#launfal

[gawrkin]

(From Launfal by Thomas Chestre)

So in Thomas Chestre's version of Marie's Lai:

Guinevere is Irish. This changes everything.

Rather ironically, her dad this time is King Ryons - the same giant who was invading Cameliard in the French stories. Lol, even here, Guinevere is still the daughter of a Giant.

Everyone already hates her.

Of note, the story literally says "[she had] so many [lovers] there was no end". Girl can't stop winning.

Guinevere forgot to give Launfal gifts, so now he hates her even more.

[queer-ragnelle]

Sir Launfal by Thomas Chestre | More quotes at Arthuriana Daily

[silentmoonbutterfly]

[mintmavka]

A modest "reDraw Dragon's Lair screenshot" challenge has turned into a mix of styles ( and the battle with the brush, ill-fitting for the particular lineart style). Among other influences, "The Swan Princess" (1994) and even a painting by K. Somov should be mentioned. The one who guesses the said piece of art, shall get a glass of Est-Est💋

// 🎨 support the artist ( boosty ) //

[stromuprisahat]

[fantasyoftales]

Knights Tourney

[cdchyld]

Just added to the Vintage shop!

~ “The Vision of Sir Launfal and Other Poems” by James Russell Lowell (1916)

[marwyn]

what do you think of rhaegar x lyanna?

The asoiafblr equivalent of

I suppose I did have it coming though. What we know of their relationship definitely compels me, and I’ll start by elaborating on this post—besides the readily apparent Paris/Helen and Tristan/Isolde allusions, Rhaegar and Lyanna remind me of the principal characters from Thomas Chestre’s Arthurian romance Sir Launfal but gender-swapped. Let’s start with the Tourney at Harrenhal.

But the next morning, when the heralds blew their trumpets and the king took his seat, only two champions appeared. The Knight of the Laughing Tree had vanished. The king was wroth, and even sent his son the dragon prince to seek the man, but all they ever found was his painted shield, hanging abandoned in a tree. It was the dragon prince who won that tourney in the end. (ASOS, Bran II)

Ned remembered the moment when all the smiles died, when Prince Rhaegar Targaryen urged his horse past his own wife, the Dornish princess Elia Martell, to lay the queen of beauty’s laurel in Lyanna’s lap. He could see it still: a crown of winter roses, blue as frost. […] Promise me, Ned, his sister had whispered from her bed of blood. She had loved the scent of winter roses. (AGOT, Ned XV)

Now I’m sure the following won’t be news to asoiaf veterans but for the sake of comparison let’s lay it all out. It hardly seems an accident that the infamous laurel happened to be made of a flower beloved of its recipient; most likely Rhaegar did in fact find the Knight of the Laughing Tree, who turned to be one Lyanna Stark, they conversed, and since she had had to flee the tourney and thus forfeit her chance of winning he decided to win it himself in order to honor her publicly in the only way possible by making her Queen of Love and Beauty (not a particularly strategic move, but I have to say that I appreciate the sort of fairy-tale logic of it all), and finally, if you believe that Lyanna ran away with Rhaegar willingly, they may have also made plans to correspond secretly in the future. With all of this in mind let’s take a look at some of the pertinent story beats of Sir Launfal:

Launfal rides off alone into a forest and rests under a tree

Two maidens approach and invite him to speak to their lady Tryamour in her pavilion

Tryamour is the ethereally beautiful daughter of the powerful fairy king of the west

The knight and the fairy princess profess their love for one another, she bestows upon him several gifts, and they make plans to correspond secretly in the future.

