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I& #39;m excited about The Green Knight! But, LORDT. People are ALREADY being loud & wrong about King Arthur on Beyonce& #39;s internet!
There is no single Arthurian story. No sacred text. Black people existed in the Medieval. KA is 1500 year-old global fanfic that began in Wales. Repeat!
There is no single Arthurian story. No sacred text. Black people existed in the Medieval. KA is 1500 year-old global fanfic that began in Wales. Repeat!
I don& #39;t want people to come for me but I know they will. Don& #39;t worry, I& #39;m armed with a lifelong obsession, an MA in communication w/ folklore training, fanfic study, & months of research with MA & PhD medievalist consultants specializing in Arthuriana (early Welsh & late Europe.)
Let& #39;s say you only want to focus on the classic "Sword in the Stone" story. Let& #39;s say that. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT STORY IS SAYING? It says that power, leadership, worth, & value do not come from claims of ownership. They come TO whomever the world needs in that moment. Jesus.
"A fo ben, bid bont." -- from the medieval Welsh in the Mabinogion, which collects oral folklore from possibly as early as the 11th century. Translation: "They that would be a leader, let them be a bridge."
A BRIDGE, folks. A *BRIDGE.* Not a gate or a wall or a safe.
A BRIDGE, folks. A *BRIDGE.* Not a gate or a wall or a safe.
https://twitter.com/tracydeonn/status/1228016005722656768?s=20">https://twitter.com/tracydeon...
If you want to be a purist go to the Welsh early sources recorded from bards/oral stories. PLEASE do. Arthur& #39;s birthplace is Wales in my mind, in my Welsh bardic tradition consultant& #39;s mind, in all I& #39;ve read as origination and fact. But the stories YOU know are likely not those.
Oh, do you like Lancelot? Guess what bruh, he& #39;s French. 12th century. First written mention of Arthur is Welsh, 6th century. SIX HUNDRED YEARS DIFFERENCE, give or take. That& #39;s a LOT of storytelling time, y& #39;all. Lancelot ain& #39;t OG. And the love triangle story we know ain& #39;t either.
Let& #39;s not forget about my boy Merlin! I love that ridiculous cambion! What a wild one! BUT GUESS WHAT E& #39;ERBODY? He wasn& #39;t in the early tales. He& #39;s based in part on a Welsh figure. Ole Geoff of Monmouth composited the 1st depiction of the Merlin we know in the 12th century. Bloop.
I don& #39;t know Geoffrey of Monmouth like THAT but I feel like I do so I call him Ole Geoff. He& #39;s cool with it.
I should probably say something about Tennyson and Idylls of the King but he& #39;s a bit racist so. Lemme think on it. Just know he& #39;s English and wrote it in the 1800s, & was inspired by the French KA stories. The version of the story where Guinevere retires to a convent is his.
https://twitter.com/tracydeonn/status/1228030618732240900?s=20">https://twitter.com/tracydeon...
I wanna pause & refer to this tweet.
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👆🏽" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach oben (mittlerer Hautton)" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach oben (mittlerer Hautton)">The frantic need for a single story + callback to an idealized imagined time in history = literally the worst narrative energy. Let& #39;s call the effort to centrally canonize, purify, and make white THIS legend what it is. A tool of oppression.
Yoooo correction to Tennyson& #39;s ownership of the convent fate of Guinevere. Medievalists are the freaking best.
https://twitter.com/tragiculous/status/1228040509668646912?s=20">https://twitter.com/tragiculo...
https://twitter.com/tragiculous/status/1228040509668646912?s=20">https://twitter.com/tragiculo...
Y& #39;all, I& #39;m glad folks are thinking about how stories become multiplied and retold, esp. in intellectual properties. But for real, when I said Arthuriana is fanfic I meant what I meant. And I& #39;d argue that fanfic as a practice (w/oral trad roots) came before IP spin-off phenomena.
I would never say that IP writing and fanfic are one in the same because they absolutely aren& #39;t. Different contexts, different goals, different audiences, differences in relation to canon, etc.
BUT the people spinning Arthur tales were not hired by a single corporation, mkay!
BUT the people spinning Arthur tales were not hired by a single corporation, mkay!
Y& #39;all are great!! Is this when I tell you that my debut YA contemporary fantasy novel is available for preorder?
LEGENDBORN *is* this thread, but with a mystery plot set in North Carolina, swords, a love triangle, queer folks, magic, & Southern history! https://twitter.com/tracydeonn/status/1224435415475638272">https://twitter.com/tracydeon...
LEGENDBORN *is* this thread, but with a mystery plot set in North Carolina, swords, a love triangle, queer folks, magic, & Southern history! https://twitter.com/tracydeonn/status/1224435415475638272">https://twitter.com/tracydeon...
Sorry I just wrote this tweet and it& #39;s cracking me up: https://twitter.com/tracydeonn/status/1228078088728326146">https://twitter.com/tracydeon...
Lancelot mixtape: https://twitter.com/spoonhaus/status/1228379316188274692?s=20">https://twitter.com/spoonhaus...