Magical and mortal women in five medieval romances.

Abstract

The entertaining stories of King Arthur and his knights regularly relate the adventures of a hero as he attempts to win his battle, retain his honor, or help a lady in distress. However, the male hero is not the only important character in the romance, for it is often a woman who influences his actions as he struggles toward his goal. In several medieval romances, the female tests the hero, teaching his his faults (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight) or rewarding him for his faithfulness or for his obedience (Sir Launfal and Sir Gawain and the Carl of Carlisle). Often, the women in these romances test Arthur's court as a whole, a test that two frequently is failed (Sir Launfa), The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight). The Stanzaic Morte Arthur is the only poem in this study of fourteenth-and fifteenth-century romances that does not appear to include the theme of testing of man by woman. however, the actions of the female characters are influential in this romance because they set in motion the events that end in the destruction of Camelot and the death of Arthur. Thus, the female characters, whether magical or mortal, are important to the medieval romances cited here, both through their function as testers and through their influence on the movement of the stories. Not only are these women necessary to the plots, but their presence in each romance adds to an entertaining story richness and depth.