Medieval Studies Commons^™

Why Did Medieval Chroniclers Copy Other Histories?, Christopher Berard

Humanities Program Faculty Publications

Medieval chroniclers sometimes borrowed entire passages from earlier works, adapting old words to describe new people and events. Christopher Berard examines this understudied practice and shows how such borrowing could be more than a shortcut, allowing writers to draw meaningful connections between the past and their own times.

The Fall Of King Arthur Of Britain In Giovanni Boccaccio’S On The Downfall Of The Famous, Christopher Berard, Morris Tichenor

Humanities Program Faculty Publications

Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–75), born in Certaldo, Tuscany, is one of the tre corone (Three Crowns) of Italian Literature. He shares this distinction with Dante Alighieri (1265–1321), about whose life and literary works he wrote treatises and delivered lectures, and Francesco Petrarch (1304–74), with whom he formed a lasting friendship (beginning in 1350). All three wrote widely acclaimed literature in the Florentine-Tuscan dialect of Italian, enabling it to become the basis for standard Italian. In addition to elevating the Italian vernacular as a literary language, they prioritized Classical Studies and were forerunners of the Italian humanist movement (c.1400–1600). Today, Boccaccio is …

King Arthur And The Sword In The Stone: A Medieval Latin Account, Christopher Berard, Morris Tichenor

Humanities Program Faculty Publications

How did King Arthur draw the sword from the stone and claim the throne of Britain? Here we present a translation of a medieval Latin account recounting this famous episode, along with Arthur’s victories, conquests and final battle.

The Holy Grail Of Arthurian Manuscripts Is For Auction At Christie’S, Christopher Berard

Humanities Program Faculty Publications

One of the most important surviving manuscripts of Arthurian literature is set to go under the hammer at Christie’s this July, carrying an estimated value of up to £2 million. Christopher Berard explores the medieval romances that gave shape to the stories of King Arthur, Lancelot, Merlin, and the Holy Grail.

https://www.medievalists.net/2026/06/holy-grail-of-arthurian-manuscripts/

Sir Ywain, Knight Of The Lion, Connor J. Jones

Arthurian Hero Character Design Project

Yvain, the noble and chivalric “Knight of the Round Table,” exemplifies many knightly qualities throughout his life in combat. However, his greatest conflict is not in battle, but within himself as he struggles between his marital obligation and personal pursuit of chivalric responsibility as a member of Arthur’s court. As he matures and grows as a noble knight, his devotion shifts toward aiding the helpless and combating evil. This growth, beginning with his withdrawal from society, reflects his emergence as an honorable knight and is evident in his exceptional Strength, Wisdom, and Charisma. His unique feats and spells, such as …

Sir Yvain, Knight Of The Lion, Paul J. Schwartz

Arthurian Hero Character Design Project

Sir Yvain is one of King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table. He appeared in quite a few stories associated with the Matter of Britain, although almost never as a major character. He was typically portrayed as a loyal supporter and knight of his king. He was also one of the few Arthurian characters seemingly based on a real individual, Owain, a Brythonic king of Rheged; he was engaged in warfare against the Picts, and maybe the early Anglo-Saxon migrations in the late 6th century.1 By examining his martial abilities, his bond with his lion companion, his noble origins, and …

Merlin, Wizard Of Dyfed, Dermot J. Drew

Arthurian Hero Character Design Project

Merlin is a legendary figure of the Arthurian era and appears across numerous medieval texts. The Life of Merlin describes him as having “lived his life under many kings” and enjoyed the fame as he predicted the future for rulers.[1] Through the use of the Dungeon and Dragons Player’s Handbook and medieval texts, I have created Merlin with an identity as a Human Wizard, sage background, profound intelligence and wisdom, powerful abilities, and a neutral good alignment.

[1] 'The Life of Merlin', trans. Neil Wright, in Richard Barber (ed), Myths and Legends of the British Isles (Woodbridge, 1999), pp. …

Arthurian Mock Epistolary, Connor P. Underwood

Arthurian Epistolary Project (HUM 270-001)

King Arthur’s Proclamation to the Britons Concerning “King” Rion

Arthurian Mock Epistolary, Claire Haupt

Arthurian Epistolary Project (HUM 270-001)

King Arthur Pardons Sir Lancelot

Arthurian Mock Epistolary, Alexander J. Lamoureux

Arthurian Epistolary Project (HUM 270-001)

King Uther’s Last Letter to Prince Arthur

Professor Christopher Berard And The Knights Of The Seminar Table, Michael Hagan

Arthurian Epistolary Project (HUM 270-001)

From https://news.providence.edu/king-arthur-course/

A new course offered by Christopher Berard, Ph.D. ’07, adjunct professor of humanities, introduced students to selections in translation from the massive Lancelot-Grail Cycle of Old French prose Arthurian romances (c. 1210–30), the most comprehensive and canonical version of the Arthurian legend ever written.

The 1.5-credit course, King Arthur: Monarch of the Medieval Imagination, culminated in a creative writing project in which students composed a mock letter according to the formal conventions of medieval epistolary documents such as public acts and private letters. Each student assumed the persona of one Arthurian character, addressed the document to another …

Arthurian Mock Epistolary, Alexander J. Lamoureux

Arthurian Epistolary Project (HUM 270-001)

King Arthur’s Letter to King Rion

King Arthur’S Charter: A Thirteenth-Century French Satire Against Bretons, Christopher Berard

Humanities Program Faculty Publications

On the verso of the last leaf of a twelfth-century manuscript containing the poetry of Hilarius, a student of Abelard, appears a faux charter purporting to have been issued by Arthur, king of the Britons, in the hundredth year of his immortality. In the act, Arthur thanks the descendants of his British subjects for their fidelity and grants them an exclusive franchise to fish in secret rivulets. The privilege contains two prohibitions: one prohibiting Britons from wearing shoes and the other prohibiting them from owning cats. This article provides a diplomatic edition, English translation and analysis of King Arthur’s Charter …

The Fall Of King Arthur Of Britain In Giovanni Boccaccio’S On The Downfall Of The Famous, Giovanni Boccaccio, Christopher Berard, Morris Tichenor

Humanities Program Faculty Publications

Translated by:

Christopher Berard and Morris Tichenor

Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–75), born in Certaldo, Tuscany, is best remembered today as the Father of Italian Prose owing to the immense popularity of his Decameron (c.1349–51), a collection of one hundred short stories (written in Italian prose) that are embedded in a narrative frame of a storytelling game undertaken by seven young women and three young men who fled Florence for Friesole in hopes of escaping the Black Death. During the Renaissance (1400–1600), however, Boccaccio was best remembered for his De casibus virorum illustrium [On the Downfalls of Famous Men] (c.1360). …

The Deeds Of King Arthur Of Britain In The Latin World Chronicle Of Guillaume De Nangis, Guillaume De Nangis, Christopher Berard, Morris Tichenor

Humanities Program Faculty Publications

Translated by:

Christopher Berard and Morris Tichenor

At the Abbey of Saint Denis-en-France, the Benedictine monk and chronicler Guillaume de Nangis (d. 1300) wrote a Latin World Chronicle from Creation to AD 1300. The text contains an account of the reign of King Arthur of Britain that includes the celebrated Sword in the Stone Episode. This iconic scene was not traditionally part of the ‘historical’ account of King Arthur’s biography. The pseudo-historical Brut chronicle story of King Arthur, which originates with Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia regum Britanniae [History of the Kings of Britain] (c. 1136), has Arthur, aged …