Reading and Resource List

Nick Higham, King Arthur Myth-Making and History (Routledge, 2002)

Richard White (ed.), King Arthur in Legend and History (Dent, 1997)

Geoffrey of Monmouth, The History of the Kings of Britain trans. L. Thorpe (Penguin, 1989)

Bert Olton, Arthurian Legends on Film and Television (McFarland & Co., 2000)

Muriel Whitaker, The Legends of King Arthur in Art (D.S. Brewer, 1990)

Kristina Pérez, The Myth of Morgan le Fey (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014)

Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages (University of Wales Press series: Arthur in Wales, Britain, France and Germany)

 

Selections from literary works, TV and film will be provided during the course on Learning Central and in Senghennydd Library


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