Masaryk University Faculty of Arts

Department of English and American Studies

English Language and Literature

Monika Němečková

The Reflection of Medieval Times in Arthurian Legends Bachelor’s Diploma Thesis

Supervisor: prof. Mgr. Milada Franková, CSc., M.A.

2017

I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography.

…………………………………………….. Author’s signature

Acknowledgement:

I would like to sincerely thank to my supervisor prof. Mgr. Milada Franková, CSc., M.A. for her patient guidance and for the precious time she dedicated to my work. Especially I would like to thank her for her kindness that supported me and enabled me to finish this thesis.

Table of Contents

1 Introduction ...... 5

2 Arthurian Legends ...... 7

3 Cultural and Literary Background of Medieval Age in France ...... 9

3.1 Lanval ...... 14

3.1.1 Reflection ...... 16

3.2 Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart ...... 19

3.2.1 Reflection ...... 22

4 Cultural and Literary Background of Medieval Age in England ...... 25

4.1 The History of the Kings of Britain ...... 28

4.1.1 Reflection ...... 30

4.2 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight ...... 33

4.2.1 Reflection ...... 36

4.3 Le Morte d’Arthur ...... 40

4.3.1 Reflection ...... 44

5 Conclusion ...... 47

6 Works cited ...... 49

7 Summary ...... 51

8 Resumé...... 53

1 Introduction

In the imaginary world of legends there comes about a certain development as the legends survive through the ages. It means that in the course of time the original story, which is the core of the legend, begins to change, it evolves. Those legends existing in the oral tradition change from man to man as the people invent more and more details and add something extra to the original story, whereas those that are written, are affected by the writer; they serve to the purpose of the one who records them. The legends are used as a source material for other forms of narration and their original meaning might be suppressed.

The Arthurian legends create a big part of the cycle known as the Matter of Britain that is told to be a key element of medieval literature. The first mentions of Arthur come from the Early Middle Ages while their greatest popularity the legends reach in the High

Middle Ages. For the development of Arthurian legends it is significant their favour in

France. One can say that the origins of the legends lie on the British Isles, but they got their future form in France, from where they returned to Britain, forever changed.

The aim of this thesis is to analyse selected literary works dealing with the

Arthurian topic from both French and British background and to confirm the presupposition that the era in which the legends came to the light reflects in those legends.

The form of the reflection can be either cultural, supposing that the cultural phenomenon that was in favour at that time affected writers in their re-writing of the legends, or historical. It means that some significant historical events or a political situation is encoded in the story.

The second chapter of the thesis introduces to readers the Arthurian legends in general; it describes their roots and focuses on their historical development until the end of

5 the Middle Ages, for this particular era is crucial for the thesis.

In the third chapter, the cultural and historical background of medieval France is described for following analysis. The special emphasis is put on the phenomenon of courtly love, knighthood and chivalry. The area of France is incorporated into the thesis because of the eminent impact French culture had on the future form of the legends in

Britain. The subchapters deal with the respective analysis of two literary works; both of them are 12th century poems.

As the third chapter, the forth one describes selected topics of the cultural and historical background of medieval England. There is described very briefly the form of medieval literature and the question of the origin and existence of legendary King Arthur.

The focus of this chapter is devoted to significant war conflicts that affected not only the developments in England but also the local literature. In the subchapters, there are analysed three literary works, a 12th century chronicle, a 14th century chivalric romance and a 15th century compilation and reworking of existing Arthurian tales.

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2 Arthurian Legends

Arthurian legends are stories and romances focused on the mythical figure of King

Arthur and his loyal knights also known as Knights of the Round Table. There are many interpretations of the legends and many variations of Arthur, which differ according to the time and place of their creation.

The beginning of the legend goes to the 7th century, when the Welsh poem Y Gododdin is created shortly after the battle of Catraeth as a lament dedicated to British warriors of the kingdom of Gododdin, who died in a fight with Angles. In stanza 99 the poet praises one of the warriors, Gwawrddur, by comparing him to Arthur. It is therefore suggested that the figure of Arthur as a ruler is already known when the Welsh monk Nennius makes the alleged first mention of Arthur in the important Latin work Historia Britonnum. The work is supposed to be finished around the year 830 and most probably stands as a basis for other medieval writers such as Geoffrey of Monmouth, who later gave rise to the legendary figure of King Arthur. As E.K. Chambers states: “Early in the ninth century, then, Arthur was not merely a national hero; he was also the centre of popular aetiological myth in South Wales and in Ercing, which is Herefordshire” (Chambers 7). There is a passage in Historia Britonnum in which Nennius talks about twelve Arthur’s battles against the Saxons. The eight battle was the battle near Gurnion castle and it is significant because

Arthur carried an image of Virgin Mary upon his shoulders (alternatively shield). It caused that “through the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the holy Mary” all Saxons were put to flight and then pursued with great slaughter, for “no strength can avail against the will of the Almighty” (Nennius 29). This transformed Arthur into a Christian figure and from then on King Arthur stood always on the side of Christianity.

7 The High Middle Ages were crucial for the Arthurian legends. There were two branches of traditions of the legends coexisting side by side. One was the tradition of

British origin and the other was French. Worthy of attention is the name of Chrétien de

Troyes who invented the Arthurian romance. In the legends of French origin, Arthur is called roi fainéant, the lazy king. He does not play the central role in those stories, which are mostly concentrated on Arthur’s knights and their adventures outside of the court. The heart of those stories is always a lady, for the focus is put on the love interest. On the other hand, Arthur of the British tradition is an active participant of the adventures and is one of the main protagonists of those stories. In the 14th century the two tradition coexist in

Britain, although the French tradition dominates. As Heaney notes:

There were constant connections between different regions and kingdoms of

medieval Europe, especially England and France. Their histories were cemented by

shared rulers, constant land changing hands, court languages, and finally literature.

It is impossible to look at the more contemporary retellings of the legends of King

Arthur without seeing both the English and the French. At its very core, Arthur is

English since he came out of the histories of the people of Britain and his military

prowess stems from the Welsh, but all the drapery and personality really come from

the French (Heaney 22).

In their book, Lacy, Ashe and Mancoff point to the decreasing popularity of the

Arthurian legends after the end of the Middle Ages. They note that although it did not disappear entirely, with the arrival of the Renaissance the interest of readers in the stories of the legendary king significantly declined. The French philosopher Michel de Montaigne

(1533-1592) even “condemned Arthurian romances as being fit only for the amusement of children” (139).

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3 Cultural and Literary Background of Medieval Age in France

“The most substantial medieval Arthurian literature was French, and the influence of

French texts on the others also makes them central to the medieval development of the legend”

(Lacy, Ashe, Mancoff 132).

To be able to analyse the impact of the Middle Ages on selected literary works dealing with the Arthurian legends it is necessary to discuss several fundamental terms that largely created the background of medieval France – especially the French court and the aristocracy who were the target readers of the legends about chivalric knights and King

Arthur. The terms are knighthood, chivalry and courtly love.

The expansion of the knighthood is traced to the 11th century. At that time, the main power of the medieval society were castles and its milites, which means cavalrymen.

By such term were later called only elite cavalrymen — in the language of the domestic population they were called knights. During the 12th century, the importance of knights was on the increase and lords strove to put them into their services. During this time, knighthood acquired certain ethic and ideology, which led to the fact that the term

“knight” became more than a designation of the profession. Suddenly there was a chance that the initially mere term for the soldier who was characterized by his fighting on the horse would become a title and indeed - since the end of the 13th century the term knight has been used to designate nobility. Furthermore, it preserved its connection with the performance of the military function in the aristocratic army (my translation, Flori 77).

When referring to knighthood it is also necessary to mention chivalry that developed in northern France in the middle of the 12th century. To describe its essence it is best to use the words of John A. Symonds:

9 Regarding chivalry, not as an actual fact of history, but as a spiritual force, tending

to take form and substance in the world at a particular period, we find that its very

essence was enthusiasm of an unselfish kind. The true knight gave up all thought

of himself. At the moment of investiture he swore to renounce the pursuit of

material gain; to do nobly for the mere love of nobleness; to be generous of his

goods; to be courteous to the vanquished; to redress wrongs; to draw his sword to

in no quarrel but a just one; to keep his word; to respect oaths; and, above all things,

to protect the helpless and to serve women (Schofield 5).

The oncoming end of the knighthood prefigured one of the most important military conflicts of the Hundred Years’ War – the battle of Agincourt in 1415. The numerous

French cavalry consisting of individualistic knights gathered from all around the country stood against the English archers and infantry. The combination of the powerful arrows shot into the French lines and the bad terrain which made it impossible for horses to move, caused that the French cavalry was terribly decimated. Furthermore, by the end of the 13th century the invention of the gunpowder spread into Europe and thus ended the sovereign position of knights on the battlefield. Jean Flori points out the contrast between “the original chastity with its moral and religious idealism of the 11th and the 12th centuries and the frivolousness and superficiality of the knights from the end of the Middle Ages” (my translation 223). It is due to the fact, that at the end of the Middle Ages the role of knights was restricted only to the representation, opulence and the cultural exclusivity.

