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IMC 2018: Sessions

Session 808: Horses in Courtly Literature

Tuesday 3 July 2018, 16.30-18.00

Organisers:Timothy Dawson, Independent Scholar, Leeds
Anastasija Ropa, Department of Management & Communication Science, Latvian Academy of Sport Education, Riga
Moderator/Chair:Anastasija Ropa, Department of Management & Communication Science, Latvian Academy of Sport Education, Riga
Paper 808-aHorse Descriptions in the Unedited Prose Rinaldo da Montalbano (Florence, Biblioteca Laurenziana MS Pluteus 42, codex 37)
(Language: English)
Gloria Allaire, Department of Modern & Classical Languages, Literatures & Cultures, University of Kentucky
Index terms: Language and Literature - Italian, Social History
Paper 808-bUnbridled Horses and Knights Errant
(Language: English)
Gavina Luigia Guiseppina Cherchi, Dipartimento di Storia, scienze dell'uomo e della formazione, Università degli Studi di Sassari
Index terms: Anthropology, Art History - General, Language and Literature - Other, Philosophy
Paper 808-cDead Horses in Arthurian Romance (and Beyond)
(Language: English)
Luise Borek, Germanistik - Computerphilologie und Mediävistik, Technische Universität Darmstadt
Index terms: Language and Literature - German, Military History, Social History
Abstract

This is one of four sessions dedicated to the medieval horse. The image of European chivalry would be incomplete without a knightly steed, a means of transport, a faithful companion in warfare, and noble pass-times, such as hunting and jousting, but also a status symbol. Although horses in romance may be imaginary, and, indeed, sometimes even magical animals, their literary image is based on expert knowledge of real horses, even when presenting to the audience an ideal equine - untiring, swift, and strong - to match its rider, the 'super-knight'. Through its fusion of the actual and the idealized in its representation of horses, courtly literature provides a gateway into the practicalities of medieval equestrianism, which are discussed in the other sessions of the series ('Horses across Europe', 'Horses in the Orient', and 'Equestrian Equipment').