An Unhappy Knight: The Diffusion and Bastardization of Mordred in Arthurian Legends from Select Works of the Sixth through the Fifteenth Centuries

This thesis, therefore, will consider, broadly, the diffusion of Arthurian legend from the fifth century through the fifteenth century, with particular focus on the figure of Mordred on which the legend is largely based. The later importance of the effect of literary diffusion will be demonstrated through a comparison of the use of Mordred as a politically allegorical figure in Thomas Malory’s Le Morte D’arthur and John of Fordun’s Chronica gentis scottorum. These texts, though composed contemporaneously, and on the same island, present Mordred in vastly different capacities. Malory’s Mordred is villainous, whereas John of Fordun’s Mordred is a heroic representation. I. Introduction to Thesis 2 II. Geographical Diffusion 6 i. Geographic Effect on Interpretation of Arthurian Literature 15 III. Temporal Diffusion 18 i. Historia Regum Britanniae, A Starting Point 20 ii. Diffusion between Geoffrey of Monmouth & Gervase of Tilbury 22 iii. Otia imperialia 24 IV. Conclusion: Redemption of Mordred 27 Appendix 31 Bibliography 34