Themes

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english_literature/dramamacbeth/macbeththemesact.shtml

Character

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english_literature/dramamacbeth/macbethcharact.shtml

Plot Summary

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english_literature/dramamacbeth/macbethplotact.shtml

Henry VIII and his six wives

Welcome back!
We can enjoy this video taken from youtube on King Henry's six wives. If you have problems viewing it right here on our blog click this site: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EGzHsye71c

King Arthur: Camelot - The Round Table - Lady Guinevere

Camelot

It was Geoffrey of Monmouth's writing (1133) that set writers weaving new versions of the legend right across Europe. Monmouth is just twenty miles from Caerleon, and as a historian he must have been impressed by the splendid Roman remains which we know existed then. In his work Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain) he described how Arthur held court at Caerleon. This, he told us, was attended by many leaders from Britain and areas of Europe under his control. He called this place 'City Of The Legion', but then went on to make it very clear to the reader that he was writing about Caerleon.

So in Geoffrey's account Caerleon was an important location even before Arthur (it had an archbishop who crowned the king), it was a splendid place and it was where Arthur held a very important court. Geoffrey does not make any mention of Camelot.

The place name 'Camelot' does not occur in early versions of the story of Arthur. However, Geoffrey of Monmouth (1133AD) tells how Arthur held court at 'The City Of The Legions' and leaves us in little doubt that this was Caerleon. Certainly Caerleon would have been a most impressive location for Arthur to hold court for important rulers, with its splendid roman remains. Equally, we can be sure that only a professional army could defend the Roman fortress ruins. If Caerleon was more than just a meeting place for Arthur we must look to the surrounding hill tops for the location of his 'castle'.  Sure enough such a site exists less than a mile North of the village.

 

Caxton, in his preface to one of the first printed books (Le Morte d'Arthur), refers to Camelot being in Wales and describes the ruins of a city which sounds very much like Caerleon, "in Camelot, the great stones and the marvellous works of iron lying underground, and the royal vaults which many now living have seen." The author of this book (Sir Thomas Malory, 1485) however locates Camelot at Winchester, though he makes many references to Caerleon, including stating that this is where Arthur's coronation took place.

Many sites around the country have been linked with Camelot. Maybe we're not unbiased, but we place Caerleon as number one contender.

You may click here for the complete link:  http://www.caerleon.net/history/arthur/page13.htm

The Round Table

For centuries the site of the Roman amphitheatre in Caerleon was known as 'King Arthur's Round Table'.

Back in the 1587 Thomas Churchyard wrote of Caerleon:

In Arthur's tyme, a table round,
Was whereat he sate:
As yet a plot of goodly ground,
Sets forth that rare estate...

It would surely have been an excellent place for a leader to address his followers.

Our theory is that somewhere in time the meaning shifted from 'a round meeting place' to a 'round table'.

Compare these two images of the Round Table:

  Click here for some more info: http://www.sokj.com/EN/history_e.htm 

Lady Guinevere

Guinevere was the legendary queen consort of King Arthur. In tales and folklore, she was said to have had a love affair with Arthur's chief knight Sir Lancelot. Guinevere's and Lancelot's alleged betrayal of Arthur was often considered as having led to the downfall of the kingdom.

                                                         

Lancelot flees for his life while Arthur reluctantly sentences his queen to burn at the stake. Knowing Lancelot will try to stop the execution, Arthur sends many of his knights to defend the pyre. Lancelot arrives and rescues the queen. When Arthur goes to France to fight Lancelot, he leaves Guinevere in the care of Mordred, who plots to marry the queen himself and take Arthur's throne. In some versions Guinevere assents to Mordred's proposal, but in others, she hides in the Tower of London and then takes refuge in a convent. Hearing of the treachery, Arthur returns to Britain and slays Mordred, but his own wounds are so severe that he is taken to the isle of Avalon. Guinevere meets Lancelot one last time, then returns to the convent where she spends the remainder of her life.

Arthur's Tomb - The Last Meeting of Lancelot and Guinevere by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

    



William Wallace, his Freedom Speech for the Sons of Scotland

Hi class!
Sir William Wallace was a Scottish knight and landowner who became one of the main leaders during the Wars of Scottish Independence.
Wallace defeated an English army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297, and was Guardian of Scotland, serving until his defeat at the Battle of Falkirk. In 1305, Wallace was captured and handed over to King Edward I of England, who had him hanged, drawn, and quartered for high treason.
Since his death, Wallace has obtained an iconic status far beyond his homeland.

Here is the speech William Wallace gave to his people before the Battle of Stirling (1297), taken from Youtube. With this speech Wallace would encourage them to fight for their freedom, thus the freedom of Scotland. (Scene from the epic film 'Braveheart' starred and directed by Mel Gibson)

Robin Hood, fact or legend?

Robin Hood was an outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is now known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". The origin of the legend is claimed by some to have derived from real outlaws, or from ballads or tales of outlaws.

Robin Hood became a popular folk figure starting in the medieval period continuing through modern literature, films, and television.

In popular culture Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men are usually portrayed as living in Sherwood Forest, in Nottinghamshire, where much of the action in the early ballads takes place.

In popular culture Robin Hood is typically seen as a contemporary and supporter of the late 12th-century king Richard the Lionheart, Robin being driven to outlawry during the misrule of Richard's brother John while Richard was away at the Third Crusade.

The early ballads link Robin Hood to identifiable real places and many are convinced that he was a real person, more or less accurately portrayed. A number of theories as to the identity of "the real Robin Hood" have their supporters. Some of these theories posit that "Robin Hood" or "Robert Hood" or the like was his actual name; others suggest that this may have been merely a nickname disguising a medieval bandit perhaps known to history under another name.

 

Robin Hood statue in Nottingham      "Robin shoots with Sir Guy" by Louis Rhead

                      



"Little John and Robin Hood" by Frank Godwin          

Robin Hood and Lady Marian