The evolution of human society consists mainly of ineffective ruling regimes and oppressed peasants. Medieval Europe falls into this same pervasive cycle. Social and political hierarchies intertwine which creates a grossly inefficient system. Hereditary lineage determines nobility. Commoners possess no hope of social mobility. Every aspect of life is virtually preordained. These circumstances revolve around the figure Lanval by Mari de France. Mari de France introduces Lanval as a courteous and distinguished knight of King Arthur’s court. Lanval possesses the most moral nature of all of King Arthur’s knights, yet even so, the other knights of King Arthur’s round table despise him. The many knights neglect acknowledgment of his nature as does …show more content…
King Arthur’s forgetful nature illustrates the fallacy of the feudal system which Mari de France refers to. Joseph and Francis Gies comment on this as they describe “[the real destroyer was not gunpowder but central government” (219). The political system in place proved ineffective as it favored certain elites. The nobility prospered while the commoners perished in anguish which is clearly presented in Lanval. Lanval fails to thrive while his comrades continue to gain wealth. Lanval’s distress stems from King Arthur which reflects the ineffective political system. Kings stabilize society as they dominate much of the politics and decisions made, yet kings frequently “forget” about the lower classes. Mari de France references this as two separate kings fail to reward Lanval. Lanval received “nothing from [his father]” (Mari de France 31) nor did Lanval receive “ample patronage” (Marie de France 13) from King Arthur. Those unfortunately in the third estate lack any political influence. Therefore, commoners have little control over the quality of their life. King Arthur, as any king should, must ensure the prosperity of his subjects especially the most loyal. Kings cannot deviate from this as the feudal system will not support this. France and Joseph Gies refer to this in their book Life in a Medieval Castle. France and Joseph Gies discuss the daily lives of the king and the subjects. The importance and job of each class fail to function optimally. The castles were rooted economically in the countryside which was intimately connected with the villagers. These villagers were the “social and economic units of rural Europe” (147) which illustrates the importance of the various classes in medieval Europe. Undermining the lower social classes will cause political and social upheaval as they collectively dominate the economic force in the feudal system. Few individual commoners mask the
In the middle ages, knights were viewed as those who would represent the greatest level of chivalry, considering it was part of their code. King Arthur talked to a peasant in the beginning of the film who expressed her said unhappiness about the government and her views did not align with King Arthur so he disapproved. The peasant described medieval Europe as a horrid place to live. There was also a lack of education among the peasants because in the British empire at that time, there were many small kingdoms owned by lords, under one king. All the peasants really knew was their own kingdom and their king, they were not really educated on the number or where other kingdoms were. During this time period, the peasants were viewed as the bottom of the food chain, and in the feudal system they were actually at the bottom. This meant that they had no real say in the government or how it was ruled, so this interaction did not seem accurate for the time period nor did it cause any impact because those who were high in the feudal system liked the strong divide between classes. The way of life during the middle ages was strongly influenced by past traditions and morals that had been passed down from generation to generation. One of these old traditions included
During the medieval times the social status and the rank of the citizens where very important in determining the obligations and restrictions of the people. When citizens jumped social class or stepped out of line, it was looked down upon by the other citizens. In the Knights tale some of the social class stereotypes are broken by characters such as Kate, William and Joselyn.
civility. The court of King Arthur as described in the tale of Lanval by Marie de France shows to
In the Medieval Period, knights dedicated their lives to following the code of chivalry. In Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur, a number of characters performed chivalrous acts to achieve the status of an ideal knight. Their characteristics of respect for women and courtesy for all, helpfulness to the weak, honor, and skill in battle made the characters King Arthur, King Pellinore, and Sir Gryfflette examples of a what knights strove to be like in Medieval society. Because of the examples ofchivalry, Le Morte d’Arthur showed what a knight desired to be, so he could improve theworld in which he lived.
Breaking societal norms often leaves people open to criticism and suspicion. In order to be sane and mentally healthy, one has to abide by all explicit and implicit rules of society. The “Life of Merlin” is about a man who abandons feudal society, and all of its rules, in hopes of finding a better place to live. A better place to live, for him, is one that is purely good. Violent and deceitful people are ultimately the factors that drive him away, causing him to be termed as “mad.”
When looking back at the medieval ages, one may realize that the knights had many extraordinary abilities- they were like superheroes. In different Arthurian Legends, like The Crowning of Arthur, Arthur Becomes King, and Sir Launcelot du Lake, many people admire the person who has these inhumane abilities. Arthur and Sir Launcelot are both characters that initially seem like ordinary people, but show their superior strength and power by the end of the story. Arthur releases a sword from a stone that not even the strongest man can pull out, while Sir Launcelot murders a knight who is known to be an undefeated fighter. Because of these actions, both characters grew to fame. Sir Thomas Malory and T. H. White use unique abilities to exhibit the theme that one should never underestimate who they are and their capabilities in doing something.