In the literature of the 12th century, the term “knight” stood at first as a synonym for a warrior and just after that it gained the meaning of honour, certain ideology and later even aristocracy. Novels and chansons de geste celebrated knights as heroes. In this kind of literature, the heroic deeds are overstated, disproportionally exaggerated to fulfil the ideals of knighthood. Flori states that more than a “deformed reflection of the reality is such a literature an ‘ideological harbinger’ of the knighthood and its world” (my translation 84). In

10 the Middle Ages the audience for which the authors created was the ruling class and it, of course, comprised knights. Knightly society thus looked at itself reflected in the literature portrayed in the way they desired to be. The main literary motifs were the Crusades, holy war, dispute between the knight and the cleric and the role of the woman and love (198).

In the oldest chansons the geste, however, women are not important for the story.

The role of woman is restricted only to assist a warrior — alternatively to amuse him. The feeling of love is neglected because knights do not know such weakness. The knightly ethic is clearly warlike. Nevertheless, at the beginning of the 12th century William IX, Duke of

Aquitaine, probably the first troubadour known by name introduced a new model of a knight-lover with his own manners and ethic (202). Flori confirms that from this point on the knightly ideology consists of the values typical of the warrior – bravery, generosity and courtesy, as one of the most important values he mentions honesty (216). Moreover, knights as introduced by William IX fight openly for their ladies, they wear their colours when fighting in the tournaments and they yearn to deserve their love by their strength and bravery. The literary conception that puts emphasis on love and chivalry is called courtly love (fin’amor).

Courtly love has its roots in the 11th century in Languedoc, being brought to the

French court by the queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, the granddaughter of William IX., in the

12th century. In a form of lyric poems, it was written and expressed by the troubadours who performed it in the castles to entertain the court. Songs sung with the instrumental accompaniment were considered a pleasant distraction by the aristocracy.

The key characteristics of the courtly love poems can be enumerated as humility, courtesy, adultery and secret or forbidden love. Crucial is the courting of the lady. The central figure of the poems was always a lady of the castle that was rich, powerful and most importantly – beautiful. It gave the troubadours space to describe all her virtues from

11 which resulted their love to the lady. In the poems, the lady’s husband was mostly out of the castle, and therefore the forbidden love could flourish.

To express the courtly love the well-known feudal scheme was used — the lord and his vassal. In this case, the adored lady replaced her male opposite and the lover held a post of the vassal. Lewis notes that “the lover is a lady’s ‘man’. He addresses her as midons, which etymologically represents not ‘my lady’ but ‘my lord’. The whole attitude has been described as a ‘feudalisation of love’” (2). The lover thus indicates that he is subordinate to the lady and that he is all in her power. It was expected that the lover will loyally serve his lady, that he will fulfil all her needs and desires. In return for his service, he might obtain a special notice of hers, although the lady did not have to physically repay his desires.

The 12th century author Andreas Capellanus, probably at the request of Marie de

Champagne, daughter of the queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, composed a tractate called De

Amore, in English also known as On Love or The Art of Courtly Love. In the tractate, he defines the laws of courtly love. In Book two Capellanus establishes a list of thirty-one rules of love. Some of them are listed below:

1. Marriage is no real excuse for not loving.

6. Boys do not love until they arrive at the age of maturity.

13. When made public love rarely endures.

14. The easy attainment of love makes it of little value; difficulty of

attainment makes it prized.

15. Every lover regularly turns pale in the presence of his beloved.

22. Jealousy, and therefore love, are increased when one suspects his

beloved.

23. He whom the thought of love vexes, eats and sleeps very little.

24. Every act of a lover ends with in the thought of his beloved.

12 30. A true lover is constantly and without intermission possessed by the

thought of his beloved.

31. Nothing forbids one woman being loved by two men or one man by

two women.

(Capellanus 81).

Based on this example one can see that the true lover keeps his love back from the public and that the more complicated his love is the more valued it is. The true lover also thinks of his beloved lady wherever he goes and every single act he does is motivated by his love.

Flori adds that “love in the courteous concept is a noble value and so it is restricted only for the aristocratic society. Only a lady deserves to be loved and only a knight can love her”

(my translation 204). Therefore, the old myth about King Arthur and his loyal knights became an ideal material to cover courtly love and chivalry of the High Middle Ages.

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3.1 Lanval

Marie de France

A big question mark is raised over the biography of Marie de France. One cannot even tell what was her real name. It is however supposed that she was born in France, spent most of her life in England and that she was a contemporary of Chrétien de Troyes. She wrote in a dialect that can be traced to Paris and its neighborhood – in the so-called

Francien. It is supposed that she belonged to aristocracy since she was well educated and multilingual. She was a writer of lais. Lais are medieval poetic forms of a long poem consisting of stanzas that have 6 to 16 and even more lines written in octosyllabic couplets.

They are short stories in verse concentrating on adventure or romance of their protagonists and were cultivated particularly among troubadours.

Lanval

The poem tells a story of a loyal knight from King Arthur’s court whose name is

Lanval. It is a knight born far away from Arthur’s court as a son of an unknown king.

Other knights and the rest of the court envy him because of his beauty, generosity, prowess and bravery. Not even Arthur grants him more than Lanval himself asks for. He leads a very sad and lonely life of a stranger in a strange land. One day he saddles up his steed and goes for a ride to amuse himself. He comes to a meadow with a flowing brook where his horse takes fright of something, so the knight lets him go. Then he lays on the ground thinking of his misfortune when he sees two beautiful ladies approaching, one bringing a golden bowl, the other bringing a towel. Lanval immediately springs to his feet as the ladies are coming to talk to him. They have a message from their lady that she wishes him to be brought to her. The knight follows them without thinking and they come to a

14 place where there stands a lovely pavilion. Inside he sees a beautiful maiden laying in the bed clothed only in her slip. She tells Lanval that she left her lands to find him because she loves him deeply. Seeing all her beauties, Lanval is immediately struck with love too. He swears that he is fully under her command and afterwards they sleep together. She promises him that whenever he wants anything, he will get it, she will find wherewithal. In return, he must promise that he never tells anybody about their love, failing that he will lose her forever. Lanval swears he will keep their love in secret. Then she tells him he must leave.

Lanval returns to King Arthur’s court, filled with grief and doubtless about his adventure.

He becomes the richest donor and continues in seeing his mistress. Later he is invited by

Gawain to join him and other knights who are playing in the garden near the tower where the Queen is staying. She sees Lanval with the knights and collects many ladies to join them.

However, Lanval stays alone and leaves, yarning to dream of his beloved lady. The Queen spots him leaving, tells him about her desire for him and offers him herself and her love.

He courteously refuses, swearing his loyalty to King Arthur. It makes the Queen angry and she accuses Lanval of homosexuality. He tells her that she is wrong, that in fact he loves a lady that surpasses all other women and that even her poorest serving maid is better than the Queen. The Queen leaves insulted and wants revenge. When King Arthur returns from a hunt, she tells him that Lanval wanted to have a love affair with her and that when she refused; he insulted her by comparing her to the poorest maid. Furious Arthur sends barons to bring Lanval to court – either he will prove he is innocent or he will be hanged.

Meanwhile Lanval calls to his beloved lady but because he broke his promise to never reveal their love, she does not come. He is brought to the King tossed by a great grief.

There he defend himself, he refutes what the Queen said but he does not confess his words about his true love. King Arthur decides to collect more lords to be a jury and for the time being, Lanval is released and Gawain and other knight escort him home. There they check on him whether he eats and drinks, they fear he might go insane. On the day of the trial

15 knights bring Lanval and they are all sorry for him. The jury tells Lanval that he must make his beloved come into court to prove his innocence, otherwise he will be found guilty.

Lanval claims that it will not happen, that his lady will not appear. At the moment the jury is about to sentence Lanval, two beautiful maidens ride into court. They dismount before

King Arthur’s throne and ask him to get several rooms prepared so their mistress may come in. Gawain and other knights inform Lanval about these two ladies, thinking that one of them must be his lover, but Lanval has never seen any of them. Two more ladies arrive but Lanval again does not recognize them. They tell Arthur that their mistress is coming, having something to tell to the King. They are led away up to the rooms that are prepared for them on the previous request. Then impatient Arthur sends for the barons to pass sentence immediately. Suddenly a beautiful maiden on a beautiful horse appears. Lanval is informed about her approach and when he sees her, he recognizes her at once. He claims that she is the one who is his beloved and that he does not care about his life anymore, now when he can finally see her again. The lady speaks to the King, confesses that she has loved Lanval, claims that the Queen was wrong and asks him to set Lanval free. Everybody agrees that Lanval’s defense is perfect and he is freed. All maidens leave the town, although the King wants to keep them at the court. Lanval then leaps from a high wall onto the steed of his beloved and goes with her to Avalon.

3.1.1 Reflection

As previously stated, the phenomenon of courtly love is dominant in medieval literature. The poem Lanval gives the reader a prominent evidence of the popularity of the theme of courtly love that is reflected in the Arthurian legend and thus diverts the attention from heroic deeds to love adventures. The poem consists of everything courtly love poem should have; there is a courteous knight who must keep his love secret, there is a temptation of adultery offered by the Queen and there of course is the adored lady, the

16 most beautiful one, the so called midons.

Right at the beginning of the poem the reader gets the information about virtues that abound in Lanval. The forth stanza begins with a statement, that “For being brave and generous, / For his beauty and his prowess” he is not favoured by the others. He however, is also the one “Who’d serve the King with many a deed” which he himself later confirms, even despite the fact that the King himself does not like him very much, by claiming: “I’ve served the King for many a day, / His faith in me I won’t betray. / Not for you, your love, or anything / Would I ever act against my King!” Such enumeration of Lanval’s merits confirms that he is the right person to be identified as a virtuous lover.

