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A Structural Study of Six Medieval Arthurian Romances

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A Structural Study of Six Medieval Arthurian Romances This dissertation has bean microfilmed exactly as received 6 6—6250 FINNIE, W. Bruce, 1934- A STRUCTURAL STUDY OF SIX MEDIEVAL ARTHURIAN ROMANCES. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1965 Language and Literature, general University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan Copyright by W* Bruce Finnie A STRUCTURAL STUDY OF SIX MEDIEVAL ARTHURIAN ROMANCES DISSERTATION Presented In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By W. Bruce Finnie, B.A., A.M. ******* The Ohio S tate University 1965 Approved by U Me* Adviser • Department of English VITA March 6, 193** • • • Born - B atesvllle, M ississippi 1955................................B.A., The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio 1955—1958 ..... Navigator, The United States Air Force I960. ....... A.M., Columbia University (Magna Cum Laude), New York, New York 1961-1963 • • • . • Graduate Assistant, Department of English, The Ohio S tate U niversity, Columbus, Ohio 1963-1964 ..... Assistant, Department of English The Ohio S tate U niversity, Columbus, Ohio 1964-1965 .................. Instructor, The Ohio State University 1965- ....................... • Instructor, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware PUBLICATIONS "Ohio Valley Localisms: Topographical Terms, 1750-1800." American Speech. XXXVIII, No. 3 (Oct. 1963), 178-187 FIELDS OF STUDY Major F ield: Medieval English L iterature Studies in the Medieval Period. Professor Francis Utley Beowulf. Professor Robert Estrich Middle English Language and L iteratu re. Professor Morton Bloomfield Studies in the Age of Shakespeare. Professor Harold Valley Twentieth Century Fiction. Professor Claude Simpson II CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION...................... 1 CHAPTER I. Erec et E n id e..................................................................... 5 11. Gerelnt........................................................ 28 III. Y v a in................................................................................................. 37 IV. Ywaln and GawaI.......................................................................... 62 V. Owe In . 71 VI. Lancelot...................................... 79 CONCLUSION............................................ 106 BIBLIOGRAPHY I. Texts ............... .............................. 113 II. Other Works Cited ......................................................... 113 Hi ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1 Structure of Erec ...................... 109 2 Structure of Yvaln.................................... 109 iv Introduction The present study Is a critical evaluation of a small group of related Arthurian romances based on a close stru ctu ral examination. The underlying assumption is that the dominant themes and ultim ate meanings of the individual tales can be further clarified by defining the ways in which the romances are put together: th a t is , by pointing out and by tracing in greater detail than has been done before the significant themes, motivations, and miscellaneous plot devices, and by determining how the focal points of the action relate to the whole. The basis for this discussion is a study of what Chretien de Troyes calls the mati&re. or subject matter (cf. the opening lines of Lancelot). As one critic has wisely stated, "It can hardly be disputed that to try to arrive at the sans—-or symbolic meaning—without a thorough study and understanding of the obvious and basic plot material is to build a house upon shifting sands."^ Three of the romances analyzed are those of Chretien, and the other three are analogues or redactions of these Old French poems, 2 / They are discussed in the following order: Chretien's Erec et Enide. ^William S. Woods, "The Plot Structure in Four Romances of Chrestien de Troyes," SP, L (1953)• p. 2. ^The dates now generally agreed upon for C hretien's works are as follows: Erec. 1170; Yvaln and Lancelot. 1177“ 1181; Yvatn and Lancelot seem to have been written concurrently, (See Jean Frappier in Roger S. Loomis Led,], Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages £ London,1959], p. 159.) Concerning the dates of the other romances, see the notes, below, in the appropriate chapters. together with the Old Welsh prose analogue, Gerelnt: Chretien's Yvaln (or Le Chevaller au Lion). together with the derivative Mtddle English poem, Ywaln and Gawaln. and the Old Welsh prose analogue, Oweln: and Chretien's Lancelot (or Le Chevalier de la Charrette). All of these romances are concerned with the extravagancies of the Matter of Britain. On this basis, Chretien's ClIges. a tale whose spirit differs significantly, is excluded. Chretien's Perceval Is also excluded because the Grail story, with its many continuations and separate treatments by diverse authors, Is fa n ta stic a lly complex and therefore would require a whole series of individual treatments. Lancelot is the only one of C hretien's romances analyzed fo r which an English or Welsh version is not included. There