Arthuriana Fall 2023

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Arthuriana 33.3 (Fall 2023)

Table of Contents 

Special Issue: Who Gets to Be Legendary? 

Guest edited by Margaret Sheble

Introduction: Why Can’t Mermaids Be Ethnically Diverse? Legends and Legend-Making in Arthurian Studies 

Richard Sévère 

White Merlin: A Modern Misconception about the Legendary Merlin

Tzu-Yu Liu 

Abstract:

Different from the predominantly white Merlins on both big and small screens today, Merlins in medieval legends are never described as having white skin. In fact, in various texts Merlin is specifically depicted as a dark-skinned character capable of making legendary accomplishments. The few Merlins of color onscreen have informed our understanding of Merlin as a legendary character in various ways, and more diverse representations of Merlin onscreen could help to dispel the misconception that the legendary Merlin is by default white. (TL)

‘Why is he Indian?’: Missed Opportunities for Discussing Race in David Lowery’s The Green Knight (2021)

Tirumular (Drew) Narayanan 

Abstract:

This article explores the depiction of Gawain in The Green Knight (2021). Despite having cast Dev Patel in the starring role, the film avoids any substantive discussion of race in Camelot. By trading in optical diversity alone, it deploys BIPOC bodies without ever telling their stories. (TDN)

Towards Narrative Plenitude: Asian Representation in Young Adult Arthurian Fantasy 

Pamela M. Yee 

Abstract:

This article examines how two authors of Asian descent tackle the problem of 'narrative scarcity' for marginalized writers in their Young Adult Arthurian texts: Williams' 'The Quay Stone' posits the relationship between colonizer/colonized as akin to domestic abuse, while Chupeco's A Hundred Names for Magic series integrates Eastern and Western myths. (PY)

Who is Asking?: Afro-Arthurian Legend-Making in N.K. Jemisin’s Far Sector 

D’Arcee Charington Neal 

Abstract:

Whether an Arthurian knight, a Green Lantern, or a Legendborn, one cannot have a legacy without first becoming a legend. In N.K. Jemisin's graphic novel Far Sector (2020) Sojourner 'Jo' Muellein's story as both community activist and guardian echoes, reinvents, and reimagines Arthurian romances through the lens of Afrofuturism; further, this fantastical remix challenges white supremacist modes of oppressive comic tradition by foregrounding racial and gendered identities. Making a legend is not about whom society has agreed to be the answer. Instead, such ideals lie with whoever asks the question. (DCN)

REVIEWS 

Victoria Coldham-Fussell, Miriam Edlich-Muth, and Renée Ward, eds., The Arthurian World

Dan Nastali 

Louise D’Arcens and Andrew Lynch, eds., International Medievalism and Popular Culture 

Kevin J. Harty 

Patrick Del Luca, Chevalerie et royauté dans le roman d’Erec de Hartmann van Aue 

Ann Mccullough 

Megan Moore, The Erotics of Grief: Emotions and the Construction of Privilege in the Medieval Mediterranean 

Charles-Louis Morand-Métiver