There would be no proper romance for a knight without someone to fall in love with. The one, in this case, is an unearthly beautiful fairy queen who comes from the island of Avalon. Lanval falls in love with her immediately at the moment he catches sight of her and he himself sets the relationships between them. By the claim: “To fulfil whatever needs you/ Have, wise or foolish – you are above/ Me, my only commandant” he submits to her and one can identify the feudal scheme – lord and vassal – which was already mentioned in the chapter devoted to the literary background. The lyrical subject of the poem confirms the claim: “Lanval can sincerely say, / What she orders, he’ll obey” and thus assures the reader that the knight is subordinate to the lady and that he is the one to fulfil her orders.

One of the conditions the lady determines for their relationship is to keep their love in secret. In the poem she warns Lanval: “Don’t reveal yourself to any man! / I tell you, if you break this ban, / You will have lost me forever! / If this love is known, ever, /

Never again of me you’ll catch sight; / As for my body, you lose any right.” One of the rules of love established by Capellanus there is a 13th rule that says: “When made public love rarely endures” (81). That is exactly what happens in the poem: “How he boasted of love and his lover/ It grieves him now; he’s lost her forever.” The claim repeats itself in variation to strengthen the seriousness of the situation: “His darling friend now is lost; /

17 He told their love; this is the cost.” Once Lanval tells the Queen about his love, his beloved disappears and does not show up until there is no other option. This proves that the secrecy of love is essential for the courtly love.

Andreas Capellanus mentions another rule of love: “He whom the thought of love vexes, eats and sleeps very little” (81). That is demonstrated on the situation when Lanval already revealed the secret about his love and now he is waiting for the trial doomed to be without his beloved. The only thing he can do is to think about her, which disquiets the other knights. In the poem it is said: “Every day at his house they’d meet, / Checking on him, just to find / if he’d drunk water, if he’d still eat; / They feared Lanval might lose his mind.”

“A lover can never have enough of the solaces of his beloved,” claims another rule of love (81). In the poem it is obvious that Lanval and his fairy queen are very fond of each other, because “of sweet kisses there was no end” when they were together. On the contrary, being alone discomforts Lanval and he does not enjoy the company of anyone else except for his lady. That is demonstrated on the situation when the Queen collects some ladies to join knights playing in the orchard. In reaction to that “Lanval goes off all alone,/ Far from the others; for his own/ Friend he just can’t wait – not much/ For her kiss, her embrace, her touch./ Little he cares about other’s delight/ When he can’t enjoy his own!”

All the instances stated above are evidence of Lanval being a courtly love poem.

They prove that the main motive for the poem is a love adventure of one of the knights from King Arthur’s court. Thus the original theme about King Arthur, the brave ruler of

Britain, became changed due to the effect of the popularity of courtly love that arose in medieval France.

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3.2 Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart

Chrétien de Troyes

Chrétien de Troyes is one of the most important writers in French literature who highlighted the Matter of Britain. He began to write about 1160, roughly at the same time when the literature of Northern France started to change according to the nobility for which the praise of the lady in literature became significant (Loomis 157). It corresponds with the phenomenon of troubadours and their increasing popularity among the higher circles. That means that Chrétien incorporates and develops themes such as courtly love or adultery. Reinhardt in his work agrees by noting that “most of de Troyes’ romances are really love-interest illustration”, stressing the courtly-love romance of Arthur’s wife

Guinevere and one of the knights of the Round Table who gave name to one of Chrétien’s work — Lancelot. However, Chrétien does not write only in a manner of courtoisie. He also finds inspiration in the old Welsh tale Culhwch and Olwen and describes King Arthur as an aged man who is rather a passive monarch in the background of someone else’s story (5).

Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart

The very beginning of the story of Lancelot the author opens with a note:

Since my lady of Champagne wishes me to undertake to write a romance, I shall very gladly do so, being so devoted to her service as to do anything in the world for her, without any intention of flattery (…) I will say, however, that her command has more to do with this work than any thought or pains that I may expend upon it. Here Chrétien begins his book about Knight of the Cart. The material and the treatment of it are given and furnished to him by the Countess, and he is simply trying to carry out her concern and intention” (de

Troyes 270).

19 According to this dedication the work was written for Marie de Champagne, who was the daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine and King Louis VII of France. With the assumption that what Chrétien declares is true and the motive was really given to him by the countess, one can better understand that the story of Lancelot is a romance more than anything else.

The story begins with a knight who comes to Camelot where King Arthur and his court have a feast celebrating the Ascension Day. He proclaims that he has captured knights, ladies and damsels belonging to Arthur’s dominion but he is willing to release them under one condition — that the King chooses a knight whom he will send to the woods together with the Queen. If the chosen knight wins the combat, they all will be free. The seneschal Kay claims his desire to fight with the knight but is defeated and both, he and the

Queen are taken away. Gawain, together with Arthur and other knights, set out to the woods to follow the abductor. Gawain is soon far ahead of others and meets a horseless knight who is Lancelot, looking for his beloved Queen as well. He walks behind the cart, such as those convicted to some punishment. The cart is driven by a dwarf who tells him that if he gets up into the cart, the next day he will hear what happened to his Queen.

Lancelot does not hesitate and mounts on the cart. Gawain follows the cart on his horse.

They arrive at the castle where damsels welcome them. Lancelot goes through a test that night, sleeping in a dangerous bed, and passes successfully. In the morning, he sees through a window a procession where he identifies the Queen and her abductor. They leave the castle and later meet a damsel who tells them that the abductor is Meleagant, son of

Bademagus, king of Gorre. He has taken her off into the kingdom whence no foreigner returns. She tells them about the possibilities how to get there and shows them roads leading to the water-bridge and to the even more perilous sword-bridge. There they part, each of them taking one of the roads. The only thing Lancelot can think of is Queen

Guinevere and lost in love dreaming he comes to a ford guarded by a knight. Lancelot defeats him and continues on his journey. He arrives at another castle where the lady of the

20 house tries to seduce him and he must resist the temptation. He again is successful and later he obtains tresses from the Queen’s comb that he and the lady find laying on the stone.

He adores them a lot. At the cemetery Lancelot finds out that he is destined to set free the imprisoned people of King Arthur’s land when he lifts the stone of his own tomb. He fights off many other obstacles when he finally reaches the sword-bridge. He successfully crosses the bridge with many bleeding injuries on his hands, feet and knees. He meets King

Bademagus who welcomes him in his land and offers him rest and protection. Another day the battle between Lancelot and Meleagant takes its place. At first, it does not look well for

Lancelot as his strength is weakened from the wounds he suffered on the sword-bridge, but then he sees Queen Guinevere watching the battle from the window of the tower and his strength grows. He manages to win the fight and is taken to the Queen. To everyone’s surprise, the Queen receives him coldly, refusing to talk to him. Lancelot leaves the castle and later is reached by rumours about Guinevere’s death. Meanwhile in the castle

Guinevere languishes because she thinks that her lover is dead. Lancelot tries to commit suicide but is unsuccessful. When he finds out the Queen is alive, he returns to the castle and this time she meets him cheerfully. They spend the night together, but the next day the blood of Lancelot’s wounds is found on the Queen’s sheets. She is accused of adultery. It leads to another fight between Meleagant and Lancelot, but King Bademagus ends the battle and Lancelot promises to fight Meleagant later at Arthur’s court. Then Lancelot leaves to look for Gawain but is betrayed by a dwarf who captures him. Meanwhile other knights find Gawain under the water-bridge. A false letter is sent to the castle of King

Bademagus, in which Lancelot asks Guinevere, Gawain and Kay to come to King Arthur’s court where he already awaits them. Fooled by the letter they do what he asks. At King

Arthur’s court the tournament is being organized and the Queen is invited. The message about Guinevere’s presence at the tournament reaches Meleagant and also Lancelot. He makes a deal with the lady of the house where he is imprisoned that he will return if she

21 allows him to go to the tournament. He appears there incognito but the Queen still recognizes him. Meleagant learns that his prisoner repeatedly escapes to the tournament, so he builds an unescapable tower where he puts Lancelot and he himself goes to King

Arthur’s court and demands the battle that has been previously agreed on. However,

Lancelot is still missing, so Gawain offers himself to fight instead of him. In the meantime, a lady to whom Lancelot was kind in the past appears to be Meleagant’s sister who decides to release Lancelot from his prison. She treats him with care so he quickly recovers and rides to Arthur’s court where he pays his debt and fights with surprised Meleagant. He manages to cut off his head so the evil enemy will not trouble him or anyone else anymore.

3.2.1 Reflection

Chrétien de Troyes is one of the first French poets who chose the motive of love as the core theme for the work that can be considered a serious romance and thus he influenced the form of the Arthurian stories, as readers know them nowadays. As C. S.

Lewis states in his study:

Combining this element with the Arthurian legend, he stamped upon men’s minds

indelibly the conception of Arthur’s court as the home par excellence of true and

noble love (…) His Lancelot is the flower of the courtly tradition in France, as it was

in its early maturity (…) He was among the first to welcome the Arthurian stories;

and to him as much as to any single writer we owe the colouring with which the

‘matter of Britain’ has come down to us (23).

