Comparing Sir Tryamour and Amis and Amiloun

Comparing Sir Tryamour and Amis and Amiloun.

The medieval romances seem particularly in danger of being misinterpreted in the manner suggested, possibly because the word 'romance' itself inevitably calls to the mind the general vague term 'romance* or the adjective 'romantic*.However, real meaning of medieval romance are stories of adventure in which the chief parts are played by knights, famous kings, or distressed ladies, acting most often under the impulse of love, religious faith, or in many, mere desire for adventure. Though, if we think in terms of medieval romance, I shall confine myself to what we still call 'romances of chivalry', particularly in a way how it is revealed in Sir Tryamour and Amis and Amiloun. Rejecting the fact that these two works of art were written with interval of a century, they have quite a lot of similar themes and motifs. Sir Tryamour was written by unknown author at the end of fourteen century and one hundred years before Amis and Amiloun appeared in publication. The most common motifs of these two works are the treachery of stewards, a tournament involving protagonists, a support of loyal friend, mistaken identity and family discord. Both romances have a main character, who is reunited with their family after a long separation, passes through checking his chivalric abilities involving the testing and assert his honor at the end of romance. Nevertheless, in most romances there are minor characters (stewards) who try to mislead main heroes by deception such as Marrok in Sir Tryamour and the duke’s “loyal” steward in Amis and Amiloun. Moreover, further paragraphs of the essay will examine how these two themes are revealed.

To begin with, Steward’s treachery plays crucial role in both romances. Eve...

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...e. Since kings consider their stewards as their right-hand man, they always believe them, even more than their dearests. Consequently, Marrok’s deception becomes the separation of lovely, friendly and quietly king’s family. King of Arogan unaware of absolute truth and untrusting to his lovely wife, Margaret,accuses her and offers Sir Roger, to his servant, to send the queen to exile. At this point the readers may find a bunch with disunion ofAmiloun’s family. When Amiloun returns from combat, where he was in Amis’s stead, he confesses to his wife about cheating of the duke. When Belisuant learns about it, she is greatly angered and bitterly criticizes her husband, not because he dueled in Amis’s stead, but because he murdered the steward who she thinks was innocent:

“With wrong and Michel unright

Thou slough ther a gentil knight;

Ywis, it was ivel ydo” (1492-1494)