The Role of the Monster: An Analysis of Medieval Fears in De Troyes’ “The Knight with the Lion (Yvain)” If, in 500 years, readers are interested in the fears of a 21st century society, there are a multitude of venues they can explore to discover them. In blogging, facebooking, and creating YouTube videos, the 21st century masses are ensuring the ubiquity and longevity of every thought, mundane or extraordinary. This is the benefit of a society comprised of mostly literate, or tech-savvy, citizens. However, this was not the circumstance in the Medieval Period. It was not taken for granted that every citizen could read and write, or even had access to literature. They could not record their thoughts and fears with the ease of those today. …show more content…
A better understanding of the fears that plagued the high middle ages of the Medieval Period can be gained by examining the nature of the monsters depicted in texts like Chrétien De Troyes’ story, “The Knight with the Lion (Yvain).” The most indicative of the monsters, those who are the most telling of the fears of the period, are Harpin of the Mountain and Yvain himself, in the ways that they challenge the medieval notion of sexual expression and male legacy, recognize the loss of identity through a loss of the community-bond, maintain a border between civilization and the unknown forests that surround it, and threaten the idea that “man” is …show more content…
Upon his request, Yvain’s wife, Laudine, allows him a specific number of months to compete at tournament with Gawain. The year passes and Yvain completely forgets his promise to the lady that he will be punctual. When Laudine’s deadline is reached, she rescinds her love and Yvain slips “out from among the barons, because he [is] afraid of going mad in their presence” (De Troyes 330). He wanted to be “entirely alone” (De Troyes
After killing the knight who defeated Calgrenant, Yvain marries his wife takes over the land; which are responsibilities he is not ready for. Soon after his victory the knights of King Arthur's court come to challenge The Lord of the land, unbeknown to them it is now Yvain. Yvain quickly defeats Sir Kay and then reveals himself. He has now gained the approval and recognition by his peers that he so despe...
Grave and somewhat solid in his tone, he is overflowing with purpose. The danger he takes in disclosing his contention's potential defects and testing the readers judgments will yield the uneasiness that penetrates his exposition, as well as additionally individuals' personalities. His dialect and tone, withdrawing from the scholastic investigation of monsters, exhibits a genuine yet energetically inciting demeanor to the group of onlookers. We see the modest, unexpected comical inclination that he has well covered up under the earnestness and details of a
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.
In what follows, my research paper will rely on an article by Kathy Prendergast entitled “Introduction to The Gothic Tradition”. The significance of this article resides in helping to recapitulate the various features of the Gothic tradition. In this article the authoress argues that in order to overturn the Enlightenment and realistic literary mores, many of the eighteenth century novelists had recourse to traditional Romantic conventions in their works of fiction, like the Arthurian legendary tales (Prendergast).
The paper compares two short stories (Poe’s “the fall of The House of Usher” and Perkins-Gillman’s “the Yellow Wallpaper”), in order to develop arguments about the relationship between characters’ fears and the main theme of each story. In the two short stories, the characters are suffering from various forms of fear under different circumstances. Such fears include fear of fear, fear of death, fear of other people, fear of isolation, fear of punishment, and fear of loss of reputation. Such different forms of fears can assist readers in understanding the motives of the characters.
When all the courtly love elements that flow through The Knight of the Cart are composed, in addition to a tale of love affair between Queen Guinevere and Lancelot of the Lake, a document revealing the enchanting history of the Twelfth Century Renaissance is created. Troyes, our powerful storyteller, was able to do this by taking us on a journey with Lancelot, not only though his exciting battles to Guinevere but, through his passionate and enamored thoughts and behaviors that yearns for his beloved.
“Culture does not make people. People make culture” said Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a Nigerian writer and educator, in a presentation on feminism in a TedTalk. The culture in which Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was written was misogynistic and it shows in the writing of the poem. Medieval cultural misogyny manifests itself in multiple ways in SGGK. This paper will examine the negative relationships between Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and gender by discussing: the representation of female characters, gendered violence, and Christianity in the Middle Ages.
When comparing the epic poem of The Song of Roland to the romantic literature of Ywain, the differences between the early medieval period and the high medieval period become evident. Both The Song of Roland and Ywain depicts the societies from which each story derives its fundamental characteristics. Through close observation, one is able to see the shifts in customs and mentality that make the move from the epic to the romance possible. In his chapter 'From Epic to Romance', R.W. Southern shows how this transformation manifests itself through changing ecclesiastical and secular thoughts and feelings.
These two scenarios from Anglo-Saxon and modern times are similar, as well. They are similar because of the continuity of “monsters” terrorizing a society being a great influence among audiences of the past and present. The two works of both eras demonstrate the continual interest in defeating villains and “feeding” it’s listeners with tales such as these.
comprehends by writing it in a certain point of view. In Rios’ “The Secret Lion,” the first
Millette, Ashley and Aashish Srinivas. “Beasts and Myths of the Middle Ages.” n.p. n.d. Web. 20 March 2014.
Excellence has always been a virtue revered by society. Writers throughout the ages have tried to capture the essence of excellence in their works, often in the form of a title character, who is the embodiment of perfection, encapsulating all the ideal traits necessary for one to be considered an excellent member of society. However, the standards for excellence are not universally agreed upon. On the contrary, one man's idea of excellence may very well be another's idea of mediocrity. Yet, human nature is constant enough that by analyzing different literary "heroes", one can discover the standards of excellence that are common to different peoples.
Romance can be defined as a medieval form of narrative which relates tales of chivalry and courtly love. Its heroes, usually knights, are idealized and the plot often contains miraculous or superatural elements. According to Tony Davenport the central medieval sense of romance is ' of narratives of chivalry, in which knights fight for honour and love.' The term amour coutois ( courtly love) was coined by the French critic Gaston Paris in 1883 to categorise what medieval French lyricists or troubadours referred to as ' fin armors'. Romances and lyrics began to develop in the late fourteenth century England, author like Chaucer or Hoccleve produced some of the first english medieval narratives. But how does medieval literature present the expericence of romantic love. In order to answer this question this essay will focus on two tales from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales: the Knight's Tales and the Franklin's Tales. It will show that medieval romance can be used as a vehicle to promote chivalric behaviour as well as exploring a range of philosophical, political, and literary question.
In the Song of Roland, ideal characteristics of a knight are identified mainly with having skill as a horseman and fighting on the battlefield. The idea of an armored knight is closely descended from the equites class of Rome. Knights were closely tied to the various fiefdoms and to the church. A knight was expected to have courage, honor, selflessness, respect, honesty, and many other characteristics of how a perfect knight was seen such as Roland, Oliver, and Thierry in the Song of Roland. Many knights were of course not perfect but in the Song of Roland Roland, Oliver, and Thierry are perfect knights because they have a strong devotion, and are respectful.
The tales of King Arthur and many of their numerous characters are well known in literature. The Arthurian world is one of the great myths of modern times. Those great pieces of literature have many common themes, one of them being courtly love “L’amour Courtois”. This paper talks of courtly love as seen in King Arthur’s world especially examining “Yvain or the Knight with the Lion” and “Lancelot: or the Knight of the Cart”. Furthermore, one of the goals is to show how that courtly love could be seen in today in our world.