It is worthy of mention that de Troyes was the first who manipulated the character of sir

Lancelot. By inventing and incorporating the character of Lancelot into the story, the writer got not only an excellent knight worthy of love of the Queen, but also a courteous and devoted lover unhesitating to fight for his beloved. Thus, he gave rise to the proper courtly romance.

22 That Lancelot is a courtly love romance is borne out by several factors in the plot.

To ascertain the extent of the medieval literary phenomenon of courtly love and its impact on the original story, it is necessary to mention a few of them.

In the first place, there is an evident switch of roles between the Queen and sir

Lancelot, which means that the scheme midons (the lady) – vassal is established. In the story,

Lancelot is the submissive one in the relationship; he is obedient and ready to fulfil

Guinevere’s every command. That is demonstrated in the following scenes; two of them are mentioned by Lewis in his study. He points out the moment Lancelot passes across the sword-bridge and finally comes to the presence of the Queen; she however, does not speak to him. Later he learns why it is so. Queen Guinevere has heard about Lancelot’s hesitation in stepping on to the cart “and this lukewarmness in the service of love has been held by her sufficient to annihilate all the merit of his subsequent labours and humiliations” (27-28).

As the second example, Lewis mentions the tournament scene in which Lancelot persuades his galoer to release him from his prison to have a chance to participate in the tournament.

Although he is in disguise, Guinevere recognizes him immediately and she sends him a message to do his poorest; thus, she exercises the power she has over him. Lancelot obediently fulfils her request and in consequence, he is called a coward; nevertheless, the

Queen is delighted (28-29). In addition to these scenes that confirm Lancelot’s subordination to his lady, it is also worthy of mention that the knight bleeds all the time, either from the wounds he sustains when crossing the sword-bridge or from the wounds he sustains in fights. Bleeding, however, is most often connected with women. With this in mind, one can confirm the switch of roles between Guinevere and Lancelot.

In the second place, besides many other qualities of his, Lancelot is a faultless image of the courteous knight, which de Troyes only underlines: “The man who is a perfect lover is always obedient and quickly and gladly does his mistress’ pleasure” (de

Troyes 318). The hero is not only the knight worthy of praise but also a perfect lover who

23 is ready to die for his love when the situation requires so, not to mention desire to die when he cannot be with his beloved. To demonstrate such a claim it is good to touch on the scene in which the rumour about Guinevere’s death reaches Lancelot. He without hesitation is prepared to end his life, for as Capellanus notes: “A lover can never have enough of the solaces of his beloved” (81) or else: “Every act of a lover ends with in the thought of his beloved” (81). With the potential death of the Queen, the hero has nothing to live for and it only proves how very devoted to her he is.

In the third place, there is the case of adultery that cannot be omitted when analysing the courtly love poem. As some of Capellanus’ rules of love state: “Marriage is no real excuse for not loving” (81) and „Nothing forbids one woman being loved by two men or one man by two women” (81), in other words, nothing prevents the lovers to participate in a love triangle. One can pathetically say it is an essential part of the chivalric romance.

Concerning all the arguments mentioned above one can see that the original legend about King Arthur experienced an enormous change; therefore the influence of medieval

France is indisputable. The popularity of the romance genre caused the need for a completely new character to be invented and incorporated into the story. This character even remains in existence in the newer versions of the legend, retains his position as the

Queen’s lover and changes the overall result of the original story. As already mentioned in the chapter devoted to Lanval, even there the attention is diverted from the heroic deeds of

King Arthur to the love adventure of one of his knights, which again corresponds with the popularity of courtly love.

24

4 Cultural and Literary Background of Medieval Age in England

For the following analysis of the literary works from the English background and their understanding in terms of the historical connectivity, it is necessary to summarize briefly some facts concerning medieval England.

Concerning the Middle English literature, the medieval literature in general expects that its readers are endowed with at least some basic knowledge of Classical Antiquity. In fact, the Middle English writers often retell the old stories with the innovation of themes that were mentioned already in a previous chapter, themes of knighthood, chivalry and courtly love, which have their origins in the Middle French literature. In the 12th century, the constantly changing history of Christianity had its impact on literature, on the formation of romance in particular. As Field describes: “the distant pasts, classical and

British, took on new forms in vernacular narratives for contemporary European ruling families, presenting ancient rulers, conquests, passions and even religions as mirrors of twelfth-century values and politics, and positive or negative exemplars” (Field 7). In the medieval literature, the secular values meet with the ecclesiastical and create a forceful setting. The Arthurian legends, for example, are full of Christian motives.

In the 12th century the writer Jean Bodel classified romances according to their subject. Together with Matter of France and Matter of Rome, the Matter of Britain creates a voluminous complex of three literary cycles also known as the Three Matters. The Matter of Britain is the core of medieval literature and legendary material that is related to the

Great Britain and Brittany. In the centre of the interest stands Arthur, however other legendary history of the island is also covered. The Matter of Rome and the Matter of

Britain sometimes appear combined, especially in the work of Chrétien de Troyes Cligés.

Whether King Arthur really existed is a perpetual question stretching over many

25 centuries and no historian can pronounce with certainty a clear verdict. On the one hand, most scholars would agree that Arthur from the early Welsh sources as well as Arthur mentioned in the chronicles of Nennius and Geoffrey of Monmouth is nothing more than a folktale figure. On the other hand, Reinhardt in his Introduction to Arthurian Legend claims that there are four statements that can be made about Arthur, through which he indicates that somebody of that name truly lived in Britain. The first is that Arthur’s name –

Artorios – is of a Roman origin. That would imply that he was a Roman war leader who stayed on the island fighting for the Romanized Celtic Briton kings after the Romans left.

The second statement is that he defended Christian Britain against the heathen. Reinhardt also notes that in the late 6th century several people named Arthur can be found in the historical records. That means that such a rare name became important and popular for some reason. The name acquired such significance that British people used it for their posterity in spite of the fact that the name was clearly of foreign origin. The last statement is that Arthur’s true biography serves at least as an inspiration to some legends (Reinhardt

2).

In one of his lessons Professor Alfred Thomas pointed out that: “Heroes very often emerge in times of crisis. They are made to compensate such crises” (Thomas). In the Middle Ages, England occurred in a crisis many times for its participation in various war conflicts due to the unflagging disputes with France. Worthy of mention is The

Anarchy, the civil war in England and Normandy between Stephen of Blois and Empress

Matilda, which started in 1135 and took another 19 years. Its outcome was the coming of the French House of Plantagenet to the English throne. In the 14th and 15th century there was the Hundred Year’s War in which the rulers of England, the House of Plantagenet and the rulers of France, the House of Valois, fought against each other over the succession to the French crown. The war started in 1337 and ended in 1453. The roots of the dispute go back to the history since the English kings had their overseas possessions in France, which

26 they alternately acquired and then again lost. England lost the war in 1453 and forfeited majority of the local territory including Aquitaine. They retained only Calais. Soon then, in the 15th century, the Wars of the Roses took their place. In this thirty-two years long war there were two branches of the royal House of Plantagenet – the House of York and the

House of Lancaster – against each other. Both houses claimed their right to the English throne, being descendants from the sons of Edward III, one of the most successful ruler of England in the Middle Ages. The series of civil wars resulted in the victory of the

House of Lancaster and the coming of the House of Tudor to the English throne.

All these and many other minor wars and military conflict were in the period from the 11th to the 13th century accompanied by the crusades. Crusades were declared by Pope

Urban II in Clermont in 1095 with the intention to capture the Holy Land and to reconquest Jerusalem. England was involved in four crusades including the first three of them and the last one. There is a theory that in Arthurian stories the Crusades find their place in the form of search for the Holy Grail.

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4.1 The History of the Kings of Britain

Geoffrey of Monmouth

Geoffrey of Monmouth was a British cleric who lived during the first half of the

12th century. It is supposed that although he entered the Church, he did not do it for religious reasons in the first place. With no doubt he was a good ecclesiastic, but most importantly, the Church provided a space for a man of Geoffrey’s writing abilities. In his works he does not pay any significant attention to the religion (Loomis 74). Although he was a historian, he showed no desire to depict the precise historical truth.

History of the Kings of Britain

The book gives an overview about the lives and acts of the kings of the Britons. It summarizes two thousand years of British history from its founding by the Trojans to the

Anglo-Saxon control. The story about King Arthur is there for the first time mentioned in its full length and it conducts a survey of his entire reign.

The book begins to engage with Arthur at the beginning of Book IX. King Uther

Pendragon dies and the nobility asks the archbishop to consecrate Arthur, Uther’s son, to become their new king. With the death of their old king British people appear in danger because Saxons attempt to exterminate their race. Therefore, the fifteen years old Arthur becomes a king. He is so courageous he does not hesitate and attacks the Saxons. First chapters describe Arthur’s fighting against Saxons who devastate his land. Arthur obtains victory and settles peace. Then he grants pardon to the Scots and Picts whom he besieged.