Rhaegar may be a less obvious choice than Lyanna “Knight of the Laughing Tree” Stark for comparison to a character of the opposite gender, but the gender paradigm in Sir Launfal is already an interesting one given that the fairy princess provides financially for her knight lover and ultimately rescues him like a damsel in distress (more on that later). Furthermore, Rhaegar himself also experienced some friction in regard to his proscribed Westerosi gender role:

As a young boy, the Prince of Dragonstone was bookish to a fault. He was reading so early that men said Queen Rhaella must have swallowed some books and a candle whilst he was in her womb. Rhaegar took no interest in the play of other children. The maesters were awed by his wits, but his father’s knights would jest sourly that Baelor the Blessed had been born again. Until one day Prince Rhaegar found something in his scrolls that changed him. No one knows what it might have been, only that the boy suddenly appeared early one morning in the yard as the knights were donning their steel. He walked up to Ser Willem Darry, the master-at-arms, and said, ‘I will require sword and armor. It seems I must be a warrior.’ (ASOS, Daenerys I)

Now let’s take a look at why Lyanna and Launfal might have decided to run away with the royals they met in the woods.

“Robert will never keep to one bed,” Lyanna had told him at Winterfell, on the night long ago when their father had promised her hand to the young Lord of Storm’s End. “I hear he has gotten a child on some girl in the Vale.” (AGOT, Ned IX)

Launfal and other noble knights, however, did not like [the future queen Guenevere], for the lady had a reputation for having lovers besides her lord too numerous to count. (Sir Launfal, trans. James Weldon)

Soon enough Launfal finds himself the unwelcome focus of the queen’s amorous intent and his refusal goes very poorly. He is saved when his princess lover rides up to Camelot and takes him away to the land of the fairies, leaving naught but a rumor in his wake:

Every year upon a certain day people can hear Launfal’s steed neigh and see him. Whosoever desires to joust and keep their armour trim in tournament or fight can find his match with Sir Launfal, the knight. (Sir Launfal)

Which of course tracks nicely with the happenings at Harrenhal:

The mystery knight dipped his lance before the king and rode to the end of the lists, where the five champions had their pavilions. […] The porcupine knight fell first, then the pitchfork knight, and lastly the knight of the two towers. None were well loved, so the common folk cheered lustily for the Knight of the Laughing Tree, as the new champion soon was called. (ASOS, Bran II again)

All this to say that I find their relationship quite fascinating in its metatextuality. Was it love at first sight as in Sir Launfal? Almost certainly not, but it seems clear to me that they had a strong connection and I’m glad Lyanna was able to escape the arranged marriage to Robert which she clearly did not want. As for the common discourse topics on here regarding their relationship i.e. their respective ages, his marital status, the prophecy, these generally just aren’t that interesting to me…and post.

[lillipad72]

The Annotated Anne of Green Gables ~~ a special rereading

CHAPTER II ~~ Matthew Cuthbert is Surprised

"The little birds sang as if it were/The one day of summer in all the year."

These verses at the beginning of Chapter II come from a long verse parable by James Russel Lowell, "The Vision of Sir Launfal," published in 1848. I could not find much besides a quick synopsis of the poem, but we can learn much from it. This poem is a twist on the classic Grail story. Sir Launfal decides not to search for the Holy Grail after a dream causes him to realize that the real meaning of the Grail is charity. These verses come as Matthew travels to pick up an orphan boy from the train station only to discover our heroine, Anne Shirley, waiting instead. While the verses perfectly describe the beautiful spring day of the setting, the poem as a whole fits into the theme of the novel. It was the charity in the Cutherberts' hearts that led them to find their Holy Grail, Anne, even if it wasn't the orphan boy they thought.

"Her face was small, white and thin, also much freckled; her mouth was large and so were her eyes, that looked green in some lights and moods and gray in others. So far, the ordinary observer; an extraordinary observer might have seen that the chin was pointed and pronounced; that the big eyes were full of spirit and vivacity; that the mouth was sweet-lipped and expressive; that the forehead was broad and full; in short, our discerning extraordinary observer might have concluded that no commonplace soul inhabited the body of this stray woman-child."

