2. Using Hollywood to teach Medieval Lit. Many remakes of Medieval epics are far afield of either the plots or the themes in the literature they portray. Be wary. Though these remakes are inaccurate in many realms , many do indeed contain useful tools to the teaching of Medieval lit.
3. Modern retellings of Arthur’s Myth: Useful or Useless? Boorman’sExcaliber Highlights the style of language common Useful for discussing arms and armor of the medieval period
4. Arthurian Films cont. The more recent addition to the Arthur saga King Arthur centers on the possibility that he may have been a Roman soldier. This film can create an avenue into discussing historical context of the Arthur saga.
5. Historical Connections to Medieval Literature Many of the texts spanning the years of the Medieval ages have traceable roots in the real. Using historical evidence and archeology one can ground these tales that are quite often laden with the fantastic.
6. The Crusades and Arthur The portion of the Arthurian sagas that deal with the search for the Holy Grail can be related to the first crusade in the 11th cen. Recovering holy artifacts for European Empires was of great concern to the ruling powers of the time.
7. Beowulf And Sutton Hoo With the plethora of artifacts discovered at the Sutton Hoo burial site in England, it is now easy to show students a visual representation of the types of armor and other garb worn by inhabitants of Beowulf’s saga. One can also show students actual represntations of the burial rites of the early, Pagan people of Northern Europe and England.
10. Sources and Experts Historical relationship ideas courtesy of Kathryn Ingram-Wilson, Instructor of British Literature Washtenaw Community College. Ideas of integrating films into the discussion came from Dr. Christine Neufeld Editor of The Once and Future Classroom. http://www.teamsmedieval.org/ofc/index.html
