"I hope each of you took
the time to look over my comments on the last paper. As I stated
in the syllabus, I grade on improvement. If you turn in the same
quality of paper that you received an "A" for last time will now become
a "B." A "B" paper will be a "C," etc. I'll have
these back to you sometime next week. Class dismissed."
Professor Schmidt was one of the best teachers in the English department, but he was also one of the toughest. And he took pride in his reputation. He always scheduled the second paper to be due on Friday so he would have the entire weekend to grade them. It was hard to believe that the semester was almost halfway over. But that's how it always went when he got a good class. There was a lot of discussion, and he could tell that most of his students were really trying to improve.
Even though he had given himself extra time to get his grading done, it was still Sunday evening when he reached the bottom of his stack. Elrin, Mark. He wanted to read this one last. Mark had really surprised him over the last week. He had some of the best comments over the last unit, and he'd managed to stay awake through every lecture. He picked up the paper just as the most wonderful smell drifted into his apartment. Ham, and maybe apples, and something else he couldn't quite place. Neighbors must be cooking, he thought.
There was food everywhere. The entire kingdom had been invited. And nobody was willing to miss the King's wedding. Especially those who, three years earlier, had refused to accept "that boy" as their king. But that was before Arthur drove the Saxons back across the waters. And before he defeated the Picts. Now everyone wanted to show how loyal they were to their king.
Poor Arthur was so nervous about the wedding. He asked me a thousand times if I approved of his bride, the Lady Guinevere. His heart had no doubts, but he knew that he was also choosing a Queen for his kingdom. She had cared for him once, when he was wounded in battle near her father's home. The time they spent together as his injuries healed was enough to convince him the she was a good and wonderful woman, but was that enough to make her a Queen? I knew that he had no reason for concern. There was not a more noble or worthy Lady in the kingdom. Later writers would smear her name for the sake of romance, but Guinevere was nothing like the woman of legend.
And not only was this Arthur's wedding day, but it was also the first time that he had met some of his family. Since he had discovered his true identity, he had not had time ask about his family. When he sent out word that he was to be married, he received a letter from his sister, Lady Morgan. Along with her congratulations, she demanded why she had not been informed of the engagement before it was common knowledge. He immediately wrote back that he hadn't known that he had a sister, but that she and her son Mordred were more than welcome to come and stay with him.
I knew that Guinevere would make a good partner for Arthur, and she proved it to the entire kingdom by her wedding gift to the king. She brought him a wonderfully carved table, made of solid oak. It had a gold inlay, and the image of the sword Excalibur in the center. But the most unique part of this masterpiece was its shape. It was completely round. Guinevere explained that this table was to be used during the king's council meetings. When he invited the lesser lords to come and make decisions about the kingdom they would all meet as equals. No one at the head or the foot of the table.
She finished the explanation of her gift to a roar of cheers. The feast lasted until the early hours of the next morning. As custom demanded, she danced with every man who asked, and by the time the wedding feast ended she had danced with no fewer than one hundred and thirteen men. Everyone in the kingdom went to sleep that night with high hopes for the future of their land.
Ryan rubbed his eyes and put the paper down. There was something about Mark's writing style that just pulled him in, almost like he was there. Another "A." "This guy has some real potential," he muttered as he shuffled to the refrigerator. He was starving.
Author's note: For this story I wanted to shift the focus to Guinevere. I tried to portray her as a good queen, not the adulteress that most people think of. I had to change the purpose of the Round Table. Since I am not using knights in my story, I thought that a council table would be more fitting, and probably more accurate for the time period. I also tried to bring out that Arthur was foremost a warrior. He earned peace for his kingdom with a sword. Battle is even what brought him to his wife. In my frame tale I am trying to create a very familiar classroom setting. I have used actual quote from some of my professors.
Image: "Wedding of King Arthur" from Theosophy Avalon
Bibliography: The Age of Fable: The Age of Chivalry by Thomas Bulfinch, published 1913
Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Mallory, published 1485
Cover
Professor Schmidt was one of the best teachers in the English department, but he was also one of the toughest. And he took pride in his reputation. He always scheduled the second paper to be due on Friday so he would have the entire weekend to grade them. It was hard to believe that the semester was almost halfway over. But that's how it always went when he got a good class. There was a lot of discussion, and he could tell that most of his students were really trying to improve.
Even though he had given himself extra time to get his grading done, it was still Sunday evening when he reached the bottom of his stack. Elrin, Mark. He wanted to read this one last. Mark had really surprised him over the last week. He had some of the best comments over the last unit, and he'd managed to stay awake through every lecture. He picked up the paper just as the most wonderful smell drifted into his apartment. Ham, and maybe apples, and something else he couldn't quite place. Neighbors must be cooking, he thought.
There was food everywhere. The entire kingdom had been invited. And nobody was willing to miss the King's wedding. Especially those who, three years earlier, had refused to accept "that boy" as their king. But that was before Arthur drove the Saxons back across the waters. And before he defeated the Picts. Now everyone wanted to show how loyal they were to their king.
Poor Arthur was so nervous about the wedding. He asked me a thousand times if I approved of his bride, the Lady Guinevere. His heart had no doubts, but he knew that he was also choosing a Queen for his kingdom. She had cared for him once, when he was wounded in battle near her father's home. The time they spent together as his injuries healed was enough to convince him the she was a good and wonderful woman, but was that enough to make her a Queen? I knew that he had no reason for concern. There was not a more noble or worthy Lady in the kingdom. Later writers would smear her name for the sake of romance, but Guinevere was nothing like the woman of legend.
And not only was this Arthur's wedding day, but it was also the first time that he had met some of his family. Since he had discovered his true identity, he had not had time ask about his family. When he sent out word that he was to be married, he received a letter from his sister, Lady Morgan. Along with her congratulations, she demanded why she had not been informed of the engagement before it was common knowledge. He immediately wrote back that he hadn't known that he had a sister, but that she and her son Mordred were more than welcome to come and stay with him.
I knew that Guinevere would make a good partner for Arthur, and she proved it to the entire kingdom by her wedding gift to the king. She brought him a wonderfully carved table, made of solid oak. It had a gold inlay, and the image of the sword Excalibur in the center. But the most unique part of this masterpiece was its shape. It was completely round. Guinevere explained that this table was to be used during the king's council meetings. When he invited the lesser lords to come and make decisions about the kingdom they would all meet as equals. No one at the head or the foot of the table.
She finished the explanation of her gift to a roar of cheers. The feast lasted until the early hours of the next morning. As custom demanded, she danced with every man who asked, and by the time the wedding feast ended she had danced with no fewer than one hundred and thirteen men. Everyone in the kingdom went to sleep that night with high hopes for the future of their land.
Ryan rubbed his eyes and put the paper down. There was something about Mark's writing style that just pulled him in, almost like he was there. Another "A." "This guy has some real potential," he muttered as he shuffled to the refrigerator. He was starving.
Author's note: For this story I wanted to shift the focus to Guinevere. I tried to portray her as a good queen, not the adulteress that most people think of. I had to change the purpose of the Round Table. Since I am not using knights in my story, I thought that a council table would be more fitting, and probably more accurate for the time period. I also tried to bring out that Arthur was foremost a warrior. He earned peace for his kingdom with a sword. Battle is even what brought him to his wife. In my frame tale I am trying to create a very familiar classroom setting. I have used actual quote from some of my professors.
Image: "Wedding of King Arthur" from Theosophy Avalon
Bibliography: The Age of Fable: The Age of Chivalry by Thomas Bulfinch, published 1913
Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Mallory, published 1485
Cover