This is the introduction and description of Anne Shirley! While there is so much here to unpack, I'll leave that for another day; for now, I will discuss L.M. Montgomery's inspiration for the appearance of Anne. I knew about this before, but this book pointed it out, and well, I love this fact! So Montgomery said she saw a photo of a girl in an American magazine that she then used as a model for Anne. Montgomery said she had no idea who the girl was and if she had any idea that her face was the model for Anne. Well, that girl has been identified as none other than Evelyn Nesbit! The exact photo is above! For those of you unaware of the lovely Evelyn, she was a chorus girl and model in New York City at the beginning of the 20th century, but she really became famous when her husband, Harry K. Thaw, murdered Stanford White. (White was a famous architect who designed such buildings as the Pennsylvania Station in New York; he is also a character in the Gilded Age on Max). Nesbit alleged that White raped her when she was a minor and that she had told her husband that, causing him to shoot White to defend her honor. The trial would go on to be called "The Trial of the Century" (despite it only being 1907), and Nesbit was the star witness in her husband's defense. Her fame would rise, and she became a star in vaudeville. Another fun fact is that she (according to her grandson) received $25,000 from her husband after the trial, and she donated it to the anarchist Emma Goldman (who I really suggest looking into; her work was fascinating). Anyways, all that to say: I wonder what L.M. Montgomery would have thought if she knew that Evelyn Nesbit, a woman of 'loose morals,' was her inspiration for the appearance of Anne?

I was going to write as well about a few song lyrics that appear in this chapter, but I talked too much already I feel, so if anyone wants to know about the lyrics, let me know

next chapter

[cultofthewyrm]

Guillaume de Launfal by Konstantin Porubov

[dukeofdogs]

Gwent: The Witcher Card Game | The cards that could’ve been 71/?

Guillaume de Launfal (Konstantin Porubov), Grégoire de Gorgon (Sébastien Blondet)

[silentmoonbutterfly]

[wyndford-dekarios-majima]

Tomorrow Never Came

pairing: Fleeced Wolf (Anthelme de Launfal x Lambert)

wc: 155

context; Anthelme's about officially completed his training, as he's just received his medallion. He sees no reason to stay any longer.

The medallion around Anthelme’s neck weighed heavy. Lambert could tell. Sure, it wasn’t too heavy on its own. The memories were what made it weigh so much. He focused back in on the deer tracks they were following. It was limping; something else had injured it, or maybe it’d injured itself. He bumped into Anthelme, who’d…stopped for some reason.

“...Why’d you stop?” “Can you see my tracks too?”

Lambert blinked. It was a simple question, with a simple answer. His brow furrowed.

“Obviously I can. Why?” “...Do you think you could see where I’m going to go, too?” “I’m not a fucking fortune teller. I can predict, maybe, but…” Lambert sighed and tossed his hands up. “Whatever. Who cares. Let’s just get the deer.”

Lambert took the lead. He glanced over his shoulder for a moment, to check if Anthelme was following. He was, but he looked…disappointed? Why?

…It didn’t matter. He could ask tomorrow.

[toussainttwins]

The Carnival of The Animals

The Dreamveil is a heaven of disguises - the most fanciful, equally artful and ridiculous, mysterious and charming, costumes are gathered under its roof. Yet it would be an error to conclude that the sewing succubi have created dresses for their human - or elven, or dwarven ( or even a doppler one ) - patrons only. Sir Cervantes - a steadfast and loyal steed of Palmerin de Launfal’s - has donned the festive attire too once. As an attempt to reconcile with the over-protective horse, Nistana suggested to her lover that the three of them could go equally dressed. After all, don’t knights reel in grooming their horses most lavishly for tournaments and battles? Why not let the beast have some fun during the carnival procession, when many masked people flood the streets of Beauclair and fill the air with songs and laughter that fall down like rose-petals? The hoffed coquette even had a fitting legend in mind - the fashionable story of Roger and Angelica, that featured a fearless knight, a beautiful maiden in distress and a magical flying horse*. Sir Cervantes, despite his initial neighing and nagging, warmed up to the pretty succubus - a common task is the best material for building bridges. Indeed, it required patience to be measured and to wear fake wings amidst a crowd; the flippant attire secretly made Cervantes very proud, for he and his knight fought a griffon once, and the pair of gorgeous wings haunted his daydreaming moments ever since.  Still, he didn’t cease his disapproving grunting when the hoofed seamstress called his master “Tubbynubs”. At least, not at once. Having one dream fulfilled makes even a heart of a beast more gentle.