seems to be l i t t l e point In analyzing the much la te r Lancelot romances of the fifteenth century, which are so indirectly related to Chretien, derived as they are from the thirteenth-century French Prose Lancelot: that is, the Stanzaic Morte Arthur, the Lancelot material In Malory, and the Scots Lancelot of the LaIk. Chretien's Lancelot is important to this study, however, because of its close thematic relationship to the companion pieces Erec and Yvain and because each of these three romances, in a variety of ways, throws a bright light on the other two. Each romance is divided into sections whenever division c la rifie s meaning, even though the text may not indicate e break. The only evidence admitted is thematic. Further, each romance is studied on its own merit as a separate and distinct work of art, so that source Studies have no place in the analysis. The individual analogues and derivative ta le s are compared here and there, but only to emphasize the individuality and distinct qualities of the variants; mutual: influences are generally not considered. The single exception is Ywain and Gawain. for the poem is so obviously derived from Yvain that the differences alone distinguish tt. The three "families" of tales (Erec. Yvain. Lancelot, as well as their respective analogues or derivatives) are sometimes compared, but only when similarities - or dissimilarities help clarify the particular tale under consideration, or when useful generalizations can help us understand concepts of romance w ritin g . Comparisons can be especially helpful when they involve such common themes as the interrelationship and conflict 3 between courtly love, marriage, and knight errantry. The discussions of Chretien's romances are longer than those of the variants, since they delineate the basic plots rather fully. The romances b ris tle with stru ctu ral problems which as yet have not been adequately defined, much less solved. In Erec. for Instance, we must determine the relation of the adventure called la Joie de la Cort to the love theme, since Erec and Enlde have already been completely reconciled in the preceding adventure. There is the problem in Yvain of the relevance to the love theme of the long-awaited battle between Yvain and Gawain. Does th is climax to the romance occur in a giant digression? If the theme of Lancelot is the Lancelot-Guinevere relation­ ship, we must somehow justify the first half of the tale in which the 3ft>r a lively discussion of three kinds of chivalry--Feudal, Church, Courtly~and of the interaction and frequently mutual exclusiveness of the three, see Sidney Painter, French Chivalry (Baltimore, 19^0). The bock includes a discussion of courtly love in relation to Chretien. k lovers do not even meet. Similarly, we must define the structural significance of the last third of the tale after the consummation. The other three tales are much shorter than Chretien's corresponding versions, with the significant result that the central themes differ considerably. Perhaps the most valuable result of grappling with these and all the other related problems is that we will necessarily have to re-examine, restate, and to some extent redefine the meaning of the tales. The six romances are by no means organized with the same degree of success, but the motivation implied in the following assertion about Chretien has guided the present study: "When critics . • are able to reconcile all the plot elements . they can dismiss definitely the charge of random and purposeless incidents and arrive at a central theme which will join all the adventures into a unified and intelligent 2. whole for any given romance." ^Woods. p. 15. CHAPTER I Erec et Enlde The central theme of Chretien's Erec et Enldeh s the love of Erec and Enlde. The second and central section of the book Is con­ cerned specifically with the growth of the love relationship, for both Erec and Enlde have to learn much about each other and abgut their relationship; a secondary but related theme in the section is Erec's demonstration of valor. The f i r s t section of the romance presents the beginning of the relationship, and, more important, It tells us what we need to know in order to understand the narrative in the second section. The third section is merely the logical conclusion of the plot. The action is presented as follows (after the twenty-six-1ine introduction): in the first section (27-1796), Erec meets Enide and takes her to Arthur's court; in the second (1797-6358), Erec and Enide marry and undergo a long series of adventures which cuimtnates with la Jole de la Cort: in the third (6359-6878), Erec and Enide are crowned. 1 The first section is very tightly organized—more so, in fact, than the other two; consequently, it lends itself to a more thorough ^Marlo Roques (e d .), Les Romans de Chretien de Troyes. J[. (Paris, 1952). Line references are to this edition. 6 structural analysis, page by page, than the rest of the romance. It consists of two skillfully Intermingled episodes. The action of the sparrow-hawk-contest episode, which results in Erec's winning of Enlde, grows out of the action of the white-stag-hunt episode with which the story begins.
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