honors classes & Conversion

course description

If you’re into things gothic, loved the DaVinci Code, are a fan of Monty Python, or ever wondered what it was like to be a knight or a lady, this course is for you!

Get up close and personal with a real medieval knight. William Marshal did it all—rose from obscure beginnings to be one of the most powerful and respected men in England,  won tournaments, went on crusade, joined the Knights Templar, served Richard Lionheart, built a great castle, married a trophy wife. No wonder he was called “the flower of chivalry.” Marshal is the class’s way into the tumultuous twelfth century and the beginnings of the phenomenon of chivalry. He was part of the most important court in Europe, at a high point of the middle ages.  His career is a lens, as it were, through which to view knighthood—both the reality knights lived, and the ideal they (or contemporary authors) aspired to.

We’ll explore castles, armor, tournaments, heraldry, crusades, orders of knighthood, courtly love, King Arthur, the Holy Grail. The readings for the course were all written by Marshal’s contemporaries, many of whom he knew or knew of.  We’ll read excerpts from manuals of chivalry, political treatises, troubadour poems, romances, etc. In this class you’ll learn about chivalry first hand, from those who were there. 

VIEW THE TENTATIVE SYLLABUS (PDF)

There’s also an opportunity for students in the class to travel to England over spring break to visit sites important to William Marshal and chivalry.

VIEW INFORMATION FOR MEDIEVAL LONDON TRIP