Broughton, Bradford B. Dictionary of Medieval Knighthood and Chivalry: Concepts and Terms. New York: Greenwood Press, 1986.
Even though the Arthur legend is hundreds of years old, our culture today is still fascinated with the idea of the Round Table and the love triangle between Arthur, Lancelot, and Guinevere. There are movies and books galore to read about the different takes on the legend of Arthur. However, it makes one wonder if our culture really understands the Arthurian legend. Especially in the movies the central idea of a literary work can be lost. Compared to Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur have movies lost sight of what the Arthurian legend tries to teach?
...does not see knighthood honours as abiding laws 'love is a greeter lawe,by mypan than be yeve to any erthley man. This unchivalriac behaviour disrupts the peace and order that chivalric values had brought. 'Medieval romance can therefore asks question about the world or to quote Arcite 'what is this world?' Chaucer's world was indeed a 'tormented century . . . Rules crumbled, institutions failed in their functions. Knighthood did not protect; the towns, once agents of progress and the commonweal, were absorbed in mutual hostilities and divided by class war; the populations, depleted by the Black Death, did not recover. The war of England and France and the brigandage it spawned revealed the emptiness of chivalry’s military pretensions and the falsity of its moral ones. It was a declining world, that Chaucer described through the rivalry of Acricte and Palamon.
Marie De France’s Lanval is a remarkable short narrative that engages the reader into a world filled with unrealistic elements, but enhances on the true meaning of romance, chivalry and nature during the years that King Arthur reigned. “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight” unfortunately does not have an author that can be recognized but this epic poem demonstrates the ghastly adventure of a knight who decides to defend the honor of young King Arthur against a supernatural being in this malicious game of cat and mouse. Both of these pieces of literature have enchanting characteristics that define them as a masterpiece of their era and that’s why they both are easily compared and contrasted. In addition, both Lanval and “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight” can be classified as similar through their themes, style and plots, although they are different through their language and diction. Even though both of these literatures can be viewed as similar as well as contrasting, in the end, each of these tales have illuminated the realm of fantasy throughout the court of King Arthur.
The tales of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Lanval offer their readers insight into a common knightly quandary. Gawain and Lanval are both faced with challenges that threaten their ability to protect, uphold, and affirm their very knightliness. The two knights repeatedly see several knightly traits--- each invaluable to the essence of a knight--- brought into conflict. While the knights are glorified in their respective texts, they are faced with impossible dilemmas; in each story, both reader and knight are confronted with the reality that knightly perfection is unattainable: concessions must be made--- bits and pieces of their honor must be sacrificed.
Lanval’s initial introduction to the reader is one that focuses solely on his emotional and physical isolation from the rest of the Arthurian world as “he was far from his heritage” (27-28) and forgotten by King Arthur upon the king’s lavish distribution of “wives and lands” (17) to his “members of the Round Table” (15). The king’s knights are depicted as a “company with no equal in all the world” (16), a description which excludes Lanval. Consequently, the use of the word “company” in this account of his contemporaries is particularly significant as its multiple definitions a...
As this mythical poem begins readers are quickly introduced to the pinnacle of this “pyramid of power”, the king and queen. King Arthur and his “full beauteous” wife Queen Guinevere were “set in the midst, placed on the rich dais adorned all about” (Neilson 3). During this time, royal monarchs often hosted large illustrious gatherings in order to display their wealth, prestige and power. This display of rank is evident when the all powerful “King Arthur and the other knights watch approvingly as Sir Gawain advances” to take the place of his cherished king and accept the Green Knights challenge (Swanson 1). Randy Schiff further clarifies the difference between kings and knights in medieval times when he states, “ Displaying his mastery of courtly deference, Gawain in “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” publicly defines himself through kinship, telling Arthur that he is praiseworthy only “for as much” as Arthur is his “em” (uncle)”(1). In the fourteenth century feudal system the top ranking social class position belong to the king and the queen.
...ghthood within their story. Both poets remind the readers of the disparity between the ideals of chivalries presented in romances, and the reality of lived knighthood, highlighting how problematic the understanding of chivalry and Christianity (knighthood) could be for medieval audiences. Though chivalry shines as a brilliant light of the high civilization in the fourteenth century, both tales suggests that chivalry is at best a limited system, which achieves its brilliant at the cost of a distortion of natural life. It was part of the social and ethical system but did not take into account the entire range of human needs, mainly the fact of human morality and sense of human frailty. The context in which knights are depicted and celebrated in the medieval romance does not support a smooth connection between the harsh realities of a century of internecine strife.
In The Romance of Tristan and Iseult, our characters face many challenges but must follow a different code for how to deal with them. Tristan is an ideal representative of the chivalric knight that faces a large number of situations where many people would be incapable of maintaining morals. We see the feudal structure of this medieval time in place and its importance to maintaining the structure. The Romance of Tristan and Iseult displays the chivalric roles required in this society through Tristan and his many interactions.