Article
Review of Arthurian Literature XXXIII by Renate Bauer
Anglia
(2018)
Abstract
The political context for Christopher Berard’s contribution, “Edward III’s Abandoned Order of the Round Table Revisited: Political Arthurianism after Poitiers” (70–109), is an exciting one, dealing with Edward III’s capturing of the King of France and his obvious dilemma as to how he could “negotiate a peace treaty with (and demand a kingly ransom for) Jean II without undermining his claim to the throne of France” (70). The solution to the dilemma was to fashion himself after King Arthur and establish the Order of the Garter in an Arthurian style.
Berard quotes skilfully from the 14th-century sources and elegantly reveals the superficial and deceitful politeness that the two kings showed towards each other. His style is appealing and his version of the 1358 events is the stuff of a political thriller. In the second thematic part (92–108), he reads his sources with the conviction in mind that “Edward III presided over a singular, albeit extremely memorable, Arthurian revival in 1358, and this gave rise to the conflation of the Order of the Round Table and the Order of the Garter” (93). In this vein, he convincingly proves that the latter was mythologised in an Arthurian fashion in the time between the late 1350s and the 1360s (109)
Disciplines
Publication Date
June 13, 2018
DOI
10.1515
Citation Information
Renate Bauer. "Review of Arthurian Literature XXXIII by Renate Bauer" Anglia Vol. 136 Iss. 2 (2018) p. 336 - 339 ISSN: 0340-5222 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/christopher-berard/25/