Why Arthur
November 8, 2007
A nice paper by Michel Bur at the 1980 Battle Conference traces the connection between the house of Champagne and that of Normandy, culminating in the reign of King Stephen – don’t forget that Blois and Champagne had only recently diverged; add to this the fact that until her mother ran off with Henry of Anjou and started having sons, Countess Marie, wife of Henry the Liberal, was presumptive heiress to Aquitaine… All this leads to the role of family politics in the patronage given to Chretien of Troyes’ Arthurian narratives: British legend as a counterpiece to the Capetians’ cult of Charemagne, and also replacing the Norman connection now usurped by the Angevins…
