Requesting suggestions for medieval stories

[Marquis de Said]

Hi all,

I haven't posted in this subforum much, but from what I read here, I think this might be the right place to post my request.

I am a history buff myself, and am especially interested in medieval history. I work for a dance company and we are planning on creating a theatrical dance piece with a medieval setting. We would like to use medieval stories as a starting point for the characters that would be portrayed in this piece.

We are looking for a few stories (something like 3 to 5 in total) with interesting characters, twists to the plot or just certain peculiarities that were typical of that age. For example, I am interested in Eleanor of Aquitaine because of her colourful life (affair with uncle, marriage to the kings of France and England) or the (fictional) story of the siege of Seville in which the Spanish king and the Muslim king ended up playing chess for the city. These are just a couple of examples.

I would welcome any suggestions as to what stories or characters to use. These can be from any walk of life: kings, priests, princesses, knights, merchants, nuns, peasants. Or battles, trials, sermons, visions, or just descriptions of people and their habits. Basically anything that you find interesting, as long as it's set around 1050-1450. And I would appreciate it, if you mentioned why you found it interesting, basically what is it that captures your imagination in it.

I hope this is not a too complicated request and I really appreciate any input from other patrons. You may also PM me if you want to keep your response private.

-Marquis

[Marshal Murat]

I suggest the Mead Hall, several extensive Medieval stories, albiet Byzantine or Saracen in nature.

[Atilius]

... I would appreciate it, if you mentioned why you found it interesting, basically what is it that captures your imagination in it.

How about the Knight's Tale from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales? Two knights engage in mortal combat for the hand of a lady. Each asks God to grant him his heart's desire and, though one is killed, both prayers are granted.