tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21165575.post4609395845415042598..comments2024-03-10T20:46:19.274-04:00Comments on In the Middle: Flash Review: King ArtusCord J. Whitakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06224143153295429986noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21165575.post-49488072691249711642009-12-01T09:47:05.014-05:002009-12-01T09:47:05.014-05:00Will do, Matt. Right now, I have at least one stud...Will do, Matt. Right now, I have at least one student writing a final paper on it, in this case, thinking about the opening apology in light of Rabbinic commentary on another piece of secular Hebrew literature, namely, The Book of Esther (which famously makes no reference to God). [another of my students who knows Rabbinic Lit is writing on Bisclavret in light of commentary on Nazirites, e.g., Samson: also exciting!]Karl Steelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03353370018006849747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21165575.post-71717722162443558792009-12-01T09:25:18.039-05:002009-12-01T09:25:18.039-05:00Thank YOU, Karl, for the post highlighting this te...Thank YOU, Karl, for the post highlighting this text, one that's intrigued me for a while. (also the link to the plant table was delightful) I'm very interested in what your students will make of it, particularly the strange preface which provides some clues, I think, as to what this "translation" enterprise is about. Please let us know how this turns out.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17267907649652160741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21165575.post-29714196835767320082009-11-30T13:47:12.741-05:002009-11-30T13:47:12.741-05:00Matt, THANKS! That's exactly the kind of infor...Matt, THANKS! That's exactly the kind of information I wanted.Karl Steelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03353370018006849747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21165575.post-58077216792862263792009-11-30T13:33:47.175-05:002009-11-30T13:33:47.175-05:00I agree with Karl on the pumpkins. Leviant’s &quo...I agree with Karl on the pumpkins. Leviant’s "...and [Lancelot] cut throats of horses like pumpkins" might have been better rendered: "and he lopped off horseheads like so many gourds" or something along those lines. The Hebrew word in the text--dilu'im--was used generically in the Rabbinic texts (with which the 13th century author is clearly familiar) to mean "gourds" (though, the noun is feminine, so the correct Hebrew plural would be dilu'ot, whoops). In this case, Leviant's "pumpkins" are a carryover from Moses Gaster's 1909 translation--not a mistake, but definitely off key as Karl notes. <br /><br />[For what it’s worth, Gaster notes the difficulty with the simile, writing “necks (heads)”]Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17267907649652160741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21165575.post-51758742335477864382009-11-28T17:12:42.714-05:002009-11-28T17:12:42.714-05:00Since I don't know the text I'd be startin...<i>Since I don't know the text I'd be starting from scratch. How much prep did you have to do before you felt comfortable talking about King Artus in front of a class?</i><br />It's been a long time since you were a junior professor! I just dive in* and figure I'll get it right a couple years down the line. <br /><br />You could do a week on this if you loaded them down with decent secondary material on the Arthur legend or medieval Jewishness: it's so short it's barely enough reading, on its own, for a single class. On the other hand, it's so expensive (again $25) that it's hard to justify doing as part of another class. I'm sure you can figure a way out of this dilemma. <br /><br />* by which I mean I read 2-6 articles, and spend another couple hours putting together 3 pages of notes for discussion. I'm emailing you my notes as soon I hit 'publish' on this comment.Karl Steelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03353370018006849747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21165575.post-19919049053009136212009-11-28T13:26:16.891-05:002009-11-28T13:26:16.891-05:00Wow, you are so right Karl: thanks for providing t...Wow, you are so right Karl: thanks for providing that reasoning! I will have to think about whether to teach the whole thing over a week or do a small selection at the end of a Chrétien class as a way of opening up Arthurian futures. <br /><br />Since I don't know the text I'd be starting from scratch. How much prep did you have to do before you felt comfortable talking about King Artus in front of a class?Jeffrey Cohenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17346504393740520542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21165575.post-85688125910087317032009-11-28T10:03:14.265-05:002009-11-28T10:03:14.265-05:00Leviant: oops.Leviant: oops.Karl Steelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03353370018006849747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21165575.post-27681623875683038432009-11-28T09:50:25.775-05:002009-11-28T09:50:25.775-05:00JJC, I did include it in fact in this semester'...JJC, I did include it in fact in this semester's 'Medieval British Cultures' Comp Lit course. Justification? Most Jewish writing from Britain hasn't survived, so this is what I can offer as a possibility of what it might have looked like. For that purpose, it actually helps that it's fragmentary. <br /><br />As for your course, well, it has a better claim: the Arthur story IS a myth of Britain (and, per Leviatt, also an outgrowth of the David legend), isn't it? Just put it on the syllabus! You won't be sorry.<br /><br />(although next time I'll add Meir of Norwich: totally overlooked him! thanks for the reminder)<br /><br />I'm also teaching, in week or so, the Middle English Disputation between a Christian and Jew, which I've mentioned here frequently: it's the one in which a Jew leads a Christian to an underground otherworld where to show the Xian the round table, Arthur and his knights, and a crucifixion tableau, all of which the Xian disperses by brandishing the Host, at which point, they clamber out of the dark cave and the Jew converts. The ME is at once dull and opaque, but I'm translating it (poorly?) for the students.Karl Steelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03353370018006849747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21165575.post-44992591941547288292009-11-28T08:41:31.504-05:002009-11-28T08:41:31.504-05:00Fascinating, especially the medieval translator...Fascinating, especially the medieval translator's prefatory words: to think that Arthurian myths might be rendered into Hebrew to prevent madness and despair. This is great stuff. <br /><br />I wish there were a way to connect the work to Britain so that I could include it in my undergraduate "Myths of Britain" course. The best I can do so far for bringing in Hebrew literature is some of the work of Meir of Norwich.<br /><br />Thanks for posting this Karl.Jeffrey Cohenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17346504393740520542noreply@blogger.com