Malory Aloud: The Tale of Balyn and Balan (A Readers' Theater Performance)
Sponsoring Organization(s)
Special Session
Organizer Name
Alison Harper
Organizer Affiliation
Univ. of Rochester
Presider Name
Steffi Delcourt
Presider Affiliation
Univ. of Rochester
Paper Title 1
Performers
Presenter 1 Name
Carolyn F. Scott; Kimberly Jack; Bernard Lewis
Presenter 1 Affiliation
National Cheng Kung Univ.; Athens State Univ.; Murray State Univ.
Paper Title 2
Performers
Presenter 2 Name
Derek Shank; Rebecca Fox Blok; Rosalind E. Clark
Presenter 2 Affiliation
Research Group on Manuscript Evidence; Medieval Institute, Western Michigan Univ.; Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame
Paper Title 3
Performers
Presenter 3 Name
Steven Rozenski Jr.; Kathryn Wilmotte; Martin Laidlaw
Presenter 3 Affiliation
Univ. of Rochester; Western Michigan Univ.; Univ. of Dundee
Paper Title 4
Performers
Presenter 4 Name
Edward Mead Bowen; Alison Harper
Presenter 4 Affiliation
Univ. of Rochester; Univ. of Rochester
Paper Title 5
Performer
Presenter 5 Name
Pamela M. Yee
Presenter 5 Affiliation
Univ. of Rochester
Start Date
10-5-2019 7:30 PM
Session Location
Valley 3 Stinson Lounge
Description
Sessions of "Performing Malory" have occurred at the Congress since 2000, and they attempt to recreate the medieval experience of Malory's Morte Darthur by reading selections from a particular part of the text aloud in Malorian dialect. The text was typically read aloud, and the experience of Malory's text in this way makes available elements of humor, theme, and even characterization not immediately apparent in a silent reading. This year, we would like to turn our attention to the Tale of Balyn and Balan. We will follow Balyn in particular as he struggles to balance his commitments to his family and his brother Balan while operating inside the realm of King Arthur’s court. The contrasting codes of ethics and behavior created by these commitments provide structure for the knight’s actions; however, at the same time they lock him into a rigid response that inevitably ends in combat and death. By dramatizing how Balyn’s loyalties to his family and to the knights’ fellowship come into conflict, we will think more about how these themes are ever present throughout the Morte Darthur and foreshadow tragic events at the end of the Morte Darthur.
Alison Harper
Malory Aloud: The Tale of Balyn and Balan (A Readers' Theater Performance)
Valley 3 Stinson Lounge
Sessions of "Performing Malory" have occurred at the Congress since 2000, and they attempt to recreate the medieval experience of Malory's Morte Darthur by reading selections from a particular part of the text aloud in Malorian dialect. The text was typically read aloud, and the experience of Malory's text in this way makes available elements of humor, theme, and even characterization not immediately apparent in a silent reading. This year, we would like to turn our attention to the Tale of Balyn and Balan. We will follow Balyn in particular as he struggles to balance his commitments to his family and his brother Balan while operating inside the realm of King Arthur’s court. The contrasting codes of ethics and behavior created by these commitments provide structure for the knight’s actions; however, at the same time they lock him into a rigid response that inevitably ends in combat and death. By dramatizing how Balyn’s loyalties to his family and to the knights’ fellowship come into conflict, we will think more about how these themes are ever present throughout the Morte Darthur and foreshadow tragic events at the end of the Morte Darthur.
Alison Harper