Laustic (The Nightingale) by Marie De France

Sketch of a nightingale as referenced in Laustic. The fallen bird that the knight carried after the woman's husband killed represented the forbidden love the star crossed lovers shared.

http://www.painters-online.co.uk/Gallery/Brenda-Oliphant-Nightingale/_ga60325_pg1

Marie De France Manuscript

http://faculty.winthrop.edu/kosterj/ENGL201/arthur6.htm

Class Notes: Marie De France

•  Courtly love - some say it was a myth created by the stories in that time, much debate remains on what it was actually like during the 12th c. 
• The poem of Lanval begins during the Pentecost (a spring religious festival)
• Some consider France to be a feminist of her time
• France says in the prologue that her stories trace back to oral tradition and that she translated many of them from  other stories but there is little to no record supporting that so there is a possibility her poems are original. 
• The Nightingale and Lanval contrast each other in a way. The poem of Lanval ends with a happy ending with Lanval and his love together and The Nightingale ends in a tragedy.  
• Avalun - land of the blessed dead
• Lanval's love - fairy lover 
• People truly believed in fairies in that time in some cultures. 
• Fine amour - noble or fine love (French)
• Day of Pentecost represents new beginnings/rebirth. Relates to Lanval when he meets the fairy and has a "new start"
• Conflicting themes in text - Fairies and Christianity 
• The themes of lust and love affairs is not portrayed negatively which you would expect from a Christian nun. 
• Court in Lanval - new practice compared to the story of Beowulf

Marie De France 1150?-1200?

              Marie De France was an English writer who produced heartfelt poems concerning romance and the trials of love.  Little is known about France but that she lived around the 12^th c.  The language in her works suggest that she had some connection with the Duke of Normandy and Henry II who was the king of England during that time period.  Some guess France might have been illegitimate offspring of royal blood; therefore, was sent to a convent a young age.  

Questions for the class

•    Did you find any symbolism within the story? 
• List some comparisons and contrasts of the poems to modern culture.
•  Describe in detail what exactly is "Avalun"? Where else does it come up in other pieces of literature?
•  Do some research and find out more about how women were thought as and treated in that time and culture. Is France’s take on a women being a hero in Lanval unusual compared to different literature in that time? 
•  What are some current examples of “forbidden love” in modern culture as portrayed in Nightingale?  

Work Cited

Puchner, Martin. "Marie De France." The Norton Anthology: World Literature. Shorter Third ed. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. 1029-1048. Print.

Shahnameh 940-1020

Islamic art located at the Brooklyn Museum

http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/43541/Bahram_Gur_and_Courtiers_Entertained_by_Barbad_the_Musician_Page_from_a_manuscript_of_the_Shahnama_of_Firdawsi_d._1020

Class Notes: Shahnameh by Abolqasem Ferdowsi

• Sekandar is Alexandar the Great - Greek king
• Story begins with poor treatment of Sekandar's mother. She had bad breath so the king had someone give her a herb that cured her bad breath but then the king decided he didn't like her so he sent her away. The woman was referred to as a "lovely moon" but no name was provided. 
• Sekandar was a Greek hero but in the story he is made more out to be a Persian hero. 
• Sekandar is named after the herb that cured his mother's malady (bad breath) 
• Assimilation of culture often occurred when one group of people conquered another. 
• Ceasar is mentioned in the text even though the text was produced before the time of ceasar (pg. 968) 
• Dara (Darius) - Sekandar's half brother (same father but different mother who must have had better breath than Sekandar's mother)
• Dara died - stabbed by traitors who supposedly did it for Sekandar but he was not happy about the murder
• Footnote on page 981 - Aristotle tutored Alexander. Alex writes letter to Aristotle in the text. 
• "Greatness too must pass: it is the prey, and its hunter is death." - The theme of fate and death continues on throughout the text. All must pass eventually. 
• Sekandar keeps making the same mistake - he is prideful and boasts. Several leaders tell him of this flaw in the text. (ex: pg. 975 Qaydafeh points out Sekandar's hubris.)
• Qaydafeh was a wise and knowledgeable leader who could have just killed Sekandar but lets him go and tells him to leave her and her army alone 
• Hubris - pride as a fatal flaw 
• New idea for the time compared to Beowulf - Doesn't matter if you die on a bed or with a sword in your hand, you still die. 
• "Absolute power corrupts absolutely." -Churchill 
• Sekandar writes letters to other leaders (not common for that time period) 
• Tribute - Sekandar asks for it from other leaders (ex: give me "this" and provide my army with "this" and I will spare you battle)
• Fate - common theme in text (ex: pg. 975 Qaydafeh tells Sekandar, "Foor wasn't killed because of your glory, and neither were Dara and the heroes of Sind. Their good fortune was at an end, and yours was in the ascendant....")

Beowulf Original Manuscripts

Photos of the manuscripts of Beowulf. They were damaged by fire in 1731 but they are still readable.

http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2013/02/beowulf-online.html

Grendel by John Gardner

Recent book relating to the Story of Beowulf but focuses on the Character of Grendel specifically.

http://www.amazon.com/Grendel-John-Gardner/dp/0679723110

Beowulf Class Notes

• Some suspect the text was altered when written down and filled with a Christian overlay. Throughout the text, I was able to find many phrases that referenced Christianity but at the same time there was contradiction in the text. The story was a mix of pagan views and traditions mixed with Christian ones. 
• Alliteration in original story but much is lost of it due to translation
• Culture w/in text. Many of Beowulf's actions demonstrate the customs and values within the culture of that time and area
• Kennings - two word metaphors (ring-giver for king (pg, 949), hoard-guard for the dragon (pg, 947))
• Death price came up a couple times in the text. One of the offenses Grendel committed is that he killed without paying a death price. 
• What does this story teach us? What can we take from it? How does it apply to modern day
• Instancer of guest-friendship/reciprocation (xenia)
• Importance of the body in death/ funeral rights 
• Death in battle was looked up to in those times and is still prominent in cultures and certain situations today. 
• Beowulf attained fame and remembrance for his actions. 
• Suspension of disbelief ( must accept when reading or watching fantasy)

Beowulf

             Beowulf is a 9^th century, epic poem that depicts the triumphs and trials of the brave and heroic king, Beowulf.  The language of the poem is detailed and in depth, which hints prior production of the piece.  Some suspect it may have been passed down orally years before it was written down. The exciting tale provides the reader with a sense of Medieval English culture and customs during that time.  Beowulf gives a taste of the history and the up and downs of the relationships between several tribes, specifically, the Geats and the Danes.  

Puchner, Martin. "Beowulf." The Norton Anthology: World Literature. Shorter Third ed. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. 885-960. Print.