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Project List
 

The Arthurian Court List in Culhwch and Olwen
by Morris Collins

The court list in Culhwch and Olwen is characterized by a wide variety of Celtic literary forms and mythological motifs. Although this is not the forum for a complete examination of those characteristics, I would like to pay several of them the kind of attention that the composers of the tale perhaps intended. That is, I will in some sense use them as glosses to the examination of Culhwch and Olwen and its larger relationship to Celtic Arthurian lore.


The Battle of Mount Badon
by Sam Boyer

The Battle of Mount Badon, a battle widely attributed to the mythical King Arthur, has a long and colorful tradition in Arthurian literature. This project aims to compile that tradition into an easily readable and searchable form by way of the annotated bibliography, as well as offer some insight into the tradition's themes by way of an overview essay.
 


The Fisher King
by Matthew Annis

The mysterious Fisher King is a character of the Arthurian tradition, and his story may sound familiar: suffering from wounds, the Fisher King depends for his healing on the successful completion of the hero's task. There are many different versions of the story of the Fisher King, and the character is not represented uniformly in every text.
 

J. Comyns Carr's King Arthur
by David Howland

Joseph Comyns Carr wrote the final script of the play King Arthur, which Henry Irving chose to produce in 1895. At the time that Irving had approached him about the job, Carr was specializing in Pre-Raphaelite art as the director of the Grosvenor Gallery (Goodman, 242). His extensive knowledge of the Pre-Raphaelite paintings aided Carr as he had many visual images of the Arthurian legends painted during that era to draw from in the development of his drama.
 


The Legend of Yvain
by Dongdong Han

The inspiration for Yvain is difficult to narrow down, as is the case with nearly all legendary figures. However, Yvain is unique among the Knights of the Round Table in that he is the only one who is based on a historical figure. He is recorded as some variation of Owain mab Urien, of the kingdom of Rheged. Of the historicity of this man there is little doubt.
 

The Mabinogion Project: A Brief History of the Mabinogion
by Sebastian Rider-Bezerra

The Mabinogion, in its most commonly accepted form, is a collection of eleven – sometimes twelve – Welsh prose tales, or chwedlau, combining significant mythological and folkloric elements with the romance tradition of the High Middle Ages. The stories are collected together in complete form in two manuscripts of the fourteenth century, the White Book of Rhydderch of c.1350 and the Red Book of Hergest, tentatively dated between 1382 and 1410.
 

Merlin and Vivien
by Robyn Pollock

The legend of Merlin and Vivien has survived throughout the ages in a way that not many other stories have. This phenomenon has been made possible because writers have found remarkable ways to transform the characters and the narrative over the centuries. Each version of the story takes elements from its predecessors and blends them with its own story line, character development, and/or social commentary. This project includes an essay that discusses those versions of the Merlin and Vivien legend in which the most notable changes take place.
 

Tom Thumb in the Arthurian Tradition
by Susan Bauer

 The legend of Tom Thumb began as a folktale of unknown ancient origins that is almost certainly based on an oral tradition. The novelty of Tom's adventures has clearly captured the imagination of people throughout the ages and across cultures, as demonstrated by the multicultural versions, as well as English adaptations to the tale. A significant number of retellings in the English traditions link the story to the Arthurian legend such as Merlin's role in Tom's birth, and the knighting of Tom by King Arthur.
 

Uther and Igraine
by Teresa Lopez 

Arthur Pendragon was the greatly prophesized and long awaited man who would be a great king. Everything about Arthur screams of mystical intervention and divine predestination, especially his conception. In most chronicles, books, and movies, the parents of Arthur are Uther (Uter, Vter, Vther) Pendragon and Igraine (Igerne, Igrayne, Igerna, Ygraine, Ygerna, Ygerne, Eigyr) of Cornwall.
 

Women of the Arthurian Legend 
by Katherine Marsh

The women of Camelot have often been overshadowed by the men; the stainless king, noble knights, and mage Merlin possessed sufficient complexity to entertain all audiences. Just as the men of the legend have overshadowed the women, so, too, have male authors, translators, and artists enjoyed a greater degree of recognition. There are, however, a number of female artists and illustrators who have subjected the legend to their own gaze and gifts.