Medieval Literature: Legends of Arthur
King Arthur has been rewritten many times over: as Christian war-leader, as ineffective king and cuckold, as a tragic figure of noble but doomed intent. This MIT OpenCourseWare course traces that evolution across medieval texts, following Arthur and his principal knights through chronicle history and romance to ask why the rex quondam et futurus, the once and future king, keeps reappearing in western culture. Materials include the syllabus, readings drawn from medieval sources such as Geoffrey of Monmouth and later romance writers, and assignments built around close textual analysis and discussion of adaptation and reinvention. The course is delivered as open courseware, with no enrollment or certificate, structured for self-study using MIT's published syllabus, readings list, and assignments. It suits anyone interested in how a single legendary figure gets reshaped generation after generation.