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Romances
Middle English Period: Literature
§ Feudalism carried with it a sense of form and manners
§ came to life most fully in the institution of knighthood (chivalry)
Genre § Chivalry gave rise to one of the
literary forms of the Medieval Period known as the romance-
§ narrative which developed in 12th century France that is set in the world of knights, kings, and supernatural creatures.
§ “Romance” originally signified a work written in the French language, which evolved from a dialect of the Roman language.
A romance includes 3 stages:
1. A dangerous quest
2. A test of honor or courage (moral teachings)
3. A return to the point from which the quest began
Romance stresses the chivalric ideals of:
1) Courage 2) Loyalty 3) Honor 4) Mercifulness to opponent (rules of
warfare Ex. one did not attack an unarmed knight)
5) Exquisite and elaborate manners 6) Adoration of a particular lady for
purposes of self-improvement
Courtly Love
§ the idea that by revering and acting in the name of a lady, the knight would become braver and better
§ The lover idolizes his beloved and subjects himself to her every whim
§ This love is often that of a bachelor knight for another man’s wife
Relationships toward Women
§ The great contribution of chivalry was an improved and even idealized attitude toward women
2 of the most well-known examples of the romance are:
1. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (verse)
2. Le Morte d’ Arthur (prose)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight § it is the greatest English
example of a romance § Gawain is the model of the
romantic (chivalric) hero whose character is being tested
§ On trial are the virtues of the chivalric code
§ It is a serious romance whose purpose is to teach a moral lesson
§ Gawain does not have unlimited powers (like Beowulf). He is a human who, like all of us, is limited in his moral and physical strength.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
§ Written in 1370 § Author is
unknown; referred to as “The Pearl Poet”
§ A romance in the Arthurian tradition
Bob-and-Wheel
n bob- first short line of a group of rhyming lines that is 2-3 syllables long.
n “Behold him with my eyes and have speech with him.”
He frowned; (bob) Took note of every knight
As he ramped and rode around; Then stopped to study who might Be the noble most renowned.
n wheel- the 4 lines after the bob. n Behold him with my eyes and have speech with him.”
He frowned: (bob) Took note of every knight (wheel) As he ramped and rode around;
Then stopped to study who might Be the noble most renowned.
n Bob-and-wheel constitutes 5 lines rhyming in an ABABA pattern. No head. A He twisted his trunk about, B That gruesome body that bled; A He caused much dread and doubt B By the time his say was said. A