Bottom line: In two to three paragraphs, students will introduce us to a myth from their culture from the Medieval Era and discuss why the myth is important to them to preserve.
Instructions
Part I: Discuss your knowledge of myths before you read any material this week.
Part II: Then, from the lecture on Myths, review how legends, myths, and folktales explain the world around us. Also, in the lecture, myth historian Joesph Campbell responded, “Why should we care about a myth, legend, or folklore? For part II, how did his response change or not change your knowledge? Or did your views already align with his?
Part III: Which one of the myths listed in the Materials expresses a Heoros journey? Or perhaps you have a myth from your heritage that needs to be listed. When introducing us to the myth lets us know why the myth is important to the culture from which it originated.
Why it Matters:
“Feudalism is an organic process. It is born of chaos. You will not become a Lord by being elected by some peasants, nor with an army at your stand. You will be a Lord and gain the allegiance of the people by having what others need to survive. By offering food, shelter, social care, and armaments to those who have little to nothing. Those who are barely getting by will look to leaders that offer comfort and promise a better future. They will offer their support to you. In exchange, you will be Lord, not by force of hand but by deception of mind.”
Storytelling is relative to every culture. Myths explain the world around us, and like most people who have their favorite stories from childhood, they often find these tales fascinating and frightening. Think back to your early childhood and try to remember questions you may have asked adults about the world around you. Can we see our connection to the past?
These are some ideas to think about while diving into the topic of the Dark Ages.
Monasticism: Monasticism is the influence of religion on culture and education. While true Monasticism was more prevalent in the Middle Ages, we can see the impact of religion on laws, education, and culture in our era. Which myths were heavily influenced by the surrounding religious mood of the culture and time?
Chivalry: Chivalry is said to have been lost in the Middle Ages; some even say it is dead due to modern-day feminism. Review myths of Chivalry and tales of the knight in shining armor (on or off the list provided) and discuss their impact on the dominant-non-dominant partner* hierarchy structure (*in the sense that one partner will be dominant and the other will not).
Classism: Caste systems and Class structures are the backbones of any society. Your ability to climb the ladder can be a matter of luck or hard work. Discuss how class systems during the feudal era compare to your era and how they were expressed through myths and your workforce.
Gender Relationships: During the Middle Ages, it was common to hear myths centered around asexual, transgender, or physically challenged figures, but in our modern era, these tales have gone to the weigh side in favor of brut solid, ravishing, flexed oiled male archetype movies, as seen in the Avenger movies. Additionally, Middle Ages myths showed a clear dominance of the male over the female through sexual authority and mind control, which we saw with billion-dollar movies such as Fifty Shades of Grey and Twilight. First, discuss how myths about asexual, transgender, or physically challenged figures were portrayed during their era and how they are portrayed today. Then, discuss how the ideas of male dominance in mythical tales have evolved or stayed the same from the Middle Ages to our age.
Gods and Monsters: Many myths discuss the creation and destruction of the cosmos, partly due to a mystical polytheist supernatural being. These beings were worshiped as gods until they were replaced by modern monotheist gods such as Jesus Christ and Yahweh. How have creation and destruction myths evolved due to changing cultures and the evolution of thought? Additionally, are the monotheist gods in jeopardy of fading away?
Materials:
These are all foundational materials to understand the feudal era & myths (you only need them for background noise).
Video
What was Feudalism? (video 5 mins) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfXholnOS9E
Quick overview of the systems
Feudalism (video, 11 mins) https://go.screenpal.com/watch/cYhwqhpzF8
Instructor explaining the hierarchy
Text
Lecture: Myths and Legends . (lecture PDF) https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1rX3YzdBg9n1s2EZ2o17kuxjQqC1vyy-Yq96mnDWede8/edit
Lecture: Feudal System and the Middle Age (lecture PDF) https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1CrlghFKZjEL9XQzy4ExscwZUviAv-B8JDTVfwjQmgUY/edit
What is a Modern Myth? (Blog) https://joinmycult.blogspot.com/p/what-is-modern-myth.htm
Exciting theories on the modern myths
Supplemental Material
Mircea Eliade – The Sacred and the Profane. (Book in PDF form) https://monoskop.org/images/b/b1/Eliade_Mircea_The_Sacred_and_The_profane_1963.pdf
This is the holy grail of understanding myths.
