Just a side note-I called the Queen, Guinevere, since I can only assume that is correct. It is intriguing that the Queen is never called by name. Maybe Marie de France was ashamed of what Guinevere had done to Arthur...?
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Lanval
Yesterday while we were discussing Lanval I made a comment that I felt Arthur to be a weakling and unprepared to take action against a knight that had allegedly slighted the Queen. It was counter argued that he was not a weakling but acting in good judgment by taking himself out of the decision and leaving it to his Barons since he was so emotionally involved. After reading the lai again (and another translation too; I wanted to see if anything differed) I retract what I said about Arthur being a weakling. He was not weak but as I believe Hannah pointed out he was a manipulator as well as being manipulated. He did not want to be looked down upon for any decision concerning Lanval since he knew it would cause great distress. Arthur often commands his lords to make to crucial decisions so as not to lose the favor of his knights and his people. Arthur, as most know, has the softest spot when it comes to his beloved Queen. In actuality she is the master manipulator. I know this lai is about Lanval but it interesting that Guinevere's flare for the dramatics has an appearance as it does in many of the Knights of the Round Table stories.
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I was wondering about Arthur being a manipulator. When I read "Lanval," admittedly only once so far, I thought he was being "Arthur the Just, master of Excalibur," or at least that is how he wants to show himself. Someone in class pointed out that Marie wants him to be favorably contrasted with the Scots, so it seems plausible that this is how her Arthur wants to be seen. Also what intrigued me in my first reading was the third paragraph (?) where it is pointed out that Arthur for some strange reason did not allot a wife or riches to Lanval. Why, one must ask, does he deliberately ignore Lanval? Is it his "otherness," he being the son of a foreign king? Is it because he is so handsome? I am trying to remember whether Arthur appealed to the elementary/middle schooler because pictures portrayed him as handsome or as brave? It seems that his queen is always running after handsome knights. This brings to mind Prof. Wenthe's picture of Sean Connery and what he said about an older Arthur and a younger queen. That too would be in keeping with a traditional lai, wouldnt it?
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