Prof. N. Black Spring 2002

Office: 2316 Boylan

Direct Voice: 951-5197 (during office hours) Voice Mail Only: 951-4275

Hours: M, T, and Th, 3:00-6:00 p.m. E-mail: nblack@brooklyn.cuny.edu

English 791X: Medieval Arthurian Legends

Required Texts:

1. Geoffrey of Monmouth. The History of the Kings of Britain. Trans. Lewis Thorpe. Baltimore: Penguin, 1966. ISBN: 0140441700.

2. Chrétien de Troyes. Perceval or The Story of the Grail. Trans. Ruth Harwood Cline. Athens, GA: U of Georgia P, 1985. ISBN:0820308129.

3. The Quest of the Holy Grail. Trans. P.M. Matarasso. Baltimore: Penguin, 1969. ISBN: 0140442200.

4. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Trans. Burton Raffel. New York: New American Library, 1970. ISBN: 0451628233.

5. King Arthur and His Knights: Selected Tales by Sir Thomas Malory. Ed. Eugene Vinaver. London: Oxford UP, 1975. ISBN: 0195019059.

Schedule of Readings and Topics for Discussion:

Jan. 29: Overview of the development of Arthurian legends in the Middle Ages; introduction to writing and research projects; formation of research groups.

Feb. 5: Geoffrey of Monmouth, History, pp. 149-261.

Feb. 19: Oral reports from research group 1.

Feb. 26: Chrétien, Perceval, pp. 1-125; two oral reports from research group 2.

Mar. 5: Chrétien, Perceval, pp. 126-244; two oral reports from research group 2.

Mar. 12: Quest, pp. 31-175.

Mar. 19: Quest, pp. 176-284.

Apr. 2: Class in computer classroom: text and images in the Quest.

Apr. 9: Four oral reports on Quest from group 3.

Apr. 16: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, pp. 49-125.

Apr. 23: Four oral reports on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight from group 4.

Apr. 30: The Death of King Arthur, pp. 157-226.

May 7: Four oral reports on Malory from group 5.

May 14: More selections from Malory, 3-39, 51-70; research paper due; review for final exam.

May 21: Final examination.

Expectations and grading:

Students are expected to attend every class and arrive with the reading or research prepared for that day. Grades are based on the following:

1. Informal writing (2-3 page analysis, typed) is due on the first day a new text is discussed for four out of the five assignments. (You are not required to do an analysis on the text that your research group focuses on.). These constitute 20% of the grade in the course.

2. An oral report: 20%.

3. A research paper (10-12 pages, with proper MLA documentation): 40%.

4. The final examination: 20%.

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