romance Millennium 1 Page 30 Characteristics of the Medieval Romance A popular genre mainly translated from French models see for example th e tales of Chretien de Troyes Lancelot ID: 487437
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Slide1
Medieval romance
Millennium
1
Page
30Slide2
Characteristics of the Medieval Romance
A popular genre mainly translated from French
models (see, for example, th
e tales of Chretien de Troyes:
"
Lancelot
ou le chevalier à la
charrette
"
(
in English
"
Lancelot
, the Knight of the
Cart
")
,
dealing
with
Sir Lancelot’ s love for
Guinevere
or
"
Perceval
o Le conte du
Graal
"
, (in English
"
Perceval
, the Story of the
Grail
"
)
left
unfinished
and
dealing
with
the
quest
for the
holy
Grail
.
The Medieval Romance consisted
of
a tale in
verse about chivalry, love, and all sorts of wonders: fairies, giants, dragons and wizards
.
the narrative framework into which the story was set could
be:
a religious crusade,
a conquest for the knight's
lord
, or
the rescue of a captive lady
or any combination
Main features:
The world of chivalry
, the hero-knight and his noble deeds are idealized
the knight's love for his lady is an important component of medieval romance
the settings of medieval romance tend to be imaginary and vague (exotic places and fantastic journeys
mystery and suspense are derived from supernatural elements
concealed or disguised identity of the main character
repetition of the mystical number "3." (Repetitions of the number or multiples of 3) Slide3
Characteristics of the Hero-Knight
1.
Birth
of the great hero is shrouded in mystery; 2. He is reared away from his true home in ignorance of his real parents ; 3. For a time his true identity is unknown; 4. After meeting an extraordinary challenge, he claims his rights ; 5. His triumph benefits his nation or group ; Arthur himself is a Hero Knight and the events surrounding his rise to power as a King is a Medieval Romance.
This
genre is still popular today.
The
new interest in
Stars Wars,
in particular the first trilogy
(
Episodes 4-6), is a perfect contemporary Medieval
romance
. Slide4
Origins of the Medieval Romance
The tales come from three main sources:
France (the court of Charlemagne, Roland,
Roncevalles
, known as “the matter of France), Rome (classical stories, such as the conquest of Troy, Alexander the Great etc, known as the matter of Rome), Britain (Brittany in northern France, with the stories of King Arthur and his knights, Merlin, Lancelot etc., known as the matter of Britain). This genre develops in the XII and XIII centuries; It expresses the values of the French aristocratic society; It provides a picture of feudal knighthood
:
clothing, hunting, feasting and tournaments are clearly
described as well as the
moral code of knighthood: the true knight owed total obedience to his God, his
king and his lady and had to be ready to die for them.
Morte
D’Arthur
by Thomas
Malory
best example of an English medieval
romance;
the French and English stories of the knight of the Round Table are unified by
Malory into a single narrative;
Malory’s romance begins with Arthur’s birth and ends with his death and the
destruction of the Round Table;
the adventures of the best knights, like Lancelot, Gawain, Tristan and Perceval are also described in this romance
Slide5
Study Questions
What were the subjects of the medieval romance?
The subjects of medieval romance were the adventures of knights and their extraordinary deeds.
What did the deeds of the knights include?
They included much fighting, romantic love, fantastic journeys in exotic places and supernatural events.
What was the medieval romance a portrayal of?It was a portrayal of both the exterior and ethical aspects of feudal knighthood. As far as the exterior aspects are concerned, clothing, hunting, feasting and tournaments were described; ethically, the knight was totally bound to his God, his king and his lady. It was for them that the knight faced dangers, supernatural events defending the weak against evil forces.What did the “matters” which make up the corpus of medieval romance include?They can be divided into three groups: the matter of France dealing with the stories of Charlemagne, Roland and Roncevalles; the matter of Britain (i.e. Brittany in the north of France) dealing with the stories of the Arthurian legend, and the matter of Rome which includes the story of Troy, the story of Thebes and the stories of Alexander the Great .Who were King Arthur’s best knights?
The best knights of the Round Table were Lancelot, Gawain, Tristan and Perceval.