Extra Reading Diary: Welsh Tales (Emerson)

I decided to go with Welsh Tales for my extra reading diary since it is another culture that I am not very familiar with. I also chose those specific unit since they stories are written the exact same way that they were spoken; I thought that this would help to give some more authenticity behind each story. There were a trove of great stories in this unit!

Origin of the Welsh: I thought this would be a great story to start with since it lays out where the Welsh were originally from. I do have to say that I did not think there would be a Troy reference in this set of stories. I was really fascinated by the Roh bird that was mentioned in the story. I had only ever seen a similar type of creature in some assorted video games, but I did not know that they had been talked about for that long; I had ignorantly assumed that it was more of a modern thought. One thing I found interesting from this story was how it explained their journey from Persia to Troy in pretty good detail, but the rest of their locations were briefly mentioned. It seemed like they just casually migrated until they finally reached England; I definitely did not see Crimea being one of the places that they tried to inhabit.  

Crows: I have to admit that it was really interesting to read that the Counting Crows got their name from this. I love when bands form their names from rich, old tales. I was really intrigued by the opening lines of this story; it is always fascinating to read about numbers of things and how they represent something. Crows definitely seem like one of the most ominous animals to see as a sign for something.

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(crow)

Week 12 Storytelling: Heir to the Throne

Dear Journal,

I still can not believe that this happened to me; it seems like a fairy tale the more that I think about it. I have lost count of how many times I have pinched myself since Sir Kay and Sir Ector first kneeled before me. I never thought that it would be possible to hear more shocking news than that you are adopted in one day.

Well, I guess I had actually never thought about being adopted before. Sir Kay and Sir Ector treated me like I was kin. I still can not believe that they took me in to their home. Sir Ector has taught me everything I know about being a man; he has been a great father. I have to admit that this does make me curious about my biological dad, Uther Pendragon. Who would have thought that I was the heir to the throne of the grandest king in the land? Nobody can convince me that I am not dreaming right now.

It is going to take me a while to get used to how people interact with me now. I have people who do my chores for me now. There are people who are paid to wait on me hand-and-foot around the clock. I can not even get a midnight snack from the pantry without someone asking me if I need anything; I think I am capable of doing that without any assistance. Is it strange that I still do not know if it is necessary for me to have these people waiting on me? Maybe it is because I still do not fully understand the ramifications of everything that happened; it all just happened at lightning speed. Do not get me wrong, not having to do anymore chores is not too shabby at all.

I have heard all of my life that Uther Pendragon was the best king to ever reside in Camelot. The man has been dead for years and people still say his name in very high regards. How am I supposed to fill shoes that big? I gave the people my word that I would be the best king possible, but will that be enough to be the best king ever? I have to start preparing myself now! I need to learn as much as I can so I can make the best decisions for my people. I am unbelievably lucky to have Merlin in my counsel. He has actually been giving me homework to make sure I am prepared. Actually, I need to stop writing so I can finish my reading for the night.

King Arthur out!

(sword in a stone)

Author's Note: This story was based off of "The Drawing of the Sword." In the original, Arthur is trying to find a sword for Sir Kay, whom he thinks is his biological brother at that point. Arthur is unable to retrieve Sir Kay's actual sword, so he goes and pulls the sword out of the stone. Arthur is befuddled when he finds out that it was a big deal for him to be able to get that sword out. He is soon told that he is actually Arthur Pendragon, the heir to the throne since Uther Pendragon died. He immediately vows to do whatever his foster family wishes to show his gratitude. 

I wrote this from a first-person perspective with Arthur recanting everything that happened in his journal. I chose to do this since I thought it would be interesting to see what someone would be thinking about after finding out that they were king and that their whole life had been a charade. 

Bibliography: "The Drawing of the Sword" by Andrew Lang, from King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table (1902). Web Source: Un-Textbook

Reading Diary B: King Arthur

The King Arthur unit was a phenomenal read this week! It was a great change of pace from most of the stories that we have read so far; I think that can be attributed to the continuing storyline from story to story. It probably also helps that this story has been in writing for some time now. Reading the entire unit made me realize how little I actually knew very little about the Arthurian universe. 

Sir Galahad and the White Knight: I honestly chose the story because I had never heard of Sir Galahad before this. I was only vaguely familiar with Sir Lancelot and Sir Gawain before this. Sir Galahad really stood out to me because he tried to shield his identity at one point in the story. I usually think of knights being very boisterous and proud since being knighted is such a big deal. It felt like the most random of events had to transpire for Sir Galahad to receive the shield. It was really interesting how it was taken from the other knight and just bestowed upon him. I was expecting him to get into a mighty duel or some feat of strength to earn it; I was clearly mistaken. I think I honestly ended up with more questions about Sir Galahad after finishing this story than I did in the beginning. He is a definite candidate to write about for my story this week. I would love to give him a little bit more of a backstory. 

(white shield)

An Adventure of Sir Gawaine: I chose this story because it was kind of a peculiar one, in my opinion. It was a really interesting way to introduce Sir Gawaine like that. You would expect for the first story about a knight to be somewhat filled with action or adventure, but that was not the case with this story. He is simply told by the hermit that he will not be able to go on the quest for the Holy Graal because of the life that he has lived. I loved that he threw a bit of curveball and just listened to what the hermit said and quietly rode off. I was expecting him to plead his case and explain why the hermit was wrong and that he would in fact go on an adventure for the Holy Graal. He just quietly got on his horse and left; this makes Sir Gawaine seem so perplexing.

Reading Diary A: King Arthur

I was really excited to read about King Arthur this week. I have only ever read a few short excerpts in school about him and I've watched a show that was loosely based on the King Arthur stories. This was a great opportunity to read a trove of Arthurian tales and actually learn something about him.

The Drawing of the Sword: I had to write about this one since it immediately made me think about the cartoon Sword and the Stone movie. It was great to read the actual story so I can see how much the movie deviated from the tale. Seeing how humble Arthur is after accomplishing such a mighty feat makes him such a great character. I loved that his first thought as king was pledging allegiance to his foster family for taking care of him. That is definitely something you would not expect to see in a young boy. I am leaning towards writing about Arthur's experience right after he was acknowledged as being the rightful king.

(sword in a stone)

The Passing of Merlin: I have to admit that I was disappointed with how Merlin died. I was expecting him to croak after getting into an intense magical battle of some sort, but no, he was killed with a large rock. I do like how he foresaw how his demise would come, but he continued on. I also liked how they had to add that she used a spell that she had learned from Merlin to kill him