Over the past twenty years, the various archaeological operations carried out by Inrap at Caen castle have furthered the initial research carried out by Michel de Boüard in the 1950s and 1960s. Since April 2023, monitoring of the castle's restructuring work has added to our knowledge, enabling us to reconstruct the fortress in the mid-12th century, when it took on a scale under the Plantagenets that has never been equalled since.
The exceptional discovery of a graffiti probably dating from this period, depicting a knight on foot chasing a dragon taking flight, was the starting point for the proposal to organize a round-table discussion focusing on the Plantagenet court, one of the main vectors for the spread of courtly literature and poetry in Europe. Henry II and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine encouraged the development of literature and poetry, and the spread of the Arthurian legend. The emphasis was on chivalric values and courtly love. The various knights who appear in the "Matière de Bretagne" have almost all faced a dragon, and this will be an opportunity to discuss this theme, which was strongly present in the intellectual entourage of the Plantagenet kings.
The round-table will bring together Fanny Madeline, senior lecturer at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, who is working on the Plantagenet empire and the itineraries of the kings in Normandy, Alban Gautier, professor of medieval history at the University of Caen, and Jocelyn Coulon, doctoral student at the University of Caen. Their multidisciplinary research focuses on the Plantagenet empire, the court and daily life, and the dissemination of writings, poetry and novels, including the Arthurian legend and representations of snakes and dragons in medieval Normandy.
Date
| On Friday 28 March 2025 | |
| Friday | Open from 18h30 to 20h |
Prices
- Free for all
