#moriaen

[slingerapen]

when i see gawain i dont want to ask any questions about the narrative. well i do and its ‘how many people can you kill through bullshit’ and ‘can you have some kissy boy friends for this story please’

[vermium]

The next Arthurian knight that refutes the misconception that every character in the Arthurian mythos had to be British or otherwise exclusively Western European.

Morien was a Knight of the Round Table whose life was narrated in the 13th century Arthurian poem “Moriaen,” written in the Middle Dutch. His father was the knight Aglovale, and his mother—a princess from a “Moorish” land. Just like the common imagery of Arthur’s court doesn’t have a strictly defined era or cultural affiliation (you’ll see hundreds of paintings of 6th century British knights wearing 17th century French armour), this image represents Morien as more of a legendary figure, combining regionally accurate elements in a bit of an anachronistic fashion. One of the first cultures to be referred to as Moors by the European Christians were the Maghrebine Berber people, giving some context to which region Morien's mother could be from. Amazigh-style weapons served as a basis for his weapons, while Tuareg dyeing techniques the design of his clothing. The description of his “Moorish” clothes and his armour as black as a raven reminds me of the beautiful indigo fabrics of the Tuareg people, which can appear to shine like raven feathers. His sword is barely visible, but it is based on the flyssa, an Amazigh traditional sword. He also holds an adarga, the Amazigh leather shield, which was actually so good at—well, being a shield—that it was adopted by many cultures of Europe because of its efficacy.

[queer-ragnelle]

arthurian posts i have planned

knights of color

named pets/animals

dads

next gen kids (gingalain, elyan, moriaen etc)

all about sir tor (been drafted for years lol)

queen morgause webweave

music master post

knight superpowers breakdown

owain versus yvain

horror!!!

[ripmyfictionalfriends]

when Sir Moriaen gets mentioned in an arthurian book but it's done by a fucking racist: KEEP HIS NAME OUT OF YOUR MOUTH YOU FUCKING BITCHASS

i wanted to beat him to the pulp so bad

[creacherkeeper]

happy sleepover saturday!! who's your fav character in arthurian legend? what's your favorite movie that makes no goddamn sense?

oh this one is Targeted

okay so first my fave and then my fave obscure/underappreciated character

fave is of course my boy gawain. i want to put him in a jar and shake him up until he cries. like. my man is so interesting. all the people close to him agree that he's super noble and kind and goodhearted and just. but also he has a sense of humor!! and even more interesting than that is he's willing to throw himself under the bus for the betterment of others

in sir gawain and the green knight, when the green knight comes to challenge someone in a duel to the death, gawain makes a big show about how he's Clearly the most suited one there and how it would be silly to challenge anyone else and no one could really take on the green knight except for him. he makes himself look like a completely pompous asshole. but also that spares literally everyone else from having to rise to the challenge of facing a very terrifying and clearly magical foe. everyone gets off scott free by saying "ugh big headed gawain showing off again, lets all watch him get his ass kicked" while they can secretly be relieved none of them had to step in, or WORSE say no to the challenge and make king arthur and his court look weak. by making himself look like a dick (something everyone there knows he isnt) he lets everyone save face while also protecting them from almost certain death and he does it SO well that the green knight is none the wiser. like. big brain moves only from my boy gawain

in a COMPLETELY different tone he's such a fucking horse girl and in one of the stories (i cant remember which one. yvain maybe???) gringolet his horse gets stolen and the man just like lies on the ground crying about it. he loves his horse so much!!!! and its so funny!!!! he's so strong and brave and his horse gets stolen and its full toddler hours from noble knight gawain. the other knights are like my man you gotta pull yourself together and gawain is like *snot and tears* MY BEST FRIEND GRINGOLET

now my favorite obscure/underappreciated character from the arthurian canon is moriaen. i dont blame people for not knowing him because his story is very rare and hard to find but more people should!! he's the only knight of the round table who's canonically black and he's really fascinating

its very clear in the text that, while there's some stuff thats obviously MMMM,,, today, it was the author at the times attempt to be really progressive and accepting. moriaen has very dark skin and a lot of the characters in the story have never met a black man before and are originally very scared of him. however in his story moriaen comes to be known as the MOST christian and noble of all the knights of the round table (in a time where christian = good and moral) and the people who were originally afraid of him are so impressed by his good heartedness, morality, and strength, that they come to value and praise him. also his father, who is a white knight of the round table, actually ends up going back to [unspecified country in northern africa] to pursue justice for his mother's kingdom. like its very elementary social justice kind of stuff today but for the medieval period this was RADICAL and its really really cool to me

on the topic, for the movie question, everyone should watch king arthur legend of the sword (2017) because like. is it good. no. does the story make any sense. no. is it historically accurate or faithful to the canon. god not even a little. does it fuck severely for no goddamn reason and go so fucking hard at every opportunity? GOD. YES. its genuinely a piece of ART and i mean that in the most derogatory and highly affectionate way possible. it makes no goddamn sense but its SUCH a good time everyone should watch it

