IMC 2010: Sessions

Session 1122: Knightly Travel

Wednesday 14 July 2010, 11.15-12.45

Moderator/Chair:	Alan V. Murray, Institute for Medieval Studies, University of Leeds
Paper 1122-a	The Perfect Gentle Knight: 14th-Century Crusaders in Prussia (Language: English) Mary Fischer, Scottish Centre for the Book, Edinburgh Napier University Index terms: Crusades, Language and Literature - German
Paper 1122-b	The Heroic Journeys of the Welsh Princes (Language: English) Lindsay Jane Henderson, Faculty of Education, University of Southern Queensland Index terms: Historiography - Medieval, Historiography - Modern Scholarship, Language and Literature - Celtic
Paper 1122-c	From Victory and Fame to Defeat and Salvation: Travel in Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte Darthur (Language: English) Milica Spremic, Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade Index terms: Daily Life, Language and Literature - Middle English, Mentalities
Abstract	Paper -a: In spite of the apparent near terminal decline of the crusading ethos by the end of the 13th century, it became de rigeur during the 14th century for lay knights to travel to Prussia to participate in the German (Teutonic) Order's campaigns against the Lithuanians. This paper will examine what attracted these crusaders and, in particular, how the order was able to motivate them. It will be based on the contemporary accounts of the campaigns and particularly on Nicolaus von Jeroschin's Kronike von Pruzinlant, which the author is currently translating for Ashgate Publishers. Paper -b: The Welsh medieval Princes were motivated by more than just political and military concerns, although these undoubtedly played major roles in the wars that led to the conquest of Wales. The way the Welsh Princes viewed their role as a Prince of Wales was also influenced by the Bardic poetry and legends that emphasised the importance of the heroic journey. In most of the poetry and legends, this journey involved the reclamation of something - land, women, power, wealth, Britain - from the Saxons or the Normans. While modern historiography can be chary about the inclusion of the mythic heroic journey along with the more solid political reality, the analysis of this period of history requires its inclusion, but it has hitherto been neglected in modern surveys of this topic. Paper -c: Abstract withheld by request.