ENGL 320H: The Arthurian Tradition                                                  

Dr. Koster

Your first written assignment is either (1) to write a short paper on some aspect you choose of any of the medieval works we are reading or (2) write a short research paper on one of the following selected topics (a reserve list will be provided). In the first instance, check your idea with me. In the second, you don't need to check with me unless you have questions, or you'd prefer a different topic. The paper should be at least five pages long exclusive of your Works Cited page. It is due on Tuesday November 4.

All papers must be documented following the MLA parenthetical documentation style. This is explained in the Prentice Hall Reference Guide and in many other handbooks. You are responsible for following it. Any material taken from a source (your textbook, something from the library, something from the Internet, etc.) must be documented. There is a new edition of the MLA Handbook (5th edition) that covers Internet documentation; you can access these special forms at http://www.mla.org or through the English Department home page (http://www.winthrop.edu/english  or the Writing Center home page (http://www.winthrop.edu/wcenter ).  Format your  papers using the guidelines on pages 275 ff. of the Prentice Hall Reference Guide; no need for a separate cover page. "Typed" (that  is, computer‑produced rather than handwritten) papers are expected. Use 12-point standard (not italic) fonts and MLA margins. Evidence that you care about your writing, such as appointment slips from the Writing Center, influences me favorably. Yes, this is a hint. Excuses offered in advance are likely to earn more leniency than those offered after the fact. Failure to plan or manage time wisely on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.

List of Sample Topics

Merlin the Magician

Wace's Contribution to the Story of Arthur
Geoffrey of Monmouth's Arthur and politics

The Legend of the Return of Arthur

The Origin and Significance of the Isle of Avalon

Chrétien and romance as a genre

Andreas Capellanus: The Meaning of Courtly Love

Chrétien's Concept of a Knight

Chrétien's use of folklore

Origins of Lancelot and Chrétien's Presentation of him as Knight of the Cart

Chrétien and Courtly Love

The Origin and Development of Gawain: The English and French Views of his Character

The Figure of Sir Kay: Welsh or French?

The Medieval Wheel of Fortune

The Alliterative Revival of the Fourteenth Century

Who was Sir Thomas Malory?

Theories of Grail Origin

The Function of the Grail Quest in the Morte Darthur

Malory and fin' amor