* As far as the mun is concerned the 16th century poem “Orlando Furioso” by Ludovico Ariosto, where the characters appear, features no flying horse (instead, there is a griffon) or even a mutual love story. Yet the horse with wings appears in many paintings depicting the couple such as by Johann Peter Krafft and Joseph Blanc. The last is featured for the post image. Nistana’s romantic interpretation is closer to the story of Perseus and Andromeda, which in turn inspired the creation of Roger and Angelica. The names of the later couple seems more fitting for witcher-verse; thusly the choice of them.

[dreamingrobots]

ok part two!! here we have resources on marie de france, arthuriana, chaucer, margery kempe etc. (part one here)

MARIE DE FRANCE

Marie de France https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/the-lays-and-fables-of-marie-de-france Love and Chivalry in the Middle Ages https://www.bl.uk/medieval-literature/articles/love-and-chivalry-in-the-middle-ages Courtly love http://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item107724.html More on the lais of Marie de France. https://medieval-kingfisher.commons.yale-nus.edu.sg/2021/07/30/thelaisofmariedefrance/

On Mrs B's noselessness http://www.inthemedievalmiddle.com/2012/06/got-your-nose-bisclavret-defaces-his.html On the werewolf's hybridity (among other things). This is my favorite essay ever. http://www.inthemedievalmiddle.com/2011/10/werewolfs-indifference.html On Bisclavret's "prey and plunder." http://www.inthemedievalmiddle.com/2012/06/bisclavrets-secret-diet.html Werewolves as a Metaphor for Domestic Abusers https://www.publicmedievalist.com/werewolf-abuse/ "The Lai of Bisclavret's Wife". Yes, my professor linked us to AO3. https://archiveofourown.org/works/137548?fbclid=IwAR3X8BxhTgjiG1MJ2FafGXN-1qWlSQNh4y3ZGofs7ziewgTO59GyKFkRUEA

Character analysis of Lanval http://csis.pace.edu/grendel/spring2008/daniel/lanval/lanval.htm More on Lanval. https://medieval-kingfisher.commons.yale-nus.edu.sg/2021/10/08/lanval/ Sir Launfal is a late 14th C analogue of the Lanval story by Thomas Chestre. Intro https://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams/text/laskaya-and-salisbury-middle-english-breton-lays-sir-launfal-introduction Poem https://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams/text/laskaya-and-salisbury-middle-english-breton-lays-sir-launfal

Text of Yonec,  Marie de France (translation: Judith P. Shoaf) https://people.clas.ufl.edu/jshoaf/files/yonec.pdf More on Yonec. https://medieval-kingfisher.commons.yale-nus.edu.sg/2021/10/08/yonec/ On the mal mariee. Mal-mari��e – The Medieval Kingfisher (yale-nus.edu.sg)

“Comedy gold from The Toast.” http://the-toast.net/2015/09/15/how-to-tell-if-you-are-in-a-lai-of-marie-de-france/

SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT

Character overview of Gawain from The Camelot Project https://d.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/theme/gawain British Library general intro: https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/sir-gawain-and-the-green-knight Simon Armitage's intro: https://www.bl.uk/medieval-literature/articles/sir-gawain-and-the-green-knight-an-introduction Multiple resources for SGGK http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/gawainre.htm Damian Fleming on Sir Gawain's impostor syndrome https://medievalfleming.wordpress.com/2019/03/13/sir-gawains-impostor-syndrome/?fbclid=IwAR3_ex6_oXg6N1QgY4lrBsCF9rH4OpHBtj5RiPyv8V8dbZDvzYPoKhQBVhA PDF of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in the Broadview Anthology. (starts on page 7) https://cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/blogs.cofc.edu/dist/0/550/files/2014/09/09-04-readings-1789szr.pdf

