The Culture of Knighthood in Medieval Romance

By: Larissa (Kat) Tracy, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Larissa Tracy

See the word knight and you’ll likely think of gallant men facing off on the field of battle, or rescuing fair maidens from danger, or jousting at tournaments. Since the early 19th century, poets, authors, painters, and playwrights have cultivated such images of medieval knighthood—images that continue to capture our imagination to this day.

But just how true to medieval history are these images? What do they tell us about how life was lived in the Middle Ages? What does our obsession with them tell us about who we are today?

In The Culture of Knighthood and Medieval Romance, join scholar of medieval literature Larissa Tracy for a fascinating dive into the deeper context of narratives about knights and their world. Her Audible Original takes you through the evolution of knighthood and courtly literature, dispelling prevalent myths about chivalry and romance with an eye to revealing just how textured and complex these ideas actually were. Blending historical scholarship and literary analysis, these lectures offer new ways to think about myths and legends, medieval manuscripts, epic tales, and even contemporary films.

This is an up-close-and-personal look at knights in shining armor and beautiful ladies—as they really were.

©2023 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2023 Audible Originals, LLC

Unique and interesting.

This is an interesting connection between various portrayals of knighthood. Thank you for connecting the dots!

An Interesting Look at the Idea of Chivalry

Tracy is interested in determining how the code of chivalry, which has become very important to modern understandings of knighthood, developed. To get there she starts with a survey of medieval soldiers and other warmakers up to the appearance of the knight, showing what they valued and how they differed from the mounted warriors which she argues really came into their own in the Central Middle Ages, in a large part due to the crusades. She then steps into the courtly love poetry sponsored by the court of Eleanor of Aquitaine before moving on to the ever changing romances of King Arthur which eventually created the foundations for what later generations imagined to be an age of chivalry. It's an interesting book and a very quick read.

Really well done

The professor is obviously an incredibly knowledgeable person on this topic and manages to present it well to the non-historian or amateur historian. She goes into the historical context and gives specific literary examples that really prove her points and are not so obscure that a lay person can’t understand the references. I wish she would do more!

Repeat

I found this interesting. It exemplifies how we keep repeating ourselves. For example, we’ve romanticized cowboys in a similar fashion. Society craves heroes.

Worth 2hr

This audiobook is very informative and matter-of-fact course presenting much evidence for and criticism of knights and chivalry as represented in myth, literature, and history.

Okay

It would be nice to have a PDF that lists at least all the books mentioned.

It was okay.

Iit was hard in an audio format to keep track of all the authors, dates and characters the work contained. Cramming that much info into such a short audiobook isn’t necessarily a good thing.

Fascinating overview

A fascinating introduction to the subject of chivalric literature, its formation, its influences, its uses and misuses, its deconstruction and reconstruction, and its endurance.

Very informative

I really enjoyed the content of this lecture series. I would have been interested to get the presenter’s take on the historicity of the films “The Last Duel” and “Kingdom of Heaven” - both directed by Ridley Scott - regarding knightly or chivalric conduct. Definitely worth listening to if you get the chance.

Not the typical lecture

This was well done for someone who may not know much about the culture or stories of knighthood. I liked the performance. The speakers voice was easy to listen too. This didn’t sound like a lecture.