Aulas 1 a 3 Fundamentos da Literatura em Língua Inglesa

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Fundamentos da Literatura em Língua Inglesa
Ao final desta aula, o aluno será capaz de:
1. Understand the arrival and the victory of the Catholic Church in England; 
2. establish the importance of the Celtic Church ,regarding Christianity, to ordinary people; 
3. analyse Pagan and Christian elements in the epic poem “Beowulf”.
When and how did Christianity first reach Britain?
That is not an easy task to determine how or when Christianity first reached Britain, but it was certainly well before Christianity was accepted by the Roman Emperor Constantine in the early fourth century AD. Christianity became firmly established across Britain in the last hundred years of Roman government.
How were the Celts influenced by Christianity?
The Celts were driven into the west and north of Britain by the Anglo-Saxons. 
In the Celtic areas Christianity continued to spread, bringing paganism to an end. An interesting example of Christian influence is the number of place-names beginning or ending with llan, meaning the site of a small Celtic monastery around which a village or town grew.
How Christianity was re-established in England?
Pope Gregory the Great sent a monk, Augustine, to re-establish Christianity in England in 597. Augustine went to Canterbury, the capital of the kingdom of Kent. He did so because the king’s wife, having been born in continental Europe,  was already a Christian. It could be the opportunity to convert the people.
Who was Augustine?
In 601, Augustine became the first Archbishop of Canterbury. He was very successful because several ruling families in England accepted Christianity. Nevertheless, Augustine and his group of monks were not successful with ordinary people. That can be explained partly because Augustine was interested in establishing Christian authority, and that meant bringing rulers to the new faith.
How did the Celtic Church contribute to the spread of Christianity?
The Celtic Church brought Christianity to the ordinary people of Britain. The Celtic bishops left their monasteries of Wales, Ireland and Scotland, walking from village to village teaching Christian values. Although there were differences between Anglo-Saxons and Celts, these bishops seem to have been readily accepted in the Anglo-Saxon areas.
What were the differences between the Roman and the Celtic Churches?
The bishops from the Roman Church lived at the courts of the kings, which they made centers of Church power across England. The Celtic Church was interested in the ordinary people while the Roman Church was interested in authority and organization. The two churches reached a crisis when they disagreed over the date of Easter. In 603 at the Synod (meeting) of Whitby the king of Northumbria decided to support the Roman Church. The Celtic Church retreated as Rome extended its authority over all Christians, even in Celtic parts of the island.
How did the Church grow ?
The phenomenon of Christianization developed quickly throughout the country.  By 660 only Sussex and the Isle of Wight resisted the new faith. Twenty years later, English teachers came back to the land from which the Anglo-Saxons originated, bringing Christianity to them. Saxon Kings helped the Church to grow, but the Church increased the power of kings as well. Bishops supported kings their, which made it harder for royal power to be questioned. Kings’ authority was guaranteed by “God’s approval”. Since uncertainty surrounded the royal succession, any pretension over the throne could only be validated by means of Church approval.
Do you know that an eldest son did not automatically become king?
Any member of the royal family who had enough soldiers could be chosen to try the throne. In addition, at a time when one king might try to conquer a neighboring kingdom, he would probably have a son to whom he would like to pass this enlarged kingdom when he died.
So when King Offa (King of Mercia from 757 until his death in July 796. Offa was a Christian king who came into conflict with the Church, particularly with the Archbishop of Canterbury) appointed his son as his successor, he guaranteed that this was done at a Christian ceremony led by a bishop. It was good political propaganda because it suggested that kings were chosen not only by people but also by God.
How did the Church help to increase the power of the English State?
The Church established monasteries, or minsters, for example Westminster, which were places of learning and education. In these monasteries few men, who could read and write, had their knowledge increased. Alfred, the great king who ruled Wessex from 871-899, was one of the kings who mostly took advantage of the influence of the Church.
He used the literate men of the Church to help him to establish a law system, to educate the people and to register important matters. He started the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the most important source, together with Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People, to understand the period.
Why was it so important to be educated?
Laws were made on a large number of subjects during the following hundred years.  When the eleventh century comes, royal authority was wider and deeper in England than in any other European country.  The power of landlords, whose lands were given by the king, was increased because their names were officially registered.  Peasants, who could not read or write, could lose their traditional rights over  their land, because their rights were not accepted.