Daniel Mallory Ortberg's take on SGGK from The Toast is one of my professor’s favorite things ever: http://the-toast.net/2015/06/03/sir-gawain-and-the-green-knight/ Fascinating take on SGGK as told by Lady Bertilak https://uncannymagazine.com/article/green-knights-wife/?fbclid=IwAR2qpmeZf2KTvBOGnkeXCI4Zd-8IvRYRXpCXTIiKVKmMZlZcyunwprusWeY

CHAUCER’S CANTERBURY TALES

Chaucer's Middle English https://opencanterburytales.dsl.lsu.edu/refmideng/ Some notes on Middle English. https://www.bl.uk/medieval-literature/articles/middle-english Middle English Dictionary https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/middle-english-dictionary/dictionary The Great Vowel Shift https://chaucer.fas.harvard.edu/pages/great-vowel-shift Open Access Companion to The Canterbury Tales. https://opencanterburytales.dsl.lsu.edu/?fbclid=IwAR2ROvmqffM6t4og7ffZW7wlipYQRI5X9IFHgIgCt1GU4gkAr5TURH2grJo Harvard's Geoffrey Chaucer website. https://chaucer.fas.harvard.edu/ British Library Canterbury Tales resources. https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/the-canterbury-tales-by-geoffrey-chaucer The Chaucer Metapage filled with great resources http://chaucermetapage.org/ Luminarium http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/canterbury.htm

Medievalist.net Chaucer Resources https://www.medievalists.net/2016/01/chaucers-the-canterbury-tales-in-middle-english/ Canterbury Tales App! https://www.medievalists.net/2020/02/the-canterbury-tales-the-app/ Pilgrimage in the Middle Ages https://thebecketstory.org.uk/pilgrimage Becket's murder/martyrdom https://chaucer.fas.harvard.edu/martyrdom-thomas-%C3%A0-becket Some contextual background for the General Prologue. https://chaucer.fas.harvard.edu/pages/general-prologue Some background on the motif of spring in the medieval romance tradition https://chaucer.fas.harvard.edu/spring Hear some of the GP read aloud in Middle English here http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/gp.htm

Medieval scholars reading aloud! https://alanbaragona.wordpress.com/the-criyng-and-the-soun/ Interlinear translation https://chaucer.fas.harvard.edu/pages/general-prologue-0 E. Talbot Donaldson's classic essay, "Chaucer the Pilgrim" https://chaucer.fas.harvard.edu/e-talbot-donaldson-chaucer-pilgrim The opening section of TS Eliot's poem, The Wasteland, takes its inspiration from the GP. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47311/the-waste-land

Miller’s tale context and background https://chaucer.fas.harvard.edu/pages/millers-tale-0 General info about the tale, the fabliaux genre, poetic form, etc. http://faculty.goucher.edu/eng211/miller.htm https://chaucer.fas.harvard.edu/pages/fabliaux Some context for the ubiquitous theme of cuckoldry in medieval literature, and the term's modern co-optation by the far right. https://going-medieval.com/2018/09/07/on-cuckolding-a-thing/

The Miller's description from the GP read aloud https://alanbaragona.wordpress.com/the-criyng-and-the-soun/the-general-prologue-the-millers-portrait-alfred-david/ The Miller's Prologue read aloud https://alanbaragona.wordpress.com/the-criyng-and-the-soun/the-millers-prologue-complete/ A section of the Miller's Tale read aloud https://alanbaragona.wordpress.com/the-criyng-and-the-soun/the-millers-tale-nicholas-seduces-alisoun/

Some background on social mobility and class conflict in England after the Black Death. https://lsaw.lib.lehigh.edu/index.php/williams/article/view/144/31

