"All Manner of Knightly Games": Games In and Inspired by the
Arthurian Tradition. Kalamazoo 2019 session:
Throughout Arthurian literature, there is an abundance of games and
entertainments. Perhaps most famously, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is
structured on two sets of games: the exchange of blows game and the exchange of
winnings game. In Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur, the hallmark of a happy court is
“revels and games” or “all manner of games and plays.” And of course the
tourneying so central to the Arthurian tradition is in essence a game. Often,
these games and entertainments contribute to the main themes of the text, as
when Queen Guinevere goes a-Maying (a type of “game),” protected by a handful
of woefully unprepared “Queen’s Knights.” The devious Sir Meligrance kidnaps
Guinevere, taking her back to his castle. While Lancelot eventually slays the
evil knight, and rescues the Queen, the gaming and abduction highlight the
decadence of Arthur’s court, which leaves Camelot vulnerable, unready to defend
itself from the gathering shadows.
Perhaps because of the games and gaming inherent in the Arthurian tradition,
these texts have recently inspired elements of modern games: video games, board
games, card games, and more. Some games feature themes from the original medieval
texts, such as Shadows Over Camelot, a board game that assigns players roles as
loyal knights or as a traitor. As the players go on quests, safeguarding
Arthur’s kingdom, tensions rise as each knight suspects the other of foul play.
Other games simply appropriate Arthurian names and objects, such as the video
game Persona 5 which features the Holy Grail as a boss for players to defeat
near the end of the game.
The purpose of this Round Table will be two-fold: first, to discuss “courtly
play” and “gaming” as they appear in medieval Arthurian texts, and second, to
consider the ways contemporary games have utilized the Arthurian tradition as a
world building function. The dual nature of this session seeks to gain a better
understanding of Arthurian game and play in both medieval and contemporary
Arthuriana.
Session presenters will be asked to give short papers or prepared remarks,
followed by time for discussion. We are very interested in trans-temporal
proposals, linking the themes, narratives, characters or concepts between
medieval and medievalism. To emphasize this point, audience members will be
given character cards from Camelot Legends, to encourage reflection of these
moments. This tactile scholarship and specific use of cards produced lively
discussion in BABEL’s 2017 Reno Meeting session “The Hand You’re Dealt: A
Presentation of Exhibits and Roundtable on Creative Process.”
The session will serve as an excellent opportunity to introduce attendees to
contemporary gaming culture and its pedagogical potential. The narratives of
decadence and treachery serve as only a few examples for the approaches to this
subject. The wealth of Arthurian “gaming” narratives found in medieval
Arthurian texts along with the profusion of contemporary games creates fertile
ground for a nuanced discussion of Camelot and its legacy.
Finally the session welcomes papers which discuss race (and whiteness),
gender, LGBTQ, disability, poverty and education.
Please submit 200 word
abstract to:
tnarayanan@mail.csuchico.edu by 9/15.