What were the economic reasons for the Anglo-Saxon kings adhere to the Roman Church?
Monasteries built in villages and towns grew around and increased local trade which led to human and cultural development. 
Many monks in England came from the Frankish lands (France and Germany). They were invited by English rulers who wished to benefit from closer Church and economic contact with Europe. Most of these bishops and monks seem to have come from european churches and monasteries through vital trade routes.
Close contact with many parts of Europe was encouraged. Besides they all used Latin, the written language of Rome, and this led English to trade with the continent. Trade has grown with the help of increased literacy. Anglo-Saxon England became well known in Europe for its exports of woolen goods, cheese, hunting dogs, pottery and metal goods. It imported wine, fish, pepper, jewellery and wheel-made pottery.
Who were the Vikings?
How did the Vikings settle in Britain? 
In 865 the Vikings invaded Britain once it was clear that the quarrelling Anglo-Saxon kingdoms could not keep them out. This time they came to conquer and to settle. The Vikings quickly accepted Christianity and did not disturb the local population.
What was the role of King Alfred?
King Alfred from Wessex managed to unite the Saxons against the Vikings. After some serious defeats, Alfred won a decisive battle in 878 and eight years later he captured London. He sealed a pact with the Vickings: Viking rule was recognized in the east and north of England, in the rest of the country he was recognized as the king of England. During his struggle against the Danes, he had built walled settlements to keep them out. 
These were called burghs. They become prosperous market towns, and the word, now usually spelt borough, is one of the commonest ending to place names, as well as the name of the unit of municipal or town administration today.
How did the powerful Thor influence the English language?
We are going to mention just part of the influence Anglo-Saxon culture had on modern English language. Some regions in England nowadays have names derived from their culture such as Sussex (South Saxons) e Wessex (West Saxons). Some affixes from the English language also come from these peoples, such as -ing and -ton. But we cannot deny that the closest influence is in the names of the days of the week:
What’s Beowulf, the poem?
Beowulf is an exciting narrative full of action, monsters and heroic deeds. We can understand whyJ. R. R. Tolkien inspired himself in Beowulf to write, in the 1950s, the trilogy ´The Lord of the Rings` (1954-1955), books which were extremely popular in England. One of Beowulf characteristics which influenced Tolkien is its structure of an epic poem.
Which cultural elements can be found in Beowulf?
In the story of Beowulf, there is a noticeable struggle between Christianity and Paganism, and the characters personal battle between the two. Throughout the story the characters display actions that lead towards Paganism and Christianity. Contrary to Pagan belief, Beowulf is seen as the epitome of good and beneficent to all of mankind. In Beowulf, the people showed their faith and love in God, however due to horrific events, paranoia caused them to look for a desperate help and turns to the Paganism.
The pagan elements in the epic poem Beowulf are evident in the characters superhuman personifications. Beowulf is depicted as a superhero. Beowulf takes it upon himself to save the Danes from Grendel. In his battle with Grendel, Beowulf chooses not to use weapons; he relies on his super strength. During the fight, Beowulf's strength takes over, and Beowulf wrestles with Grendel until he is able to rip one of the monster's arms out of its socket.
 Fundamentos da Literatura em Língua Inglesa
Ao final desta aula, o aluno será capaz de:
1. Discuss the central idea of Feudalism; 
2. understand the importance of the Magna Carta; 
3. analyze the foundation of Parliament; 
4. describe the figure of the knight; 
5. recognize the cultural elements of The Canterbury Tales.
How was England ruled by the Normans?
To understand the issues of Feudalism, we have to understand the events which happened before. When William the Conqueror became king, things did not go well during his coronation.
When people shouted ‘God Save the King’ the Norman guards at Westminster Abbey thought they were going to attack William. In their fear they set fire to nearby houses and the coronation ceremony ended in disorder.
How did the Norman army behave?
The Norman Conquest did not last for too long. However these were troubled times. Anglo-Saxons promoted continuing revolutions against the Normans. Until 1070, every year new rebellions occurred. As a consequence, the Norman army, though small, marched from village to village; destroying places that they could not control. 
It was a true army of occupation for at least twenty years. In the north, between Durham and York, not a single house was left standing, and it took a century for the north to recover.
Could the Saxon keep their lands?
