potentialities

I am naturally intrigued by the parallels that T. H. White drew regarding his approach to chronology in The Once and Future King as they are relevant to my interests:

If I had to fix a precise date, at a guess, for the period of which Malory was dreaming, I would say that he probably thought of Arthur as a contemporary of Henry II. His chivalry is the Norman chivalry of that king, with the Saxon left out. With all the enthusiasm of the present-day antiquarian who pictures the great Duke of Marlborough, and forgets the blood he waded through, Malory seems to have looked back three centuries to Henry II, forgetting the conquered serf. His Arthur stands, to my mind, in a sort of poeticized aura of the twelfth century: that extraordinary century of individualism, in which the second Henry, like Arthur, had a wife who was not above reproach (?), a bosom friend (Becket) with whom, as Arthur with Lancelot, he had an intense emotional bond, an empire beyond the Channel, and sons like Mordred to destroy him. But I have not, for this reason, confined my own version of Arthur to the 12th century.

Sure, why not.

They're releasing Becket on DVD, for real!

Look at that gorgeous cover!

They even recorded a commentary with Peter O'Toole!

I'm so exciting I'm vibrating, here!

My dream. Come true.

Becket is being released on DVD at last!

In English, Henry is a tennis enthusiast, but en français, he plays (among other things) cricket:

Becket. ... My prince, when you play tennis, do you simply sit back and let things work out. Do you wait for the ball to hit your racket and say "It's bound to come this way eventually"?

King. Ah, now just a minute. You're talking about things that matter. A game of tennis is important, it amuses me.

Becket. And suppose I were to tell you that governing can be as amusing as a game of tennis? Are we going to let the others smash the ball into our court, my prince, or shall we try to score a point, both of us, like two good English sportsmen?

King. (Suddenly roused by his sporting instinct) The point, Begod, the point! You're right! On the court, I sweat and strain, I fall over my feet, I half kill myself, I'll cheat if need be, but I never give up the point!

Translated by Lucienne Hill

Becket. ... Mon prince, quant vous jouez à la paume ou à la crosse, laissez-vous les choses s'arranger? Attendez-vous la balle dans votre raquette en disant : « Elle finira bien par venir? »

Le roi. Je t'arrête. Il s'agit là de choses sérieuses. Une partie de paume c'est important, ça m'amuse.

Becket. Et si je vous apprenais que gouverner cela peut être aussi amusant qu'une partie de cricket? Allons-nous laisser la balle aux autres, mon prince, ou allons-nous tâcher de marquer le point tous les deux, comme deux bons joueurs anglais?

Le roi, réveillé soudain par l'intérêt sportif. Le point, pardieu, le point! Au mail, je me creve, je tombe, je me désosse, je triche au besoin, mais je n'abandonne jamais le point!

I find this unutterably adorable for some reason. Probably because I learned everything I know about cricket from P.G. Wodehouse, Dorothy Sayers, and Douglas Adams. If I could draw, I would spam you all with pictures of Henry and Thomas playing cricket.