Ah, Eve Sedgwick! I gave up on trying to read her because I could never quite make out what she was trying to say :P. She's the most incomprehensible academic I've ever come across - even worse than Judith Butler!
...Um, where were we?
Oh yes. Lancelot/Arthur = a pretty popular pairing. Even Marion Bradley does it! Me, I have trouble imagining why on earth Arthur and Lancelot are friends. I just can't figure Lancelot out. I probably need to do some extra reading for inspiration. That said, there is something very pleasing about the male/male friendships in Arthurian romances (BBC Merlin didn't come out of nowhere!). Lots of bromance, with men weeping copious tears when they lose a comrade-in-arms. They aren't nearly as bothered when a woman's head gets lopped off...
re: knight/lover vs king/husband, I think it's logical that the king isn't the hero of the story - he isn't the sort of person you want to take risks, as his removal would bring chaos. One of the things I like about Arthur, though, is that his younger self had a few adventures of his own which never ended very well. (I look forward to writing those!) One of his last feats was probably the one where he ended up having to marry off Gawain to a loathly lady :). After that, he took to full-time kingship :P. I'd never heard the theory about the king being despised on a personal level...? As for Arthur, he's not to be envied when it comes to his heirs. If he has sons, they rebel against him, and in most version he doesn't have a legitimate heir.
Now that you mention the knights not having heirs, I've been trying to think off the top of my head which knights are mentioned as having children. There's Gawain, but he doesn't really fit the courtly love pattern since he isn't one lady's knight. There's Pellinore, but he's a king in his own right. There's Lancelot, but his son is only conceived because Lancelot thinks he's actually sleeping with the Queen. Apart from those, I can't really think of many...
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winterfish
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Date: Tuesday, 29 May 2012 08:34 pm (UTC)...Um, where were we?
Oh yes. Lancelot/Arthur = a pretty popular pairing. Even Marion Bradley does it! Me, I have trouble imagining why on earth Arthur and Lancelot are friends. I just can't figure Lancelot out. I probably need to do some extra reading for inspiration. That said, there is something very pleasing about the male/male friendships in Arthurian romances (BBC Merlin didn't come out of nowhere!). Lots of bromance, with men weeping copious tears when they lose a comrade-in-arms. They aren't nearly as bothered when a woman's head gets lopped off...
re: knight/lover vs king/husband, I think it's logical that the king isn't the hero of the story - he isn't the sort of person you want to take risks, as his removal would bring chaos. One of the things I like about Arthur, though, is that his younger self had a few adventures of his own which never ended very well. (I look forward to writing those!) One of his last feats was probably the one where he ended up having to marry off Gawain to a loathly lady :). After that, he took to full-time kingship :P. I'd never heard the theory about the king being despised on a personal level...? As for Arthur, he's not to be envied when it comes to his heirs. If he has sons, they rebel against him, and in most version he doesn't have a legitimate heir.
Now that you mention the knights not having heirs, I've been trying to think off the top of my head which knights are mentioned as having children. There's Gawain, but he doesn't really fit the courtly love pattern since he isn't one lady's knight. There's Pellinore, but he's a king in his own right. There's Lancelot, but his son is only conceived because Lancelot thinks he's actually sleeping with the Queen. Apart from those, I can't really think of many...