Few Saxons lords kept their lands and those who did belonged to a small group that had accepted William immediately. The other lords lost everything. By 1086 there were only two great landlords and only two bishops were Saxons. The Norman nobles owned the lands and after each after each suppressed rebellion there was more land to give away, William’s army included Norman and French land seekers. Over 4,000 Saxon landlords were replaced by 200 Normans ones.
The way William ruled the land made him an outstanding example for kings in continental Europe. William gave parts of the land to his captain as a reward. They had small separate pieces of land in different parts of the country so that no noble could easily try to gather his fighting men to rebel against the king. Only larger estates given were the ones along the troublesome borders with wales and Scotland. At the same time he kept enough land for himself to ensure he was much stronger than his nobles.
Half of the farmland of England was given to Norman nobles, a quarter to the Church, and kept a fifth himself. The king kept the Saxon system of sheriffs, and used these as a mediator to the local nobles. As a result England was different from the rest of Europe because it had one powerful family, instead of a large number of powerful nobles. William, and the kings after him, thought of England as their personal property.
What did Feudalism mean?
The word 'feudalism' comes from the French word feu, which the Normans used to refer to land held in return for duty or service to a lord. The holding of the land  was the basis of feudal society and its main purpose was economic. The central idea was that all land was owned by the king but it was held by others, called 'vassals', in return for services and goods.
Large estates were given by the king to his main nobles in return for a promise to serve him in war for up to forty days.. Part of the produce of the land had to be given to the king. The greater nobles gave part of their lands to lesser nobles, knights, and other ´freeman´. Some freeman paid for the land by doing military service, while others paid rent. The noble kept 'serfs' to work on his own land. These were not free to leave the estate, and were often little better than slaves.
What were the two basic principles to feudalism?
The first one was that every man had a lord and the second was that every lord had land. The king was connected through this 'chain' of people to the lowest man in the country. At each level a man had to promise loyalty and service to his lord.
This promise was generally made with the lord sitting on his chair and his vassal kneeling before him, his hands placed between those of his lord. This was called 'homage', and has remained part of the coronation ceremony of British kings and queens until now. On the other hand, each lord had responsibilities to his vassals. He had to give them land and protection.
What happened when a noble died?
If all the noble’s family died, the land went back to the king who later, after using its wealth, would give it to another noble. If the king did not give the nobles land they would not fight for him.
What happened when a noble died?
By 1086, the king sent a team of people all through England to make a complete economic survey. His men asked all kinds of questions at each settlement: How much land was there? Who owned it? How much was it worth? How many families, ploughs and sheep were there? The survey was most unpopular with the people, because they felt they could not escape from its findings. Information was gathered and kept in a Book called ‘Doomsday’. The book still exists, and gives us an extraordinary amount of information about England at this time.
What replaced the idea of Nationalism in the early Middle Ages?
William controlled two large areas: Normandy, which was given to him by his father, and England, which was won in war. Both were personal possessions and it did not matter to the rulers that the ordinary people of one place were English while those of another were French.
To William the important difference between them was that as duke of Normandy he had to recognize the king of France as his lord, whereas in England he was king with no lord above him.
What happened when William died in 1087?
William Rufus died in a hunting accident in 1100, shot dead by an arrow. 
Henry was crowned king instead of Robert who was coming back to Normandy from the Holy Land. 
Robert became very angry and prepared to invade but it took him a year to organize an army, The Norman nobles in England had to choose between Henry and Robert. 
They chose Robert because he was in London, with the crown already on his head. 
Robert´s invasion was a failure and he accepted payment to return to Normandy. 
In 1106 Henry invaded Normandy and captured Robert. 
Normandy and England were reunited under one ruler. 
In 1120 Henry´s only son was drowned at sea. 
After fifteen years Henry accepted her daughter, Matilda, would follow him. 
Henry had married Matilda to another great noble in France, Geoffrey Plantagenet. 
He hoped the family lands would be made larger by this marriage. 
He made all the nobles promise to accept Matilda when he died,. 
But then Henry himself quarreled publicly with Matilda´s husband, and died soon after. 
There were two possible heirs to Henry: Matilda whowas in Anjou and Henry´s nephew, Stephen of Blois, who was in Bologne. 
Stephen raced to England to claim the crown. 
The nobles chose Stephen, who seems to have been good at fighting but little else. 
Matilda invaded England four years later. 
Neither side could win and in 1153 Matilda and Stephen agreed that Stephen could keep the throne but only if Matilda´s son, Henry, could succeed him. 
