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Meg Roland
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English professor at Marylhurst University, then Concordia University. I teach writing, medieval literature, humanities, maps and literature, and history of the book.
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The Once and Future Manuscript
Walter F. Oakshott, the former librarian at Winchester College, tells a fascinating and delightful story of the manuscript’s discovery. The great story of Arthur’s birth, life, and death was compiled by Sir Thomas Malory from an array of French and … Continue reading
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Tagged 15th-century, arthurian-legend, cs-lewis, early books, j-r-r-tolkien, King Arthur, Le Morte Darthur, manuscripts, mary-stewart, old-books, Roman War episode, t-h-white, Thomas Malory, thomas-maory, Travel Writing, travel-writing, Via Francigena, via-francigena, Winchester, Winchester manuscript, winchester-cathedral, winchester-manuscript
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Of Cathedral and College
An intriguing aspect of Winchester Cathedral, aside from its beautiful interior, medieval nave, and as the resting place of Jane Austen, is the manicula (pointing hands) carved onto an exterior wall in 1633. To. me, the carving forms a kind … Continue reading
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Tagged jane-austen, King Arthur, Le Morte Darthur, literature, map, Thomas Malory, travel, Winchester, winchester-college, winchester-manuscript
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“Swere upon a book:” Winchester and the Arthurian legend
Hit befelle whan Kyng Arthur had wedded Quene Gwenyvere and fulfyled the rounde Table, and so aftir his marvelous knyghtis and he had venquyshed the most party of his enemyes . . . And held a ryal feeste and Table … Continue reading
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Tagged book-review, books, history, King Arthur, Le Morte Darthur, thoma-malory, travel, Winchester, winchester-cathedral
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“Here in this world, he changed his life:” literary geography and an itinerary
Literary geography—an imaginative, creative, or literary responses to landscape and place. Writing about travel and geography, whether real or imagined, has a long and popular history. Archbishop Sigeric, for example, wrote down his return itinerary from Rome to Canterbury in … Continue reading
King Arthur and the Roman what?
King Arthur’s Roman War campaign? Most people have never heard of it. Almost everyone is familiar with the major plot outlines of the Arthurian story—a birth engendered by lust and magic, the iconic sword-and-the-stone episode, the Knights of the Round … Continue reading
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Tagged books, fantasy, harry-potter, King Arthur, Le Morte Darthur, Meg Roland, once-and-future-king, reading, Rome, Thomas Malory, via-francigena
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Going that way anyway
As the landscape of northern France flies dizzyingly past the train window, I am struck by the thought that somehow I got myself here, against a lot of odds. In the past four years, my part-time faculty position became full time, … Continue reading
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Tagged claudius-ptolemy, geography, medieval-maps, Roman War, Thomas Malory, travel, via-francigena
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Quest
2011: I am on the Eurostar train, streaming from London to Paris in just over two hours. My friend, Padeen, is dozing on a seat nearby. I’ve been awarded a faculty grant to follow the itinerary of the medieval story … Continue reading
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Tagged books, King Arthur, maps, Thomas Malory, travel, travel-writing, via-francigena, writing
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In Malory’s Le Morte Darthur–a challenge is issued and a journey begins
It befell when King Arthur had wedded Queen Guinevere and fulfilled the Round Table, and so after his marvellous knights and he had vanquished the most part of his enemies– . . . then so it befell that the Emperor … Continue reading
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An update on Passionate Geography, January 2026
Friends, if you once subscribed to this seemingly long-lost blog, you will start to see that I am tinkering and revising and hopefully finishing this project. If you would like to unsubscribe, please feel free to do so! If you … Continue reading
a passionate geography
Between perception and a response emerges a zone of feeling, a resonance, a vibration, a powerful affect that inaugurates the passionate geography evoked in Guiliana Bruno’s ‘Atlas of Emotion’ . . . –Iain Chambers, “Maritime Criticism and Theoretical Shipwrecks,” PMLA, … Continue reading
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A Passionate Geography: Romancing King Arthur’s Roman War 