King Arthur's Influence On The Medieval Times

In essence, “history” is simply a combination of stories: recounts of events from multiple points of view. This is especially true when talking about events before the 21st century and the invention of cameras, and video/audio recorders. The only available information we have about the medieval period is from the writings of people from that time period, people who we now call historians. It is natural for our personal lives to affect our vision of the world, and thus easy to see why many of the writings we have about the medieval time period are strongly influenced by their author’s personal experiences. This is very obvious in the different versions of the story of King Arthur. Each version of the legend and its characters differs in some

Examples of the revered are Beowulf (King of the Geats, brave and powerful warrior), El Cid (exiled, yet still highly regarded because of his military genius), and King Arthur (great warrior, revolutionary leader). Social status and image was hugely important: in fact, the groups lower on the feudal hierarchy are rarely mentioned. Men were much more respected than women, who were seen more as property than men’s equals (wives are property bound to their husbands), and of lesser mental quality (women were rarely educated, and not expected to be). For example, educated women like Marie de France (multi-lingual; referenced classical authors, myths, and legends in her writing) and Heloise D’Argenteuil (educated in Greek, Hebrew, and Latin; by all accounts, a brilliant mind; great writer) were very rare. While men were free to choose their “career path”, women generally existed to serve as wives and

In a time when men were thought of as more superior than women, Abelard seems to show an unusual amount of respect towards women. He genuinely respects Heloise’s intellectual capacity, and seems to value women much more than most of his contemporaries. He also says that women have a superior connection to Christ than men do. However, his reasoning behind this is comes from the fact that he believes women have weaker natures (Radice). So while he comes to a conclusion that seems to promote the virtue of women, his reasoning is dependent on the fact that women are, in fact, inferior than men. Heloise was educated in Greek, Hebrew and Latin and was, by all accounts, a brilliant mind. Women like her were very rare in the Middle Ages, as many believed that people of the “inferior” gender should not be taught and educated. She rejected marriage when it was a societal norm for women to be married housewives. However, it is clear that she is extremely devoted to being submissive to Abelard in her letters, stating that she is completely his and that Abelard is the sole possessor of her body and mind (Radice). This belief that she “belongs” to him is the most obvious way Heloise conforms to medieval gender roles, and it clearly indicates that