Stephen died in 1154 and the family possessions of England and the lands in France were united under a king everyone accepted, Henry II. 
Henry II´s empire stretched from the Scottish border to the Pyrenees. 
Although Henry recognized the king of France as the overlord of all his French lands, he actually controlled a greater area than the king of France. 
Richard and John fought against their father, they did their duty to the king of France, their feudal overlord. 
In 1189 Henry died a broken man, disappointed and defeated by his sons and by the king of France. 
Henry was followed by Richard, who has always been one of England´s most popular kings, although he spent hardly any time in England. 
His nickname Coeur de Lion, “lionheart”, shows that his culture was French. 
He was everyone´s idea of the perfect feudal king. 
Richard was captured by the duke of Austria and demanded money to let him go. 
Shortly after, in 1199,Richadr was killed in France. Richard was followed by his brother, John. 
John had already made himself unpopular with the nobles, the merchants and the Church. 
John was a greedy man. He took the noble´s lands, and taxed the merchant class at a higher level than ever before. 
In 1209 John quarreled with the pope over who would be the Archbishop of Canterbury but gave in, in 1214 and accepted the pope´s choice. 
In 1215 John hoped to recapture Normandy but his nobles did not support him. 
John was forced to sign a new agreement.
What was the Magna Carta?
The Magna Carta, the Great Charter, was an important symbol of political freedom. The king promised all ‘freeman’ protection from his officers, and the right to a fair and legal trial. 
At that time most people were not free, and were serfs or experimented a different intermediate social status, such as artisans. Hundreds of years later, Magna Carta was used by Parliament to protect itself from a powerful king.
In fact, Magna Carta gave no real freedom to the majority of people in England. The nobles who obliged King John to sign it did not defend people’s freedom: they wanted to prevent John from going beyond his rights as feudal lord.
Was Magna Carta a clear sign of the collapse of English Feudalism?
We have some reasons to believe so. First, feudal society was based on links between lord and vassal and at Runnymede the nobles were not acting as vassals but as a class. Secondly, they established a committee of twenty-four lords to make sure John would keep his promises. That was not a ‘feudal’ thing to do. Last, the nobles were acting in co-operation with the merchant class of towns. There were other signs that feudalism was changing.
When the king went to war, the nobles refused to fight more than forty days. The king had to pay soldiers to fight for him. At the same time, lords preferred their vassals to pay them in money rather in services. Vassals were gradually beginning to change into tenants. Feudalism, the use of the land in return for service, was beginning to weaken. But it took three hundred years to disappear completely.
How was the foundation of the English Parliament?
King John signed Magna Carta under pressure and it quickly became clear that he was not going to keep the agreement. The nobles rebelled and pushed John out of the southeast. But John died and Civil War was avoided.
Henry II was nine and he was controlled during sixteen years by the powerful nobles, and tied by the Magna Carta. At the age of twenty-five, he could rule by himself. Henry’s heavy spending to support wars in favor of the pope in Sicily and France and his foreigners advisers upset the nobles. Once again they acted as a class and under the leadership of Simon de Montfort, took over the government and elected a council of nobles.
De Montfort  called it a parliament, or parlement, a French word meaning a ‘discussion meeting’. The nobles were supported by towns, which wished to be free of Henry’s heavy taxes.
The Foundantions to a Future Parliament
King Henry III, the son of King John, began his reign in 1216. At first, he consulted with a small Council of important Lords, who were usually always around him. Later, Henry began the practice of summoning an expanded group of Lords from the entire kingdom. Known as a Great Council, it included the major land-owning barons, other nobles, and the archbishops and bishops of the Catholic Church, the state religion.
The king’s judges and top government officials also attended. Henry summoned about 50 Lords to a Great Council when he needed their advice and consent for such things as going to war, changing the law, or levying a new tax.The Great Council Lords looked upon their advice and consent as both a duty to the king and a right that he was bound to honor.
When he died, Edward I brought together the first real parliament. Several kings had made arrangements for taxation but Edward I was the first to create a ‘representative institution’ which could provide the money he needed. This institution became the House of Commons. Different from the House of Lords, it contained a mixture of ‘gentry' (knights and other wealth ‘freeman’ from the shires) and merchants from the towns.
These were the two broad classes of people who produced and controlled England’s wealth. In 1275 the ‘commoners’ became unwilling representatives of their local community. They did not want to give their money to the king. This, rather than Magna Carta, was the beginning of the idea that there should not be ‘no taxation without representation’, later claimed by the American colonists of the eighteenth century.