Kathy Lavezzo, "Protest, Complaint, and Uprising in the Miller’s Tale" https://opencanterburytales.dsl.lsu.edu/milt1/

Prioress’s Tale context and background https://chaucer.fas.harvard.edu/pages/prioress-tale The Prioress' description from the GP read aloud https://alanbaragona.wordpress.com/the-criyng-and-the-soun/the-general-prologue-the-prioresss-portrait-ii-118-162-baragona/

Amy Kaufman, "Anti-Semitism Is Older Than You Think" https://www.publicmedievalist.com/anti-semitism-older-think/ The story of Little St Hugh of Lincoln https://jewinthepew.org/2015/08/27/27-august-1255-jews-accused-of-ritual-murder-of-little-saint-hugh-of-lincoln/ Emily Steiner, “The Prioress’s Tale: Relating to the Past, Imagining the Past, Using the Past” https://opencanterburytales.dsl.lsu.edu/prt1/

Wife of Bath context and background https://chaucer.fas.harvard.edu/pages/tale Interlinear translation https://chaucer.fas.harvard.edu/pages/wife-baths-prologue-and-tale-0 The WoB's Tale, lines 1073-1174, read aloud https://alanbaragona.wordpress.com/the-criyng-and-the-soun/wife-of-baths-tale-ll-1073-1124-the-wedding-night/

Carissa M. Harris, “Rape and Justice in the Wife of Bath’s Tale” https://opencanterburytales.dsl.lsu.edu/wobt1/  Irina Dumitrescu & Mary Wellesley discuss the WoB on their podcast, Close Encounters with Medieval Women. https://www.lrb.co.uk/podcasts-and-videos/podcasts/close-readings/encounters-with-medieval-women-storyteller

THE WEDDING OF SIR GAWAIN AND DAME RAGNELLE

The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell Introduction https://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams/text/hahn-sir-gawain-wedding-of-sir-gawain-and-dame-ragnelle-introduction Text https://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams/text/hahn-sir-gawain-wedding-of-sir-gawain-and-dame-ragnelle

Character overview of The Loathly Lady from The Camelot Project The Loathly Lady | Robbins Library Digital Projects (rochester.edu) The Toast again. http://the-toast.net/2016/05/26/the-wedding-of-sir-gawain-and-dame-ragnell/

MARGERY KEMPE

Lynn Staley, Introduction to The Book of Margery Kempe: A New Translation, Contexts, Criticism  https://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams/text/staley-book-of-margery-kempe-introduction Mary Wellesley, "Women's Voices in the Medieval Period" https://www.bl.uk/medieval-literature/articles/womens-voices-in-the-medieval-period

Background on Margery

https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/the-book-of-margery-kempe Images from The Book of Margery Kempe https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/early-printed-extracts-of-margery-kempes-book

"Archive find shows medieval mystic Margery Kempe's autobiography 'doesn't lie'" https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/08/archive-find-shows-medieval-mystic-margery-kempes-autobiography-doesnt-lie Possible 15th C recipe meant to cure Margery's fits? https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/feb/28/recipe-found-in-medieval-mystics-writings-was-probably-for-drugges-margery-kempe  Excellent post about reading the Book as a constructed text. https://quodshe.blogspot.com/2006/04/calling-margery-kempe-crazy-and-why-it.html?fbclid=IwAR3qZP90X6cf79jmFw4V7DOE0VNJcuiwUl186mQ-avBjaiDBlpNw4ST7L5M

Irina Dumitrescu & Mary Wellesley discuss Margery Kempe on their podcast, Close Encounters with Medieval Women. https://www.lrb.co.uk/podcasts-and-videos/podcasts/close-readings/encounters-with-medieval-women-firebrand

MALORY AND LE MORTE D'ARTHUR

British Library Malory resources http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/englit/malory/ Legends of King Arthur https://www.bl.uk/medieval-literature/articles/the-legends-of-king-arthur Love & chivalry

[knightfighttourney]

Bracket D, Week 1