Arthurian Animals

Sponsoring Organization(s)

International Arthurian Society, North American Branch (IAS/NAB)

Organizer Name

Melissa Ridley Elmes

Organizer Affiliation

Lindenwood Univ.

Presider Name

Melissa Ridley Elmes

Paper Title 1

Medieval Monster Cats: Cultural Attitudes and Animal Ethics in King Arthur's Battle with Chapalu or the Devil Cat of Lausanne

Presenter 1 Name

Ann Martinez

Presenter 1 Affiliation

Kent State Univ.-Stark

Paper Title 2

The Role of the Lion in the Middle English Ywain and Gawain

Presenter 2 Name

Christopher Jensen

Presenter 2 Affiliation

Florida State Univ.

Paper Title 3

"As Egir as Any Lyoun": Warrior Horses and Savage Knights in Lybeaus Desconus

Presenter 3 Name

Caitlin G. Watt

Presenter 3 Affiliation

Clemson Univ.

Paper Title 4

Horse Depictions in the Tristano Corsiniano

Presenter 4 Name

Gloria Allaire

Presenter 4 Affiliation

Univ. of Kentucky

Start Date

10-5-2019 3:30 PM

Session Location

Fetzer 1010

Description

Arthurian Animals - Session of papers

This proposed session provides a forum for scholars to consider the presence, narrative function, and critical significance of animals within the entirety of the Arthurian oeuvre, in order to bring Arthurian literary studies into conversation with animal studies generally, and animal studies in medieval literature and culture more explicitly. We intend this session to serve as the beginning of a continued scholarly discussion of the place of animals within the Arthurian realm. Questions that may be considered in this session: what animals are and are not present in these texts, and to what extent can that presence (or lack thereof) be explained by genre, geography, cultural transmission, adaptation, or by other means? Which animals interact with humans, and in what ways? Are there moments in which animals interact with one another, rather than with humans, and if so how does this shift attention from the human to the natural world? Are there unexpected or, perhaps, unintended narrative functions for animals in these texts? What medieval theories of the natural world might be profitably applied to the examination of animals in Arthurian texts? Is there an essential distinction between mythic and real animals in Arthurian texts? Is there any sort of a discernible ethics involved in human interactions with animals? Is there value in examining Arthurian tales through an animal studies critical lens? - Melissa Ridley Elmes

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May 10th, 3:30 PM

Arthurian Animals

Fetzer 1010

Arthurian Animals - Session of papers

This proposed session provides a forum for scholars to consider the presence, narrative function, and critical significance of animals within the entirety of the Arthurian oeuvre, in order to bring Arthurian literary studies into conversation with animal studies generally, and animal studies in medieval literature and culture more explicitly. We intend this session to serve as the beginning of a continued scholarly discussion of the place of animals within the Arthurian realm. Questions that may be considered in this session: what animals are and are not present in these texts, and to what extent can that presence (or lack thereof) be explained by genre, geography, cultural transmission, adaptation, or by other means? Which animals interact with humans, and in what ways? Are there moments in which animals interact with one another, rather than with humans, and if so how does this shift attention from the human to the natural world? Are there unexpected or, perhaps, unintended narrative functions for animals in these texts? What medieval theories of the natural world might be profitably applied to the examination of animals in Arthurian texts? Is there an essential distinction between mythic and real animals in Arthurian texts? Is there any sort of a discernible ethics involved in human interactions with animals? Is there value in examining Arthurian tales through an animal studies critical lens? - Melissa Ridley Elmes