He rebuilds the devastated churches in York and restores the nobility that was driven out by the Saxons. He subdues Ireland, Iceland, Gothland and the Orkneys, then returns back to Britain, establishes the kingdom and reigns there for twelve years in peace. After some

28 time Arthur desires to conquer entire Europe so he leaves Britain and subdues Norway,

Dacia, Aquitaine and Gaul. In the season of Pentecost Arthur decides to hold a magnificent court, so he summons many kings, princes and archbishops to a solemn assembly at the City of Legions, where his coronation takes place. Later a letter comes from Lucius Tiberius in which he accuses Arthur of injuries he has done to Rome and of unjust deeds by which he has offended the senate. The reason for the accusations is that

Arthur does not pay the tribute that has been payed to Rome since the Roman emperors invaded Britain. The senate demands justice and so Arthur is, under the threat of war, commanded to go to Rome to give satisfaction to his masters. In response to the letter,

King Arthur holds a council with other kings and they consult the problem together. They decide not to pay the tribute to Romans. All of them agree upon a war with Rome and they promise to support Arthur by their full forces. On receiving the answer from Britain,

Lucius Tiberius calls together the eastern kings to support him against Arthur and his allies.

Meanwhile Arthur at his homeland commits the government of the kingdom to his nephew Mordred and to queen Guanhumara, and he himself marches with his men to

Hamo’s Port. While sailing he falls asleep and has a dream in which he sees a bear flying in the air and a terrible dragon flying from the west. These two beasts begin to fight and the dragon wins burning the bear with its fiery breath. When the King awakes, he is told that the dragon from his dream signifies him, Arthur, whereas the bear signifies some giant that should encounter him. Later at the Michael’s Mount Arthur kills a giant who has taken away Helena, the niece of duke Hoel and thus his dream is fulfilled. Several following chapters describe how Arthur fights against Lucius Tiberius and the Romans. Arthur acts successfully with his sword Caliburn and it gives strength to the Britons. The slaughter made on both sides is frightful but then even Lucius Tiberius is killed and Britons finally gain the victory. The dead body of Lucius is sent to the senate as the only tribute that

Britain ought to pay. Then at the command of the king all the dead are buried, even the

29 enemies of Britons. Arthur stays over the winter outside of his homeland and at the beginning of the summer he intends to march towards Rome but the news reach him that his nephew Mordred by treason stole the crown and that queen Guanhumara wickedly married him. King Arthur immediately returns to Britain and he meets with the huge army collected by Mordred. Mordred’s army slaughters many of Arthur’s men in the battle but they eventually force them to withdraw and Mordred flees to Winchester. When queen

Guanhumara hears about it, she flees from York to the City of Legions where she becomes a nun in the church of Julius the Martyr. Arthur besieges Mordred and they eventually meet in battle. In the final battle Mordred is killed and Arthur is mortally wounded. He is then carried to the island of Avallon where he is to be cured of his wounds. The crown of

Britain he passes to his kinsman Constantine. It is the year 542.

4.1.1 Reflection

Some historians claim that the time in which Monmouth created part of his History of the Kings of Britain might be reflected in the book in the form of the conflict between

King Arthur and his nephew Mordred. Regarding the fact that back then, between the years 1135 - 1153, Britain occurred in a succession crisis that led into the civil war, it is only logical that the Arthurian story described in the chronicle is supposed to be the comment on the current political situation and its imagined solution.

In the year 1135 King Henry I died and since his only legitimate son William lost his life during the sinking of The White Ship at the sea, he designated his daughter Matilda as his heir and the successor to the English throne. However, Matilda was not very popular among the English people because she was married to Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of

Anjou who was taken as an enemy to the English. When Stephen of Blois, King Henry's nephew, falsely claimed to be the new English king, he had the support of many nobles.

30 Thus the nineteen years long civil war began, as Matilda refused to accept such reality.

These historical facts can be put into the parallel with the chapters described in

History. King Arthur, who fights at the continent with the Romans, dwells in France when the situation in England compels him to return. Monmouth writes:

But at the beginning of the following summer, as he was on his march towards

Rome and was beginning to pass the Alps, he had news brought him that his

nephew Mordred, to whose care he had entrusted Britain, had by tyrannical and

treasonable practices set the crown upon his own head; and that queen

Guanhumara, in violation of her first marriage, had wickedly married him (189).

There is an obvious resemblance between Stephen and Mordred since both of them are nephews of the king, who in some manner betrayed their uncle and usurped the throne for themselves. Regarding the case of Stephen on the one hand, his betrayal consists in the lie, saying that when dying, King Henry I changed his mind and decided to appoint Stephen his heir and the next king of England. The betrayal of Mordred on the other hand, consists in making use of King Arthur's faith in his nephew. Heaney confirms this assumption in her work:

Modred, Arthur’s nephew, is new to Geoffrey’s work which highlights that part of

Arthur’s story. The tie here is to Stephen supplanting the daughter of his uncle, the

king, and taking the kingdom for his own. Modred is one of Arthur’s important

enemies, and in later romances, would go on to seize Arthur’s throne and wife.

While not identical to the contemporary political drama, enough parallels can be

drawn to get across that it is a reference to Stephen (16).

Like Matilda, who was not willing to cede the crown to Stephen and so her half- brother Robert, Earl of Gloucester began the rebellion against the king which slowly escalated to the war, Arthur "besieged the traitor, who, notwithstanding, was unwilling to

31 desist from his enterprise, but used all methods to encourage his adherents, and marching out with his troops prepared to fight his uncle" (191). King Arthur eventually won the fight, in one of the assaults "fell the wicked traitor himself" (192) and the rest of Mordred's army was defeated as well. The civil war known as The Anarchy ended in 1154 and so

Monmouth could not know how the circumstances would evolve. It is therefore supposed that such a positive outcome of the conflict was written with the intention to support

Matilda. She, however, did not get the crown for herself, but when in 1153 Stephen signed the Treaty of Westminster about the succession to the throne for her son Henry of Anjou and died a year later, she also gained the Arthurian victory.

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4.2 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

The Gawain Poet

The Gawain Poet, also known as the Pearl Poet is an anonymous author of the alliterative medieval poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The second version of his name is ascribed to him according to one of another three poems that he has probably written – Pearl, Purity, Patience. Most scholars agree that the author lived during the 14th century and that according to the language he used, he lived somewhere in the area of

Northwest Midlands. The author shows certain knowledge of the court, aristocracy and their manners, therefore it is possible that he himself was of a noble origin or at least he was in contact with medieval aristocratic life.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

The romance begins in the season of Christmas. King Arthur holds court at

Camelot and on the New Year’s Day there is a feast in the castle. King Arthur does not eat, he adheres to a habit that he will not begin the feast until he hears about some remarkable and mysterious adventure. While he is waiting for such a miracle, a horseman comes into the hall, taller than any other man, almost a half-giant. He is all covered in green, his hair and skin, including his clothes and even his horse. He assures Arthur and his knights that he comes in peace and offers them a challenge. If there is a man courageous enough who dares to strike him a blow with his huge axe, he will accept the strike motionlessly. The knight who strikes then in return receives a blow from the Green Knight in a year’s time.

The court remains silent and the Green Knight laughs at them. Then King Arthur stands up and tells him how foolish his request is, but if he really wishes to obtain the strike, he will serve him without hesitation. Suddenly Gawain, Arthur’s nephew, arises and wishes to

33 have this adventure. Then with a single strike he beheads the Green Knight but his body does not fall on the ground, on the contrary, the headless body lifts up the head that opens its eyes and speaks to Gawain; he tells him to seek the Green Chapel where they will meet in a year’s time. Then the Green Knight leaps on his horse and leaves. The atmosphere in the hall unwinds and the feast continues, on top of that King Arthur got his miracle so even he can finally begin the feast. The year passes and on All Saint’s Day the time of

Gawain’s leaving comes. The next day in the morning he sets out for the journey. On his horse Gringolet he rides north through the deserted woods in Wales, over wastelands and cliffs. He fights snakes, wolves, elves, and other wild beasts but the Green Chapel is nowhere to be found. On Christmas Eve he prays to Mary to find a shelter where he could stay for Christmas. He repeats his prayers the next day when he is wandering in the marshes. Soon he arrives at a beautiful castle where he is warmly welcomed. The lord of the castle calls him the most welcomed guest and everybody entertains him, even the ladies and the lord’s wife who, according to Gawain, seems to be even prettier than Queen

Guinevere. The lord offers Gawain he can stay for how long he desires but the knight admits he must leave as soon as possible to find the Green Chapel and keep the promise he gave to the Green Knight. When the lord hears that, he assures Gawain he can stay till the very morning of New Year’s Day, since the Green Chapel is mere two miles away. It pleases

Gawain a lot and he decides to stay a few more days. The following three days the lord of the castle goes hunting in the morning and he makes an agreement with Gawain. Whatever he gains in the woods is Gawain’s, in return whatever Gawain gains in the castle he must give to the lord. Gawain accepts this agreement without thinking and is pleased by the game the lord invented. The first morning Gawain dwells in his room long after the lord left for a hunt. He is half-awake when he hears the doors of his room opened and someone walked in. He secretly takes a look from behind the curtain and sees that it is the lady of the castle, the beautiful wife of his host. Embarrassed he pretends sleep when she

34 sits on the edge of his bed. When he wakes up, he is surprised by her presence and gently asks her to leave to have a possibility to dress himself and accept her more appropriately.

She refuses and tries to seduce him but he courteously resists her. She leaves with a single kiss that in the evening her husband receives back from Gawain based on their bargain.

