Unit 5

Lesson 1

Read the texts below and figure out the title of the unit: 2 words, 10 letters (KING ARTHUR).

Here are some clues to help you:

• _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ 
• Something or someone is mentioned in the text which is linked to a famous person. 
• Have a quick look at the three pictures and fill in the table:
  

-> Assignment: Which picture did you like best? Using comparative and superlative forms as well as different ways to express your likes and dislikes, write a short paragraph justifying your choice. (50 words).

Lesson 2

• Now, take a closer look at the pictures in Lesson 1. Using the table below, describe them as best you can. 

• What are the symbols associated with King Arthur? 

Lesson 3

• Have a look at the map.

• In your houses, form two groups. Discuss the map and the events on it.

Write down the names of the places and the characters and from what you know and what you see, put the events in the right order.

Let's check together. 

• Each house will be assigned one part of the story which you will have to research and present to the other groups. You can use pencils, paint, you can act or mime your episode. It needs to last 2 minutes minimum and needs to have as many "real" elements as possible.

And because nothing is easy, you will also have to do the following activities! To do all that, you will have two hours! ... And the documents below:

Activity 1 - How to become a knight:

Read the text and label the pictures.

Activity 2 - Lily Allen, I'm a knight:

Listen to the song, fill in the blanks and match the words to the pictures. 

Activity 3 - Answer the questions:

Activity 4 - A medieval castle:

Read the description and try to fill in the blanks with the words which are missing in the second document.

Activity 5 - Weapons

Match the words with the pictures.

Activity 6 - The Arthurian Legend:

Do the crossword below.

In the end, you should be able to fill up the document below. 

Lesson 4

• Read the documents. Those texts are from the Middle Ages and have not been changed, therefore your understanding of them might not be great. But don't panic. Highlight the words you know and try to fill in the table in your copybook.

Gildas, De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae, c. 490

25… But in the meanwhile, an opportunity happening, when these most cruel robbers were returned home, the poor remnants of our nation (to whom flocked from diverse places round about our miserable countrymen as fast as bees to their hives, for fear of an ensuing storm), being strengthened by God, calling upon him with all their hearts, as the poet says, -“With their unnumbered vows they burden heaven”, that they might not be brought to utter destruction, took arms under the conduct of Ambrosius Aurelianus, a modest man, who of all the Roman nation was then alone in the confusion of this troubled period by chance left alive. His parents, who for their merit were adorned with the purple, kind been slain in these same broils, and now his progeny in these our days, although shamefully degenerated from the worthiness of their ancestors, provoke to battle their cruel conquerors, and by the goodness of our Lord obtain the victory

26.      After this, sometimes our countrymen, sometimes the enemy, won the field, to the end that our Lord might this land try after his accustomed manners these his Israleites, whether they loved him or not, until the year of the siege of Bath-hill, when took place also the last almost, though not the least slaughter of our cruel foes which (as I am sure) forty-four years and one month after the landing of the Saxons, and also the time of my own nativity…

Bede,  Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum, c.731

When the victorious army, having destroyed and dispersed the natives, had returned home to their own settlements, the Britons began by degrees to take heart, and gather strength, sallying out the lurking places where they had concealed themselves, and unanimously imploring the Divine assistance, that they might not utterly destroyed. They had at that time for their leader, Ambrosius Aurelius, a modest man, who alone, by chance of the Roman nation had survived the storm, in which his parents, who were of the royal race, had perished. Under him the Britons revived, and offering battle to the victors, by the help of God, came off victorious. From that day, sometimes the natives and sometimes their enemies, prevailed, till the year of the siege of Baddesdownhill, when they made no small slaughter of those invaders, about forty-four years after their arrival in England.

Nennius, History of the Britons, c.800

50.... Then it was, that the magnanimous Arthur, with all the Kings and military forces of Britain fought against the Saxons. And though there were many more noble than himself, yet he was twelve times chosen their commander, and was as often conqueror. The first battle in which he was engaged, was at the mouth of the river Gleni...

Then he summarizes all the twelve battles, until:

The twelfth was a most severe contest, when Arthur penetrated the hill of Badon. In this engagement, nine hundred and forty fell by hand alone, no one but the Lord affording him assistance

56... Then Arthur along with the Kings of Britain fought against them in those days, but Arthur himself was the military commander [“dux bellorum”]. His first battle was at the mouth [...] The twelfth battle was on Mount Badon in which there fell in one day 960 men from one charge by Arthur; and no one struck them down except Arthur himself, and in all the wars he emerged as a victor.

The Welsh Annals, 970

“the Battle of Badon in which Arthur carried the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ for three days and three nights on his shoulders and the Britons were the victors”

• With all the information gathered, try to find out what the texts have in common. What elements appear in different texts? What places? Putting it all together, figure out the reason why I chose those texts.
• CORRECTION 

Assignment: Answer the following questions: 

- What do all the texts have in common?

- What are they speaking about?

- What are the differences between the texts? (in what they are saying, not in how they are saying it).

Write a small paragraph (50 words maximum) to explain what these texts are about. 

Lesson 5

• Watch the video and answer the questions on the worksheet. 

CORRECTION + TRACE ECRITE

Using elements from the videos, make a quick list in a table of the historical and fictional elements mentioned.

• Assignment: Follow this link and write a paragraph on Geoffrey of Monmouth, who he was, what he did and how he is related to the Arthurian Legend. 
• CORRECTION

Lesson 6

• Watch the video below and take notes in your copybook about the evolution of the legend and who King Arthur was. 

Assignment: From your notes and the information in the video, create a timeline of the legend of King Arthur, when and by whom it was transformed. 

• In your copybook, let's write a summary of what we know of the real Arthur. 
• CORRECTION

Lesson 7

The document below is the script of the video. 

• Highlight all the verbs
• In your copybook, draw the following table:

• Chaque colonne représente un temps grammatical. Pour chaque temps, il va falloir que vous indiquiez sa valeur (les raisons pour lesquelles on l'emploie). Pour y arriver, aidez-vous de votre Bescherelle et des pages 10-12-14-62-64-68-114-116-118-122 et faites les exercices correspondants. Pour plus d'informations, vous pouvez également consulter ce lien ou ce lien.
• For each highlighted verb, place it in the right column. 

CORRECTION

Lesson 8

• Let's play a game:

First learn the vocabulary:

Then, check your vocabulary:

Now, let's deal the bingo cards between yourselves. 

Decide on a prize (house points, cakes...)

• The first one to fill their cards wins the prize!
  

Lesson 9

• Final task: you are a Historian specialised on King Arthur. You are organising an exhibition "The Middle-ages: between fiction and reality" for a school.

To create your exhibition:

Make a list of what was real in the Middle Ages and what elements of the Arthurian Legend are fictional. Then start thinking on how to build models representing the real Middle-Ages and the story of King Arthur (to help you have a look at the article of the Minimois 2019). You can use cardboards, lego, anything that you can lay your hand on!  You build two models: one which is historically accurate and the other which represents a part of King Arthur's story.