Myth and Ritual. (PDF JSTOR) https://www.jstor.org/stable/536770
Great introductory look into the rituals behind many popular myths
Neo-Feudal Future (website) https://www.firstthings.com/article/2022/01/our-neo-feudal-future
Feudalism in Africa? . (JSTOR PDF) https://www.jstor.org/stable/179609
Discusses how Feudalism has been carried to modern times.
How America is Reverting to the Feudal Age (Website) https://nypost.com/2019/12/25/how-america-is-reverting-back-to-the-feudal-age/
Myths:
The point of the assignment is to connect us with the past so we can better understand ourselves. Feudalism is one of the most challenging portions of this class due to its complex nature of hierarchy, lords, and protocol, all foreign to the American mind. Luckily, the Medieval Myth is one of the easiest and most exciting ways to survey the Feudal era. Reading numerous myths can deduce the intersectionality of princes, peasants, enslaved, warmongers, land owners, and hierarchy.
We want to discover how Myths help explain the world around us, and like most people who have their favorite stories from childhood, they often find these tales fascinating and frightening.
Students will review the attached lecture and material links to learn how legends, myths, and folktales explain the world around them.
(Report Broken links to my email)
Myths about Queens and Kings
Fisher King of Britain https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2016/01/the-ancient-mystery-of-the-fisher-king-and-his-holy-grail/
King Dushyanta of India https://www.mygoldguide.in/golden-ring-king-dushyanta
The Queen of Sheba https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/queen-of-sheba-bible
Queen Aslaug https://www.thedockyards.com/historical-truth-behind-aslaug/
Queens Inanna and Ishtar https://symbolsage.com/inanna-queen-of-heaven/
King of the Tuatha de Danann, Nuada Airgetlam https://www.timelessmyths.com/gods/celtic/nuada/
Caliph al-Hakim https://historiaislamica.com/en/when-the-caliph-went-mad-the-reign-of-al-hakim/
King Edward II and Queen Isabella. http://edwardthesecond.blogspot.com/2021/02/the-relationship-of-queen-isabella-and.html
Blind King John of Bohemia https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-famous-people/john-bohemia-0013170
King Nanahuatzin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMPG-2vXi-s
Creation and Destruction Myths
Queen Nüwa https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBUboCxTO0Q
Queen Ereshkigal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ux2f–tjCRk
Intersex Mawu-Lisa and Androgynous Nana Buluku https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100141563
Time and Future (video, TikTok) https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8ehUJRL/
Legends
Owain Glyndwr of Wales https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofWales/Owen-Glendower-Owain-Glyndwr/
Sir Lancelot: a Chivalrous Knight https://sites.google.com/a/marlboro.k12.nj.us/medieval-period/king-arthur
Mystery of the Voynich Manuscript https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rgDkqrGAXA
The Dancing Plague https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MZZrDA-I4M
Death of Sigurd Eysteinsson by a severed head https://stephenliddell.co.uk/2014/03/08/bitten-to-death-by-a-dead-mans-head-the-unfortunate-deserving-true-tale-of-sigurd-eysteinsson/
Selkies, the Irish Mermaids https://www.wildernessireland.com/blog/irish-myths-legends-part-4-selkies/#:~:text=In%20short%2C%20the%20legend%20of,and%20take%20on%20human%20form.
Vlad the Impaler, Dracula https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vlad-the-Impaler
The Wandering Jewish Man (website)https://sites.pitt.edu/~dash/type0777.html (video)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfH6ydsT5dI
Larunda https://irl.umsl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1014&context=urs
Tiresias https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz4vIL2m-mo
Hephaestus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhVkmTrt44U
La Llorona https://www.legendsofamerica.com/gh-lallorona/
Bes, the god of women in labor https://www.worldhistory.org/Bes/#:~:text=Definition&text=Bes%20is%20the%20ancient%20Egyptian,genitals%2C%20and%20bow%2Dlegged.
Roanoke Island https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjmXzYdxuTQ
Santa Claus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryFVcxOA0yE
Shikhandi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idLTRSPmWec
Qareen the Djinn https://www.islamweb.net/en/fatwa/361951/each-person-has-qareen-from-the-jinn
Lady Po Nagar https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/9545530/
The Leprechaun https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6k33B7FSlY
Mayan God Chin and Xochipilli https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQibQlpNIfw
Mizi Xia and Lord Long Yang https://www.theworldofchinese.com/2019/06/gay-emperors-in-chinese-history/
