Discussion on the _Song of Roland_ and the Lancelot story for Paper 3

Join us on this discussion board to ask questions about the assignment and to offer ideas on how you might organize and write your paper.  Our online class does not meet in a classroom, and this discussion board takes the place of a class in a real classroom where we discuss the assignment.  I am glad to help you with your work, but you need to ask questions if you want that help.  This discussion board is the place to start.  

Like always, give yourself enough time to read these materials at least a couple of times.  You’ll probably find these stories a little easier than the early Islamic literature that we read for Paper 2, but you will still have an easier time writing your paper if you read each story more than once. 

One way to approach your paper is to write a list of masculine and feminine traits you see in each story as you read through them.  Then write your paper around those characteristics. 

Remember to introduce your paper as if you were speaking to (or writing for) someone not in this class, for someone who does not see the materials you have and to whom you must give at least a bit of introduction on these writings so that person will understand what you’re talking about.

You might enjoy, too, a clip from the 1981 film Excalibur that I’m attaching here from youtube: 

https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=AwrC5pnXJ3tcMhQA3Ho0nIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTBncGdyMzQ0BHNlYwNzZWFyY2gEdnRpZAM-;_ylc=X1MDMTM1MTE5NTcwMARfcgMyBGFjdG4DY2xrBGJjawNkcHY0OHZwZHYzcW8wJTI2YiUzRDMlMjZzJTNEZDQEY3NyY3B2aWQDRi5pNVhERXdMakhjX0lqLldfSHJBQW1MTVRBMExnQUFBQUEwcmdWYwRmcgN5aHMtTGtyeS1TRjAxBGZyMgNzYS1ncARncHJpZAM5NVZIOUxoc1NfTzNPdWdYVldtU25BBG10ZXN0aWQDbnVsbARuX3JzbHQDNjAEbl9zdWdnAzEEb3JpZ2luA3ZpZGVvLnNlYXJjaC55YWhvby5jb20EcG9zAzEEcHFzdHIDZXhjYWxpYnVyIG1vdmllIGxhbmNlbARwcXN0cmwDMjIEcXN0cmwDMzgEcXVlcnkDZXhjYWxpYnVyIG1vdmllIGxhbmNlbG90IGFuZCBndWluZXZlcmUEdF9zdG1wAzE1NTE1NzUwNDgEdnRlc3RpZANudWxs?gprid=95VH9LhsS_O3OugXVWmSnA&pvid=F.i5XDEwLjHc_Ij.W_HrAAmLMTA0LgAAAAA0rgVc&p=excalibur+movie+lancelot+and+guinevere&ei=UTF-8&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av%2Cm%3Asa&fr=yhs-Lkry-SF01&hsimp=yhs-SF01&hspart=Lkry#id=7&vid=38a82d68d163732d6532c68961599b2e&action=view (Links to an external site.)

The clip shows the relationship between Lancelot and Guinevere, who was the queen and the wife of King Arthur, to whom Lancelot had sworn his loyalty.  I think the director intended this part to be funny–you can laugh!  You’ll probably recognize the actors Patrick Stewart and Helen Mirren. 

Give me your ideas on what you find in Roland and Lancelot.