Gawain obtains a deer that the lord killed in the morning. The next day the lady visits

Gawain in his room again, she acts even more seductively than the previous morning and she again leaves with a kiss that in the evening her husband obtains from Gawain in exchange for a boar. The third morning is similar to the previous two. Gawain is visited by the lady for the third time and she tries to seduce him even more strenuously. But the courteous knight does not allow her more than a kiss. She then offers him a ring made of red gold but Gawain refuses such a precious gift with the explanation that he has not anything to give her in return. So she offers him her girdle made of green silk that she wears around her waist. At first Gawain refuses again but she explains to him that the girdle has a special power and anybody who wears it cannot be killed. It convinces Gawain to accept her gift for he surely will be at risk of life when he gets to the Green Chapel.

However, he must promise that he will not tell to the lord about the girdle and then he obtains the third kiss for that day. When the lord returns from the hunt he seeks out

Gawain and gives him a fox he killed that day. Gawain gives him three kisses and does not say a word about the other thing he gained. In the morning Gawain meets with a man from the castle who guides him near the place where the Green Chapel stands. The last part of the way Gawain must make on his own for the man is too afraid of the Green Knight.

When Gawain reaches his destination he does not find a chapel but a green hillock with a hole on each side, all covered by grass. It looks more like a cave than a chapel. There he meets the Green Knight with his axe even bigger than it was the year that passed. Gawain gets ready for the blow and stands fearless but when he sees the axe falling on his neck he recoils from the blade and the Green Knight laughs at him. For the second time it is the

35 Knight who hesitates but for the third time he slightly cuts Gawains neck. When Gawain sees his own blood, he pulls away from the Knight prepared to defend himself. The Green

Knight comforts him and gives him an explanation. He is the lord of the castle, Bertilak, who tested him for the last three days Gawain dwelled at his castle. The first pretended blow was equal to the first day of their bargain, the second was equal to the second day when Gawain succeeded in the test but he hurt Gawain’s neck because the third day

Gawain failed when he kept quiet about the green girdle. He knows everything about his wife’s attempts to seduce him because it was him who sent her to test Gawain’s gallantry.

At the castle there was also a woman who sent lord Bertilak to Camelot and it was an old companion of lady Bertilak — Morgan la Fay, who wanted to shame the court of King

Arthur and frighten queen Guinevere. Although Bertilak finds Gawain very virtuous, the knight himself feels very ashamed that he failed by accepting the green girdle, acting cowardly. He decides to keep the girdle and wear it as a baldric in token of his fault. When he returns to King Arthur’s court, everybody decides to wear a green baldric to celebrate

Gawain’s loyalty.

4.2.1 Reflection

Being written in the late 14th century during the reign of King Richard II, a son of

Edward, the Black Prince, the poem seems to reflect right several actualities. In the first place it is suggested that the king of England himself is reflected in the poem. There is a hint, a slight similarity in the appearance of the Green Knight, Lord Bertilak, who is described as “an awesome fellow, who in height outstripped all earthly men” (26) having

“bushy beard on his breasts falling down” (28) with Richard II, who is described as a handsome, intelligent and very tall man. It is confirmed by the fact that after discovering his body in the grave, it was measured that his height was around 182 centimetres. It is also noted he wore a beard as well. Some scholars believe that the poem touches on the topic

36 of homosexuality for Richard II was said to have a male lover. Carolyn Dinshaw in her study notes that the close physical contact between men was quite usual:

It is certainly true that innocent kisses often occur between men at moments of

heightened emotion in late Middle English texts-just kisses, as when Arthur and his

court regretfully kiss Gawain goodbye as he sets out on his journey. Such kisses

represent conventional cultural practice, informed by the rules of courtesy and

hospitality; there is nothing problematic about men's kissing one another per se in

the medieval romance context (210).

In the kisses of Lord Bertilak and Sir Gawain, however, Dinshaw identifies something less innocent. She highlights the fact that in certain situations Gawain acts like a woman, being the passive one in the seduction or wearing the girdle. She notes on Gawain, that: “He kisses him just like a woman, but he doesn't break like a little girl” (215) and adds: “when we read the lips of Gawain and Bertilak we read that text from a new perspective and contribute to a more accurate history, one we need: a history of the production of heterosexuality in Western Christendom via the containment of the deviant, and the concomitant history of various strategies deployed to resist that containment” (223).

Besides the personality of King Richard II the Green Knight seems to reflects in his character both medieval Arthurian traditions that are thus merged in one person. He represents the French chivalry in his embodiment of Lord Bertilak who acts as a courteous knight and at the same time, he stands for the English folklore that is symbolized by the green colour that covers him when acting as Gawain’s opponent. It is said that the green colour is of a great importance in the English folklore. It is connected not only to nature but also to spirits, witchcraft and evil. It also has its meaning in the Celtic mythology. At the time the poem was created one of the most significant war conflicts of the Middle

Ages, the Hundred Year’s War, was in the middle of its duration. Although the end of the

14th century was the period of a relative peace, the war was exhausting for England as well

37 as for France. By merging the traditions of the two belligerent countries in one figure, the poet might have intended to express his desire for ending the Hundred Year’s War — to bring England and France together and to unite them in one cooperative piece.

Some scholars discuss that besides merging the French and British traditions, Lord

Bertilak represents another two cultures —English and Welsh. Others argue that there is no such thing as a hybrid Anglo-Welsh culture. At the time the poem was written Wales as well as England suffered from the great plague. Within a year, one in four people died and the population was reduced from 300,000 to 200,000 in the course of one century.

Institutions like the church lacked a strong and cohesive leadership; therefore, the attempts to colonise the area of Wales by the English appeared. It did not meet with success and

Lynn Arner in her study notes that the conflict between the English and Welsh was quite bloody. “Most Welshmen and women were united against the English under a common feeling of oppression and under a shared political and historical identity” (83). According to Arner, there is a clear distinction between the court of King Arthur and the court of

Lord Bertilak. From Arthur’s court, which is situated in civilised England, Gawain travels to Wales that is described as a barbarous land inhabited by disorderly combative creatures, land with an inhospitable nature (88). It seems that the poem suggests that the English colonisation of Wales is rightful, that Wales needs to be civilised and cultivated. One could admit that the nature of Wales might be wild but this claim is not applicable to the people in Lord Bertilak’s castle, for they are noble and courteous and it seems there is nothing that would make a difference between them and the people in Camelot. Nevertheless, Arner makes a note on Lady Bertilak and disagrees:

Admittedly, Bertilak's castle is more civilized than its environs. At the castle,

Gawain is honoured as a special guest and, in many ways, is treated well: he

consumes lavish meals, dons elegant robes, and reposes in a splendid

bedroom. The hospitality extended to Gawain to some degree challenges

38 the poem's dominant representation of border-dwellers as ill-mannered.

However, this courtliness is intertwined with manifest impropriety. As the

cross-cutting between the hunting scenes indicates, Lady Bertilak preys

aggressively upon Gawain, an unseemly manner in which to treat a guest.

The attempted seductions suggest the absence of good secular lordship at

the castle, for Bertilak instructed his wife to act this way (90).

Lady Bertilak is thus compared to combative creatures that inhabit wilderness outside the castle and the Welsh are accused of not being cultivated and decent, they need a better surveillance. A surveillance provided by English colonisers, of course.

39

4.3 Le Morte d’Arthur

Thomas Malory

The identity of Sir Thomas Malory is still a little uncertain nowadays. As the true identity of the author of Le Mort d’Arthur is considered the one of Thomas Malory of

Warwickshire, which is confirmed in a study published in 1897 by an American scholar

George Lyman Kittredge entitled ‘Who Was Sir Thomas Malory?’ Sir Thomas Malory was a knight but he was also charged with several crimes such as theft, rape and even an ambush. He was arrested many times but he succeeded in escaping. The last prison to which he was sent was Newgate in 1460 and there the completion of Le Morte d’Arthur started.

Le Morte d’Arthur

“I pray you all, gentlemen and gentlewomen that readeth this book of Arthur and his knights from the beginning to the ending, pray for me while I am on live, that God send me good deliverance, and when I am dead, I pray you all pray for my soul. For this book was ended the ninth year of the reign of King Edward the Fourth, by Sir Thomas

Maleore, knight, as Jesu help him for his great might, as he is the servant of Jesu both day and night” (Malory 401). Thus ends the entire book of Malory’s. King Edward IV acceded to the throne on 4 March 1461 and so the ninth year of his reign begun on 4 March 1469.

It implies that Malory finished the book either in 1469 or in 1470, right in the middle of the Wars of the Roses.

William Caxton who was the first who printed Malory’s work divided the work into

21 books. Malory derived his material from both English and French sources. The whole book is thus framed by the English legend about the life of King Arthur into which are

40 inserted many adventures of his knights that have roots mainly in the French tradition. The first book tells a story of Uther Pendragon, how he marries beautiful Igraine and about

Arthur’s conception. The second book treats of knight Balin and his adventure with two swords. In the third book Arthur marries Queen Guinevere. The fourth book tells about

Merlin and his death. In the fifth book, there is a story about the conquest of the emperor

Lucius. The sixth book contains the story of Sir Lancelot and Sir Lionel and their adventure. The seventh book treats of Sir Gareth, Sir Kay and Beaumains. In the eighth book readers find out how Sir Tristram was born. The ninth book deals with Sir Kay, La

Cote Male Taile and Sir Tristram. The following book again tells the story of Sir Tristram and his adventures. The eleventh book is about Sir Lancelot and about his son Galahad.