How was the system of classes in England?
England was special because the House of Commons contained a mixture of gentry belonging to the feudal ruling class and merchants and freemen. The co-operation of these groups, through the House of Commons, became important to Britain’s later political and social development. After the death of Edward, for 150 years the agreement of the Commons became necessary for the making of all statutes and all special taxation additional to regular taxes.
How can we describe the figure of the knight?
The knight, together with the King, was the most representative figure in Medieval Times. His image evokes qualities such as unconditional bravery, honor and idealization of someone who is able to abandon his desires to favor his principles. 
Knights’ value resided on their ability with arms, physical strength, courage, honor and loyalty towards his lord. In the 12th century, these elements mixed with Christian principles to form a code of knights.
The knights did not only learn how to combat, but also the rules to behave like a real knight, there was a knight’s ethics. He knew how to sing the sufferings and pleasure of the ‘amour courtois’.
In medieval literature, the figure of a knight is outstanding. He is the hero, an example, always related to extreme actions, as in Sir Gawain and the Green knight.
 Fundamentos da Literatura em Língua Inglesa
Ao final desta aula, o aluno será capaz de:
1. To know about the legend of king Arthur; 
2. to understand the origins of king Arthur´s stories; 
3. to analyze the historical and cultural roots of the Chivalry Romance; 
4. to identify historical, social and cultural characteristics in Morte D’Arthur.
What was the importance of William Caxton and the Printing Press?
Although William Caxton (1422? - 1491?) was at an early age apprenticed to one of England’s richest cloth merchants and ultimately became a wealthy merchant himself, it is with printing that his name is forever associated. Vacationing inthe German city of Cologne in the summer of 1471, he saw for the first time a printing press at work.
Gutenberg’s invention of printing from movable type, though not over fifty years old at that time, had already spread to nearly every country in Europe. On his return to England he established the first English press at Westminster in 1476
One third of the books he issued were his own translations, and to them he contributed prefaces. Among Caxton’s hundred printed books are Chaucer’s  ‘Canterbury Tales’ and Malory’s ‘Morte D’Arthur’, to the latter of which he contributed an excellent preface.
Since books became both less cumbersome and less expensive, and since many different titles were printed, for the first time it became worth while for the average man to learn to read. Thus to a great extent the invention of printing brought England to the close of the Middle Ages and ushered in the Renaissance.
Why are the stories about King Arthur so fascinating?
There was a story that an abbot, in 1200, in a monastery was talking about God in a meeting. He noticed that the monks and nuns were sleepy and that some of them even snored. All of a sudden the abbot announced: ‘Listen, my brothers, once upon a time there was a king called Arthur…’
Everyone who was already sleeping, woke up to listen to Arthur’s stories. The abbot, then, concluded that his audience needed higher spiritual teachings because they were much more attentive to Arthur’s stories than to his preaching about God.
What are Arthur’s historical roots?
Arthur was born as a symbol of hope to the British people. After the Roman legions left Britain to defend Rome against vast groups of invaders in the beginning of century V, the Bretons had to fight their own invaders, the German, called ‘Saxons’.
Over a century , the British soldiers fought against the Saxons, having victories and defeats, up to 577 A.C. when the Germanic conquest  was achieved in the Battle of Deorham. With the Germanic conquest, the major part of Bretons mixed with the invaders; some others, however, went to Wales, and another part crossed the channel to the province of Britain.
When did real facts start to mix with fiction?
Although they have lost their island to invaders, the Bretons kept in their memories the remembrances of times in which they could fight the enemies having as their leader Ambrosius Aurelianus (Ambrósio Aureliano).
That guaranteed them a period of peace of 44 years. This victory was achieved in the battle named Badon in 516, mentioned by Beda in Ecclesiastical History of the English People, and was present in the memory of the Bretons. And since then, they expected the return of the ones who had led them to victory. From this point on, the facts started to mix with reality.
How was the code of chivalry?
According to code of chivalry, the perfect knight fought for his good name if insulted, served God and the King, and defended any lady in need. These ideas were expressed in the legend of the Round Table, around which King Arthur and his knights sat as equals in holy brotherhood.
How did Edward III introduce the idea of chivalry into his court?
