Literature 3: King Arthur & Merlin

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 5

Literature 3: 
King Arthur & Merlin

Assignment 2

Write a description / background article about one of the characters from the Middle English text The Canterbury Tales.

Deadline = Friday 27th of May

1. Take a guess: True or False "Arthur was most likely a Roman military leader from the 5th & 6th century."

1. True
2. False

2. Take a guess: Who is Lady Morgana in the stories about Arthur?

1. Arthur's mother
2. Arthur's full sister
3. Arthur's half-sister
4. Arthur's niece

3. Take a guess: What is not a role of Merlin in the Arthurian legend?

1. Scribe
2. Adviser
3. Prophet
4. Magician

4. Take a guess: The story of Arthur first appears in the 9th century, but when was Merlin added to the story?

1. 10th century
2. 11th century
3. 12th century
4. 13th century

5. Take a guess: True or False "Mordred is the one who eventually kills Arthur."

1. True
2. False

King Arthur

- Arthur Pendragon
- Most likely: A Roman military leader 5th & 6th century
- Fought against the Saxons
- History of the Britons in 9th century
- Set the basis of Arthur as the legendary warrior
- 12th century, Geoffrey of Monmouth adds Merlin 
- Other stories added Camelot, Round Table, & Guinevere

Arthur's Influence

- Troubadours, jugglers, minstrels, storytellers spread the story
- Image of Arthur & his knights:
         - influenced clothes & fashion in Medieval era
         - guidelines for knights and how they should behave
         - jousting tournaments (on horses with lances)

- Arthur associated with the Middle English period (1100-1500)
   and not Old English period (450-1100) from which he came

Merlin

- 12th century: first appears as a prophet
- Later: becomes Arthur's adviser & magician
- First given the name Emrys
- Later: Merlin (from his Welsh name: Myrddin)
- Merlin's father an angel who visited a nun?
   or is Merlin's father an evil spirit?

Merlin & Arthur 

- Prophecy: red dragon (Britons) fights a 
   white dragon (Saxons), and the red one wins
- Merlin becomes Arthur's tutor when he's 
   a child
- Arranges the sword-in-the-stone that
   makes Arthur king

Morgana & Mordred

Morgana:                                                     Mordred:
- powerful enchantress                        - son of Arthur & Morgause
- daughter of Arthur's mother             (Morgana's sister)
- Arthur's half-sister                               - evil & wicked     
- apprentice of Merlin                            - Arthur kills all babies born
- wants to take over the throne            in May after a prophecy
                                                                         - Mordred lives & kills Arthur 

6. Arthur Pendragon was most likely...?

1. A Welsh military leader from the 5th & 6th century
2. A Roman military leader from the 5th & 6th century
3. A Roman military leader from the 8th & 9th century
4. A Welsh military leader from the 8th & 9th century

7. True or False: "The Legend of Arthur is most often associated with the Old English period instead of the Middle."

1. True
2. False

8. Which of the following did the story of Arthur and his knights not influence?

1. Clothes & fashion in the Medieval era
2. Guidelines for knights and how their behaviour
3. Medieval laws and governments
4. Jousting tournaments

9. In Merlin's prophecy which of the two dragons wins?

1. The Red one (representing the Saxons)
2. The Red one (representing the Britons)
3. The White one (representing the Saxons)
4. The White one (representing the Britons)

10. Mordred was the son between?

1. Merlin & Morgana
2. Merlin & Morgause
3. Arthur & Morgana
4. Arthur & Morgause

Check the reader:

Literature 3: King Arthur & Merlin
- Read the background information
- Answer the questions (using the internet)
- Check your answers (see Its Learning)
- Work on the 2nd Bonus Assignment