About Sir Lancelot and his madness recounts the following book. The thirteenth book tells how Galahad came to King Arthur’s court for the first time and how the search for the

Sangreal begun, the whole fourteenth book tells about the quest of the Sangreal. The fifteenth book belongs entire to Sir Lancelot. The sixteenth book is about brothers Sir Bors and Sir Lionel. The seventeenth book returns to the Sangreal. The eighteenth book tells about Sir Lancelot and his love to Queen Guinevere and it continues in the nineteenth book. The last but one book, the twentieth, tells about the war between King Arthur and

Sir Lancelot. In the last book King Arthur dies, goes to Avalon and Sir Lancelot comes to

Almesbury where he finds Guinevere. How they all died.

For the purpose of this thesis it is necessary to paraphrase the story of the last two books. The twentieth book begins in May with the conflict between the Knights of the

Round Table. Sir Agravaine and Sir Mordred are aware of adultery between Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere and they urge Sir Gawain to reveal it to King Arthur. Sir Gawain and other knights claim they would never tell anything bad about Sir Lancelot and they leave but Agravaine tells Arthur. The King does not like the accusation because he likes Lancelot, although he himself has some premonition. So he agrees to Agravaine’s plan to catch

41 Lancelot in the act, in the morning he goes hunting and to the Queen he sends a message that he will stay in the woods over the night. Despite a warning of Sir Bors Lancelot goes to the Queen’s chamber and there he meets Agravaine, Mordred and the fellowship of twelve other knights. He kills all of them but Mordred who flees and informs Arthur about everything that happened. Arthur is horrified and claims that thus is the fellowship of the

Round Table broken forever. He also decides that it is necessary to sentence Queen

Guinevere to death. He commands Sir Gawain to bring the Queen to the stake where she will burn. Despite the fact that Gawain refuses to do so, the Queen is taken out of Carlisle clothed only in her smock. As the knight, whom Lancelot sent to watch, sees it, he immediately sends a message to the knight. Thus Lancelot and his knights kill everybody who stand against them, accidentally also Sir Gareth and Gaheris, brothers of Sir Gawain, and they save the Queen. He takes her to Joyous Gard where he treats her as a noble knight should do. Meanwhile King Arthur laments the death of many of his knights and Gawain is informed about the death of his brothers. He swears to Arthur that he will not stop until one them is dead and calls upon Arthur to declare a war on Lancelot. They gather many knights and come to Joyous Gard and they besiege it for many days. Lancelot refuses to fight with Arthur and Gawain but the battle finally takes its place. When the Pope hears about the war he sends Arthur bulls, charging him upon pain of interdicting of all England, that he must take Queen Guinevere back and make peace with Lancelot. By the Pope’s commandment, Lancelot returns the Queen to King Arthur, but Sir Gawain refuses to be reconciled with Lancelot because of the death of his brothers. So Sir Lancelot is exiled and everybody grieves over the leaving of this great man. Lancelot and his knights cross over the sea to France that is Lancelot’s land and there he makes his loyal knights great noblemen. Meanwhile King Arthur and Gawain gather a huge army to cross over the sea and declare war on Sir Lancelot. Mordred is charged to administrate all England while King

Arthur is gone and he is also charged to take care of Queen Guinevere. Not even this time

42 does Lancelot want to fight with Arthur’s army and he sends him a message with the request for negotiation. Everybody, including Arthur wants to accept, but Gawain obsessed with vengeance. They besiege Benwick, the residence of Lancelot’s, for half a year and then on Gawain’s urging the fight between him and Lancelot takes place. Gawain is hurt and defeated, but another fight takes place. He fails for the second time but he refuses to give up. Benwick is besieged for many following months but then the message comes from

England that makes Arthur withdraw his troops and return to his homeland. After Arthur sailed for France, Mordred in England falsifies documents about Arthur’s death in the battle with Lancelot and makes himself king of England. He is crowned in Canterbury and then comes to Winchester where he wants to marry Queen Guinevere. However she makes him to go to London and when she is there, she locks herself in the Tower. Furious

Mordred collects a huge army and besieges her, when he receives the message that Arthur is about to return to England to take revenge on him. Many English people support

Mordred, for with Arthur there is only a constant fighting while with Mordred merrymaking and abundance. Mordred encounters King Arthur’s army at Dover but

Arthur is more successful and Mordred’s army is forced to withdraw. During the fight

Gawain is mortally hurt and writes a letter to Lancelot in which he asks him for forgiveness and also for his support in fight against Mordred. Then he dies and is buried on the graveyard in Dover. Another battle follows between Mordred and Arthur upon Barham

Down. Mordred again is forced to withdraw, this time to Canterbury. A month-long ceasefire is negotiated and King Arthur goes into the field to meet with Mordred, but he commands his squad to kill the traitor Mordred if they see a sword drawn, for he does not trust him. The same command is given on Mordred’ side. They meet but one of the knights is bitten by a viper. The unfortunate draws his sword to kill the viper but he unintentionally starts a war in which Mordred is killed by Arthur and King Arthur is mortally hurt. Being on the brink of death Arthur commands his sword Excalibur to be

43 thrown into the sea. When Sir Bedivere throws the sword into the water, a hand and an arm appears from the depths, catches Excalibur and then again disappears below the surface. When he tells King Arthur what he saw, Arthur asks him to help him get closer to the sea. When they reach the coast, there is boat with many beautiful maidens in it, in the middle of them there is a woman, some queen, and they are all dressed in black hoods.

Arthur asks Bedivere to lay him down to the boat and afterwards he sails away to Avalon.

The next day Sir Bedivere finds King Arthur buried in the Chapel and he decides to stay there forever with his king. When Queen Guinevere hears what happened, she secretly leaves for Almesbury where she becomes a nun. Lancelot returns to England but it is too late for there is no battle to fight. He visits the grave of Sir Gawain and then goes to look for Guinevere. He finds her in Almesbury where she decided to stay for the rest of her life.

Lancelot becomes a priest and many other knights too. One night he has a vision that tells him to go to Almesbury where he will find Queen Guinevere dead. He is assigned to go there to pick her dead body and then burry her alongside her husband, King Arthur. He fulfils his mission but is so grieved by the Queen’s death that he soon dies too.

4.3.1 Reflection

The work of Thomas Malory is the complex collection of the Arthurian material which combines both French and British sources. Not only does it offer a compact perspective of the literary development of the legend, it also reflects the at that time actual political situation. In that, however, opinions of many scholars diverge. Fulton, for example, claims that even though Le Morte d’Arthur is still much read nowadays, which cannot be said about many 15th century narratives, “As a result, it has tended to become decontextualized, either ahistorically viewed in isolation from its own times, or else simplistically taken as direct evidence of their socio-political problems” (Fulton 297).

44 Others, such as Schofield, observe in the work Malory’s nostalgia for the more joyful past.

Schofield describes Le Morte d’Arthur as

a work of retrospect, tinged with sadness for the passing of the good old days; a

work of idealism, troubled with knowledge of miserable facts daily divulged; a

work of patriotism, written when the land was being wasted by civil strife; a work

of encouragement to the right-minded, and of warning to the evil-minded, among

men of that class in which the author lived and moved (Schofield 87).

Intentionally or not, the ‘civil strife’, by which Schofield most probably refers to the Wars of the Roses, is reflected in the work.

It was already mentioned that Thomas Malory was a knight who was imprisoned in the Newgate prison in 1460; five years after the Wars of the Roses began. As a man from

Warwickshire Malory was obliged to follow the policies of the Earl of Warwick, who was the supporter of Yorks but later defected to Lancastrians (Loomis 542). As a man who was in the centre of the action, Malory was the right person to comment on the events in the book.

To be able to connect the historical events from the first half of the war with the story in the legend it is necessary to identify the key figures. In the beginning of the war, there ruled King Henry VI from the house of Lancaster, who is to be identified with King

Arthur. The reason is as follows: during his reign, King Henry VI suffered a mental breakdown and until his recovery Richard, Duke of York took control of the government.

Thus, disputes over the succession to the English throne began and the civil war broke out.

One can therefore identify Richard with Mordred, who as well temporarily took control of the government instead of king Arthur and who usurped it for himself when having a chance. The dispute over the throne and the following war can be put in parallel. Worthy of mention is the fact that both, Henry with Richard and Arthur with Mordred, were relatives.

45 Significant is also the battle of Towton, 1461, which is mentioned by Kocourek in his study. He points out the fact that Malory in the book describes the final battle between

Arthur and Mordred as one of the bloodiest (37). “Never was there seen a more dolefuller battle in no Christian land; for there was but rushing and riding, foining and striking, and many a grim word was there spoken either to other, and many a deadly stroke“ (Malory

513). It corresponds with the records about the battle of Towton, which is said to be the bloodiest battle ever fought in the area of Great Britain.

In Malory’s writing, there are obvious traces of sorrow for he lived in difficult times of the civil war. There is a part in the book in which Malory talks to readers:

Lo ye all Englishmen, see ye not what a mischief here was! for he that was the most

king and knight of the world, and most loved the fellowship of noble knights, and

by him they were all upholden, now might not these Englishmen hold them content

with him. Lo thus was the old custom and usage of this land; and also men say that

we of this land have not yet lost nor forgotten that custom and usage. Alas, this is a

great default of us Englishmen, for there may no thing please us no term (Malory

507).

