This item was digitized by the Internet Archive. Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / https://archive.org/details/moralcodeofchiva00gilc

This thesis explores the role of animal imagery in Malory's Morte Darthur. Each chapter of the thesis attempts to achieve this aim by examining the animals from different, though related perspectives. Firstly, wherever possible, Malory's animal imagery is compared to the traditional mythological context of the animal under discussion, and to the appearance of that animal in other relevant Arthurian literature. This approach has proved most useful in Chapter Four, devoted to the dragon, where Malory's use of the dragon is initially antithetical to the traditional connotations associated with it, whereas as the Morte progresses the dragon reverts to its traditional meaning of evil and terror. Similarly, the subject of Chapter Three, the Questing Beast, has entailed a study of the French sources not used by Malory, simply because Malory did not include the complete story of the Questing Beast in the Morte. Without examining those sources, therefore, we would know neither the complete meaning, nor the complete story of this fascinating creature. Secondly, the thesis examines the relationship of the animals in the Morte to Malory's characters. In Chapter One it is shown that Torre and Tristram, unlike Gawain and Pellinor, are worthy of love because of their association with the symbol and token of love, the brachet. In Chapter Two the black bulls envisioned by Gawain are associated with Arthur's entire court, with the exception of the three Grail questers, Percival, Galahad, and Bors, who are represented as white bulls. Chapter Three attempts to show that the flawed characters of Pellinor and Palomides are mirrored in the ugly, elusive, meaningless object of their quest, the Questing Beast. Most significant of all, however, is the simultaneous association of the dragon with Arthur, his Kingdom, and his Knights in the final chapter of the thesis. Thirdly, the thesis examines the thematic function of Malory's animal imagery. Both Gawain's vision of the black and white bulls, and the changing meaning of the dragon symbol, foreshadow and comment on the cause of the tragedy with which the Morte ends. In both Chapter Two, treating the image of the bulls, and Chapter Four, dealing with the dragon, I have strongly suggested that the image of both the bulls and the dragon implies that Arthur's entire court, Arthur included, is responsible for the ruin of the Round Tabie and the fellowship it represented. - ' Thus the thesis concludes that the animals within Malory's Morte Darthur are of extreme importance, not merely as separate entities, but as symbols of varying social and ethical significance, and as thematic devices contributing to the unity of the whole work. / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate

Towards the end of the Middle Ages, Sir Thomas Malory synthesized the diverse elements of British chronicle history, Celtic myth, French courtoisie, and Catholic theology which over a period of six hundred years or more had gathered about the legendary figure of King Arthur. Furthermore, Malory presented in definitive form the kind of idealized milieu that later writers in English came to regard as romantic. Malory's Morte Darthur presents dramatically the activities of a mythic aristocratic society living in a golden age. It preserves the "history" of a British king who defeats the Emperor of Rome and establishes an empire stretching from Ireland and Scandinavia to the Eastern Mediterranean. It portrays the adventures of heroic knights whose prowess is inspired by idealized ladies and whose achievements are helped or hindered by such supernatural agents as fays, magicians, giants, dwarfs, angels and devils. The actions of the knights conform to a ritualistic pattern of quest and combat determined by stereotyped chivalric conventions and performed in a symbol-studded environment. Colours, numbers, costumes, metals, arms, armour, and horses have symbolic significances which may be hierarchic, emotive or moral. Castles and perilous forests represent the antithetical values of security and danger, peace and combat, civilization and primitivism, love and hate. In this antipodal environment occur encounters which often adumbrate a struggle between forces of good and forces of evil. In the religious milieu of the Grail quest, elements of the secular milieu are adopted for the purpose of expressing truths of Catholic faith and morality. The Grail Knight's search for Corbenic is an allegory of the soul's search for God. Arms and armour, dress and colours, animals and plants have symbolic significances drawn from Biblical exegesis and Christian art. The unifying element in the historical, romantic and religious milieux is the quest motif; it is the means by which the ideals of the Malorian world are revealed. The historical quest for the crown of Rome shows Malory's view of sovereignty and the ideal of the good king. The romantic quest for fame and fair ladies shows his view of chivalry and the ideal of the good knight. The spiritual quest for the Holy Grail shows his view of religion and the ideal of the good Christian. It is a measure of Malory's art that the wishfulfilling dream world of romance projects an illusion of reality. / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate

No abstract available / English / M.A. (English)

No abstract available / English / M.A. (English)

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the history in English literature of the relationship between King Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot, in order to show how various authors have enriched the legend by developing the psychological potential of the chief characters, and by projecting the standards of their respective ages into their versions of the story. Special emphasis has been placed on the work of Sir Thomas Malory, Alfred Tennyson, E.A. Robinson, and T.H. White. The Arthurian legend is particularly appropriate for such a comparative study. It has received the attention of English writers for eight centuries, and, for the past hundred years, of writers in America as well. In the fifteenth century Malory used the legend to argue for a strong monarchy, and to remind his aristocratic countrymen of the neglected ideals of chivalry; in the nineteenth century Tennyson hoped that the re-telling of the story for its elements of moral and spiritual allegory would inspire the Victorians to rise above the materialism and sensuality which to him were signs of the times; early in the twentieth century Edwin Arlington Robinson suggested a comparison between the disintegration of Camelot and the disruption of European society after World War I, and he questioned the traditionally accepted greatness of Arthur and his kingdom; in the last decade Terence Hanbury White has seen that the problem facing King Arthur also confronts the strife-torn twentieth century how can the energies of men be harnessed for constructive rather than destructive action? The adultery between Guinevere and Lancelot has been made the focal point of this study because it involves the three best-known characters of the legend, and because it has attracted the interest of writers more than has any other element of the Arthuriad, particularly in the past one hundred years. / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate

Disempowered Women? A Feminist Response to female Characters in Malory, Tennyson and Bradley takes an in-depth look at Elayne, Gwenyvere and Morgan of the Arthurian legend. The characters are examined within their contemporary context and from our modem perspective as portrayed in Malory, Tennyson, and Marion Zimmer Bradley. Patriarchy, closely connected with the Christian doctrines, is singled out as the main means of propagating women's disempowerment. The inquiry considers different ways in which fictional texts have contributed to creating false perceptions amongst our contemporary audience, about the reality of women's lives in the Middle Ages. It further examines the validity of the assumption that literary women are not real, but mere representations of male ideals about women's role and place in society. Issues of gender equality are raised and the author concludes that the literature studied assigns definite, gender-specific roles to men and women. The work also debates the perceived misogyny of the male authors: is it a conscious act or a reflection of their contemporary society's concerns? / English Studies / M. A. (English)

Disempowered Women? A Feminist Response to female Characters in Malory, Tennyson and Bradley takes an in-depth look at Elayne, Gwenyvere and Morgan of the Arthurian legend. The characters are examined within their contemporary context and from our modem perspective as portrayed in Malory, Tennyson, and Marion Zimmer Bradley. Patriarchy, closely connected with the Christian doctrines, is singled out as the main means of propagating women's disempowerment. The inquiry considers different ways in which fictional texts have contributed to creating false perceptions amongst our contemporary audience, about the reality of women's lives in the Middle Ages. It further examines the validity of the assumption that literary women are not real, but mere representations of male ideals about women's role and place in society. Issues of gender equality are raised and the author concludes that the literature studied assigns definite, gender-specific roles to men and women. The work also debates the perceived misogyny of the male authors: is it a conscious act or a reflection of their contemporary society's concerns? / English Studies / M. A. (English)