IMC 2017: Sessions

Session 1113: Myth and Identity in Medieval Britain, I: Myths of Monarchy

Wednesday 5 July 2017, 11.15-12.45

Sponsor:	Medieval & Early Modern Research Initiative, Cardiff University
Organiser:	Victoria Shirley, School of English, Communication & Philosophy, Cardiff University
Moderator/Chair:	Victoria Shirley, School of English, Communication & Philosophy, Cardiff University
Paper 1113-a	How to Invent a King: Arthur, Nationalism, and the Rhetoric of Myth Making in the Historia regum Britanniae (Language: English) Abigail G. Robertson, Department of English Language & Literature, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque Index terms: Historiography - Medieval, Language and Literature - Latin
Paper 1113-b	Sacral Kingship and Resistance to Authority in the Middle English Life of Saint Edward (Language: English) Matthew Brown, Department of English, Speech & Foreign Languages, Texas Woman's University Index terms: Hagiography, Language and Literature - Middle English
Paper 1113-c	Merlin's Myths: Monarchical Masculinities in the Reigns of Edward III and Richard II (Language: English) Barbara Ellen Logan, Department of History, University of Wyoming Index terms: Art History - General, Genealogy and Prosopography
Abstract	This session is the first of three exploring the relationship between myth and national identity in medieval Britain. The first session in this strand addresses how mythological and historical kings were utilized for political and ideological purposes. The first paper considers how Geoffrey of Monmouth shaped King Arthur into a national figurehead and the model of an ideal king. The second paper focuses on the Middle English Life of Saint Edward, and will examine how Edward the Confessor was used as a symbol of resistance to Plantagenet rule. The final paper discusses how King Arthur was configured as a symbol of monarchical masculinity, and it will explain how the Arthurian myth can be used to understand the success of Edward III and the deposition of Richard II.