It is the part “in which Malory mourns England’s turning away from Arthur to follow

Mordred, a betrayal which meant the passing of the noble world he had constructed, he acknowledges that instability, its crucial weakness, characterizes his own time as well” (Lacy,

Ashe, Mancoff 204).

In the legend, the final battle and the death of King Arthur caused the end of the far-famed kingdom, while the Wars of the Roses fortunately led only to the end of the

Middle Ages. Thus ended the famous fellowship of the Round Table. The age of chivalry was gone for good.

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5 Conclusion

Arthurian legends experienced many changes since their formations in the Early

Middle Ages. This thesis focuses on the Arthurian legends in the period of the Middle

Ages and their early changes and development, it discusses the impact of the particular era on the form and content of the legends. The presupposition was that it is possible to trace the deviations from the original story about King Arthur, the legendary British leader and defender, and identify particular historical events or cultural phenomena in these deviations.

Firstly, the history of the chosen topic was described to give the readers an idea of the Arthurian legends, their origin and formation. It was highlighted that the High Middle

Ages were very important for the form of the legends, as we know them nowadays.

Then the two backgrounds were established to talk separately about England and

France for both countries had an eminent impact on the form of the legends. In the first part of the thesis, the French background was described. The discussed phenomenon of courtly love and chivalry showed to be significant for it was found as a constituent of both selected literary works that were further analysed. Both Lanval and Lancelot, the Knight of the

Cart confirmed that the concept of courtly love, that was very popular in France at that time, diverted the attention from the heroic deeds of King Arthur to his knights and their adventures, most often connected with love to a woman.

In the description of the English background there were mentioned important war conflicts that affected political situation, the Anarchy, the Hundred Year’s War and the Wars of the Roses, for it was supposed that such significant events that affect lives of many people must also infiltrate into the literature. Three important literary works were selected and analysed. The reflection of the mentioned conflicts were identified in two of them — in The History of the Kings of Britain and in Le Morte d’Arthur. Only a little reference to the

47 Hundred Year’s War can be found in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. There are, however, other references in Sir Gawain such as likeness between The Green Knight and the figure of King Richard II or the attempts of the English to colonise Wales.

The analysis confirmed that the Middle Ages reflect in the Arthurian legends.

English sources show that writers in the retellings reflect mainly the political situation, the struggles for the succession of the English throne. The influence of medieval France is also appreciable. The expansion of knighthood and the newly invented literary conception of courtly love changed the form and content of the legends for good.

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6 Works cited

Primary Sources:

De Troyes, Chrétien. Arthurian romances. London: J.M. Dent, 1914. Print. Everyman’s

Library

France, Marie De. “Lanval.” UF CLAS Users, 2005.

Malory, Thomas, John Lawlor, and Janet Cowen. Le morte d’Arthur in two volumes.

Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1969. Print. Penguin English library

Monmouth, Geoffrey. History of the Kings of Britain. In parentheses Publications Medieval

Latin Series Cambridge, Ontario, 1999.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. 2nd ed. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1974. Print. Penguin

classics

Secondary Sources:

Aneirin, and Arthur O. Jarman. Y Gododdin: Britains oldest heroic poem. Gomer Press, 1988.

Arner, Lynn. “The Ends of Enchantment: Colonialism and Sir Gawain and the Green

Knight.” Texas Studies in Literature and Language, vol. 48, no. 2, 2006, pp. 79–101.

Capellanus, Andreas. The Art of Courtly Love. New York: Columbia University Press, 1989.

Dinshaw, Carolyn. “A Kiss Is Just a Kiss: Heterosexuality and Its Consolations in Sir

Gawain and the Green Knight.” Diacritics, vol. 24, no. 2/3, 1994, p. 204.

Field, Rosalind, et al. Christianity and romance in medieval England. Brewer, 2010.

Flori, Jean. Rytíři a rytířství ve středověku. Praha: Vyšehrad, 2007. Print. Kulturní historie

Fulton, Helen. A Companion to Arthurian literature. Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.

Gaunt, Simon. Retelling the tale: an introduction to medieval French literature. London: Duckworth,

49 2001. Print. New readings: introductions to European literature and culture

Heaney, Danielle. “The Development of Arthurian Legends.” 2010.

Chambers, E. K. English literature at the close of the Middle ages. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1945.

Print.

Kocourek, Tomáš. “Reflection of the Wars of the Roses in Thomas Malory’s Le Morte

D’Arthur: Literary-Cultural analysis.” University of Pardubice, 2007.

Lacy, Norris J. The Fortunes of King Arthur. Brewer, 2005.

Lacy, Norris J., Geoffrey Ashe, and Debra N. Mancoff. The Arthurian handbook. 2nd ed.

New York: Garland Publishing, 1997. Print. Garland reference library of the

humanities

Lewis, C. S. The Allegory of love: a study in medieval tradition. New York: Oxford University

Press, 1958. Print. A Galaxy book

Lewis, C. S. The discarded image: an introduction to medieval and renaissance literature. Cambridge:

University Press, 1964. Print.

Loomis, Roger Sherman. Arthurian literature in the Middle Ages: a collaborative history. Oxford:

Clarendon Press, c1959. Print.

Nennius, and Joseph Stevenson. Historia Britonnum. Klaus Reprint, 1964.

Reinhardt, Jonathan G. “The Matter of Britain: An Introduction to Arthurian Legend.”

Mars Hill Audio, Aug. 2003

Schofield, William Henry. Chivalry in English literature: Chaucer, Malory, Spenser and Shakespeare.

Cambridge: Harvard University, c1912. Print. Harvard studies in comparative

Literature

Thomas, Alfred. “King Arthur and Arthurian Legend from the Earliest Times to Mark

Twain.” 15 Nov. 2016, Brno.

Weston, Jessie Laidlay. From ritual to romance. Garden City, N.Y.: Anchor Books, 1957. Print.

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7 Summary

This bachelor thesis concentrates on the Arthurian legends and their development during the Middle Ages. The presupposition is that every legend, fairy tale or story is affected by the time and manner by which is told. According to time the legends evolve, they change and adjust to the particular era. A cultural phenomena penetrate intentionally or unconsciously into the legends and a social and political affairs reflect in those legends as well. The aim of the thesis is to analyse selected literary works which originate in the

English background as well as in the French background in the Middle Ages and to confirm the presupposition that in various forms it is possible to discover the particular historical period in those works. It is also possible to compare the influence of both chosen backgrounds and state the changes in the legend about King Arthur.

The first chapter introduces to readers the history of the chosen topic. It devotes to the development of the Arthurian legends from the very first mention about King Arthur to the decrease of popularity of the legends with the arrival of the Renaissance.

The second chapter focuses on the French background, mainly it describes the phenomenon of courtly love and chivalry. The summary of two literary works with

Arthurian theme and their analysis follows.

The third chapter devotes to the English background. In the first place it focuses on the question of the origin and existence of the legendary king, then it briefly describes the war conflicts in England in the Middle Ages. There are covered summaries and analysis of three important Arthurian literary works.

The conclusion of the thesis confirms the presupposition about the possibility of identification of the Middle Ages in the Arthurian legends. The legend about the brave protector and ruler of Britain spread quickly to France where it was influenced by the

51 phenomenon of courtly love and chivalry. Back in England the legend remained changed this way. According to some theories it is possible to trace particular historical events in the legends which analysis confirmed as well.

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8 Resumé

Tato bakalářská práce je zaměřena na artušovské legendy a jejich proměny v období středověku. Předpokladem je, že každá legenda, pohádka, příběh je ovlivněna obdobím a způsobem, kterým je vyprávěna. S plynutím času u nich dochází k určitému vývoji, legendy jsou upraveny a přizpůsobeny době, záměrně či mimovolně do nich pronikají aktuální kulturní fenomény či se do nich promítá sociální a politické dění. Cílem práce je zanalyzovat vybraná díla, která vznikla jak v anglickém, tak francouzském prostředí v průběhu středověku, a pomocí těchto analýz potvrdit předpoklad, že dané historické období lze v různých podobách v příbězích rozklíčovat. Dále je možné srovnat vliv obou zvolených prostředí a konstatovat změny, ke kterým u legend o králi Artušovi došlo.

První kapitola obeznamuje čtenáře s historií daného tématu. Věnuje se vývoji artušovských legend od první zmínky o králi Artušovi až po úpadek obliby artušovských legend s příchodem renesance.

Druhá kapitola se soustředí na francouzské prostředí, je zde popsán fenomén rytířství a dvorské lásky. Následují shrnutí a analýzy dvou děl s artušovskou tématikou.

Třetí kapitola se věnuje anglickému prostředí, je zaměřena především na otázku původu a existence legendárního krále. Dále stručně popisuje válečné konflikty, které Anglii v období středověku provázely. Jsou zde shrnuta a zanalyzována tři významná artušovská díla.

Závěr bakalářské práce potvrzuje předpoklad o možnosti identifikace středověku v artušovských legendách. Z Anglie se legenda o statečném ochránci a panovníku Británie velmi rychle rozšířila do Francie, kde byla ovlivněna fenoménem dvorské lásky a rytířství.

V Anglii se pak nadále pracovalo s již takto pozměněnou legendou. Dle teorií je možné v příbězích vystopovat konkrétní historické události, což analýzy opět potvrdily.

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