Edward III and his eldest son, the Black Prince, were greatly admired in England for their courage on the battlefield and for their courtly manners. They became symbols of the ‘code of chivalry’, the way in which a perfect knight should behave. Edward introduced the idea of chivalry into his court.
Once, a lady at court accidentally dropped her garter and Edward III noticed some of his courtiers laughing at her. He picked up the garter and tied it to his own leg, saying in French, ‘Honi soit qui mal y pense’, which means ‘Let him be ashamed who sees wrong in it’. From this strange yet probably true story, the Order of the Garter was founded in 1348.
Who were the members of the Order of Garter?
Edward chose as members of the order twenty-four knights, the same number the legendary Arthur had chosen. They met once a year on St George´s day at Windsor Castle, where King Arthur´s Round Table was supposed to have been. The custom is still followed, and Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense is still the motto of the royal family.
Why was chivalry useful?
Chivalry was a useful way of persuading men to fight by creating the idea that war was a noble and glorious thing. War could also, of course, be profitable. But in fact cruelty, death, destruction and theft were the reality of war, as they are today. The Black Prince, who was the living example of chivalry in England, was feared in France for his cruelty.
What are the characteristics of a Romance of Chivalry?
The world depicted in these romances is unreal, a world in which daily life is irrelevant, where action dominates reflection and exaggeration rules (the hero is the best, the greatest, the lady the most beautiful, the enemy the cruelest etc.). We have to suspend our disbelief as we enter the black and white world of heroes and villains, virtuous women and immoral women, giants and dwarves and so on.
Chivalric romance looks constantly to the future, as the knight moves from adventure to adventure. This active life contrasts significantly with, for example, that pastoral literature which is typically static, with the shepherd seated on a river bank comparing his past joy-through-love with his loveless present. For the shepherd there is no future; the knight-errant, on the other hand, constantly propels himself forward (unless he is enchanted, in which case he awaits release).
What are the characteristics of a Romance of Chivalry?
Romances of chivalry have a universal, timeless quality. The adventures are variations on the eternal struggle between good and evil, order and disorder, requited and unrequited love, and happen in some vague time in the past (but after the birth of Christ) and in exotic and distant places. The world of romance is still with us, but transformed. We have only to look, for example, at Western (cowboy) movies and novels, the highly popular James Bond novels and films (set in present time but exotic locales), the television series Xena: Princess Warrior (female ‘knight’ and ‘squire’) and the Star Wars movies (which take us into a distant future). 
Who was Sir Thomas Malory?
Shortly before Chaucer’s death, when both feudalism and chivalry were faltering institutions, a man was born who sought to capture in his writings the medieval ideal of knighthood. This man was Sir Thomas Malory. Little is known about his life. For many years scholars have identified the author of Morte D’Arthur  with a Warwickshire knight who was charged with extortion, robbery, and rape and who spent the last twenty years of his life. Recent investigations have discovered other ‘Thomas Malorys’, indicating that the actual author may not have had a criminal record.
What is Morte D´Arthur about?
Malory´s Morte D´Arthur is a gathering of the main body of legends about King Arthur into one narrative, it is the best-known work of fifteenth-century English literature. His simple, forthright telling of Arthurian lore is still enjoyed by modern readers, and the work has long inspired other writings, such as Tennyson´s Idylls of the king.
What were the sources of Morte D´Arthur?
What was the content of Malory’s cycle?
A manuscript discovered in 1934 of Malory’s work lists the eight principal bodies of Arthurian lore:
What was the content of Malory’s cycle?
Malory´s cycle
A manuscript discovered in 1934 of Malory´s work lists the eight principal bodies of Arthurian lore: 1- The Tale of Arthur and Lucius; 2- The book of king Arthur; 3- The Tale of Sir Lancelot du Lake; 4- Sir Gareth of Orkney; 5- Tristam de Lyones; 6- The quest of the Holy Grail; 7- Lancelot and Guinevere; and 8= The Morte D’ Arthur.
The selection occurs near the end of the Morte D’Arthur, when the unity of the Round Table has been disrupted by the ambitions of Arthur’s nephew, Mordred. Rallying a band of knights around him, the traitor attempts to seize Arthur’s crown. Ultimately the twofactions  meet in a battle which brings about the death of all the knights of the kingdom except the loyal Sir Bedivere. Mordred is killed by Arthur, who is himself mortally wounded. It is left to Bedivere to carry out his king’s last wishes.