[subatoism]

@bijoumikhawal Do you secretly live inside my brain??? I was literally just thinking about King Artus this morning b/c I reread your Moriaen fic and it made me giggle that Julian said Gawain’s characterization is consistent across texts and I thought he must not have read Artus at that point since accidentally murdering eighteen of your coworkers is absolutely unhinged behavior

(Incidentally I sort of did a thing?? Just because it was on the brain)

[moriaenships]

Moriaen i have simply not known peace since you posted neck tattoo aiden wtf is his tattoo like ive been obsessing over it but i got nothing its ur fault but im also blessing the rest of your life so hard

hehehehehe you're very welcome Anna ❤️ when i hop on my computer later i can test out different neck tats on him for you 👀

[bijoumikhawal]

I'm not an Arthuriana kinda guy so idk how normal this is but I find it funny that so far Moriaen is less about Moriaen despite this being the work he's introduced in (and iirc, the only work he is featured in) and is more about Gwain

[panafrocore]

Sir Moriaen: The Moorish Knight of the Round Table

Sir Moriaen, also known as Moriaan or Morien, is a captivating figure in the realm of Arthurian romance. This 13th-century Middle Dutch tale unveils the remarkable journey of Morien, the Moorish son of Aglovale, one of King Arthur’s esteemed Knights of the Round Table, and an African Moorish princess whom Aglovale encountered during a crusade to North Africa. Distinguished by his unwavering…

[gringolet]

arthurian side character week day five: morien!

[mosaicofdreamsanddragons]

Moriaen(holding a grievously wounded Gawain): I don’t think any physician in the world can save you

Gawain: I take that as a challenge. I’m going to heal myself in two days!

Moriaen: . . .

Gawain: In fact who needs two days! I’m going to walk over to the man who beat me up and stare him in the eyes until he backs down!

Moriaen: . . . I think the blood loss is setting in.

[arthurianmisquotes]

Oh my God, you can't just ask him why he's black

Sir Gawain to his brother, after the arrival of Moriaen

[didanawisgi]

From an illuminated manuscript circa 1350s (Via medieval poc)

By Rose Eveleth @smithsonian.com 

January 16, 2014

“Not All the Knights of the Round Table Were “White” The storytellers assumed we’d be sharp enough to pick up on their hints that Sir Morien was black. Turns out, we’re not

The blog MedievalPoC points out that Morien has been largely forgotten or white-washed in modern depictions of the round table. But early texts describe him pretty clearly as not-white. The blog quotes from the translated saga of Morien:

He was all black, even as I tell ye: his head, his body, and his hands were all black, saving only his teeth. His shield and his armour were even those of a Moor, and black as a raven…

Had they not heard him call upon God no man had dared face him, deeming that he was the devil or one of his fellows out of hell, for that his steed was so great, and he was taller even than Sir Lancelot, and black withal, as I said afore…

When the Moor heard these words he laughed with heart and mouth (his teeth were white as chalk, otherwise was he altogether black)…

Morien isn’t even the only knight who isn’t white in the Arthurian folklore as the blog Elodie Under Glass points out:

First off, six percent of the Knights of the Round Table were men of color. Granted, that’s only three out of 49 men, but the entire expanded United States Congress is hovering around 13% people of color and only has one black Senator.

So why do all our modern renditions of the round table include a team of totally white guys? Well, not every version of the round table stories points out specifically that Morien is black. Elodie Under Glass explains:

Meanwhile, characters in these stories aren’t really visually described unless they have superlative characteristics, such as mysterious all-black armor or remarkably long golden hair. Many knights were described as dark in hair and features. Instead of placing a large flashing sign in the middle of a saga going “THIS PERSON IS TOTALLY A PERSON OF COLOR YOU GUYS, WE REALLY HOPE YOU WILL TAKE THIS INTO ACCOUNT IN FUTURE ADAPTATIONS” the narrative might well have said “Sir Bors, who was dark” and moved on, assuming that readers or listeners would interpret it the way the narrator meant.

So the storytellers assumed we’d be sharp enough to pick up on their hints that Morien was black. Turns out, we’re not...”

Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/not-all-knights-round-table-were-white-180949361/#qzR2Heh4DX0X7Bj4.99

Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitter

[queer-ragnelle]

[britomart]

ysabeeleee<3

[itonje]

oh another underrated gawaine fact is that he’s a good clerk