Lanval Analysis

Once discovered in the meadow by the fairy queen’s maidens, he is taken to meet her where he is immediately awestruck by her incomparable beauty as well as her lavished castle. Ireland describes this seen as the “Court of Love” where Lanval and the fairy queen establish a comitatus amongst each other (Ireland 134). Lanval’s love for the fairy queen is infact so great he claims to her “I shall obey your command; for you, I shall abandon everyone. I want never to leave you. That is what I most desire.” As described earlier, knights displayed the utmost respect and admiration for women, especially, as in Lanval’s case, a lady is was trying to court. The only stipulation is that Lanval my keep their relationship a secret or he will “never see [her] again possess [her] body.” Promptly after their comitatus takes life, Lanval becomes seduced by his King’s wife, Queen Guinevere. During his encounter with Queen Guinevere, sir Lanval acts chivalrous in every way except one (much more then sir Launcelot can say). He responds the Queen’s advances by emphasizing his loyalty to the King. His only misstep and lack of judgement comes from insulting the queen: “any one of those who serve her, the poorest girl of all, is better than you, my lady queen, in body, face, and beauty, in breeding and in goodness.” Admitting this single instance of failure to the code, the more important aspect details his insistence of protecting his pact with the fairy queen. As seen with other Knights in the tales of King Arthur and the knights of the round table, some fail to retain perpetuate the virtue of chastity, while sir Lanval yet again displays why the fairy queen chooses him over other

Marie De France’s Lanval is a remarkable short narrative that engages the reader into a world filled with unrealistic elements, but enhances on the true meaning of romance, chivalry and nature during the years that King Arthur reigned. “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight” unfortunately does not have an author that can be recognized but this epic poem demonstrates the ghastly adventure of a knight who decides to defend the honor of young King Arthur against a supernatural being in this malicious game of cat and mouse. Both of these pieces of literature have enchanting characteristics that define them as a masterpiece of their era and that’s why they both are easily compared and contrasted. In addition, both Lanval and “Sir Gawain and The

The knight endangers his manhood accepting Lady Bertilak’s purpose. So, we can say that manhood includes Christian, chivalric and loyal codes that are the cornerstone of a moral value. Moreover, it is normal that men make the first moves but in this case, Lord Bertilak’s wife makes it. As June states “The Lady is the one “making the first move”, so to speak, but it is ultimately Gawain who decides what is to become of those actions” (24). She does it because of her self-confidence and feels herself a superior being to him which was not normal at all in women at that time.

Since long ago, people carried an image of what it means to be a hero. It is evident in some great books one might even say. As in The Epic of Gilgamesh, Antigone, and The Iliad, heroism is displayed and exalted, but what does being a hero mean? Overarchingly, in regards to these works, the heroes earn their titles as heroes by notably doing what is right when the time is right, with humane purpose, and an everlasting message. However, Gilgamesh, Antigone, and Akhilleus, being different in their purposes, everlasting messages, type of heroism as whole, can not compare in regards to heroic status.

The debate on whether to sanction Queen Guinevere by death, or not, takes place between the Pope, King Arthur and Sir Lancelot through letters. Men who are the source of women’s suffering are the same ones to redeem them from their bondage.

Queen Guinevere’s character was more about being royal and doing as she wanted. She was married to King Arthur. She was above all of the wrongs that she has done and shows no signs of sadness, even when she is sad (page 632). She has an affair with Sir Launcelot without King Arthur knowing about it. She causes conflicts among the knights and the King. Both men are so in love with Queen Guinevere. Sir Launcelot throughout the story does battle for Queen Guinevere, while showing King Arthur his loyalty.

Did you know there is a great controversy with today’s society, putting men over women? It is sparking debates across the world on why men are thought to be stronger and be able to do more activities than women. There is an ongoing debate between men and women on equality. Beowulf and contemporary culture assert their masculinity through physical strength, financial wealth, honor, perseverance, reputation, and intelligence.

To begin, Linda Seger’s article demonstrates how the idea of a hero is universal and is defined by their journey, which is incorrect because other cultures might define a hero as something else. In her article, she tries using ten stages of how a hero is sometimes just an ordinary person. Who then takes in order

“Lanval” by Marie de France and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” by Geoffrey Chaucer are both medieval romances that put a knight on trial by a queen’s court for his treatment of a lady. Throughout the course of this paper, readers will get the opportunity to travel back in time to the Middle Ages and that during the twelfth-century women were superior to men, specifically in their relationships and marriages; however, today men dominant individuals, especially in working world.

During a high point in medieval chivalric romance, both Marie de France’s Lanval and the anonymous Sir Gawain and the Green Knight tell fanciful tales of knighthood, chivalry, and spiritual and temporal (courtly) love. Both Lanval and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight portray their female characters as possessing considerable power and influence, within the events in the story and in the structure of the plot. Indeed, the female characters in both works function as the catalysts of the events within the stories, and also as instruments for each author's conveyed meaning. While Lanval presents its female characters in an unorthodox reversal of gender roles, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight employs the female characters as moral and spiritual trials for the hero, Sir Gawain. I will examine how the fairy princess and Queen Gwenevere in Marie de France's Lanval present a reversal of gender roles as was traditionally understood; she presents femininity as powerful, inspiring, and morally dynamic (for a woman can be ideal, or she can be corrupt). I will compare this to the representation of Lady Bertilak and Morgan le Fay in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, in which they are used to convey a “Biblical” warning for an ecclesiastical audience; particularly that of moral failure and the temptation of the flesh.

The Queen Guinevere's pride was wounded when she gets rejected by Lanval. Queen Guinevere offers herself to Lanval saying he could have anything he desires. Lanval rejects her by telling her he won't betray his king and that he

This is significant because her pursuit signifies initiative, which is a sign of confidence. However, she also does not unconditionally offer her love. The fact that she requires that Lanval be “worthy and courtly” indicates a sense of self-worth. Finally, in her offer, she does not mention any concrete details of what she would do for Lanval, let alone drop anything of her life for his interests, which suggests that although she will love him, she will not let him rule her life (another indicator of her self- worth). This behavior is quite powerful, as the her confidence and self preservation prove that she is a dominant type of individual.

Even though these qualities are praised in this culture, medieval narratives commonly uphold unrealistic virtues of what a perfect woman is. After Lanval vows to keep their love a secret, the queen of the court tempts the knight with her love. She says, "Lanval, I have honored, cherished and loved you much. You may have all my love: just tell me what you desire! I grant you my love and you should be glad to have me" (pp. 1771). Shortly after Lanval rejects her advances, the queen further establishes her ill will towards the good knight by saying, "I well believe that you do not like this kind of pleasure. I have been told often enough that you have no desire for women" (pp. 1771). The importance of these accusations exemplifies the queen's power and influence over Lanval. Although he graciously declines the queen's love, he regrettably reveals his love to the queen in an attempt to prove himself to the court. He says, "And I will tell you one thing; you can be sure that one of her servants, even the very poorest girl, is worth more than you, my lady the Queen, in body, face and beauty, wisdom and goodness" (pp. 1771). The manner which the queen entices Lanval reveals that both power and evil can be easily compared to this woman's actions, showing readers the other side of the coin. The division between these two women illustrates how often this society feeds off of a virgin/ whore dichotomy, branding such women

In "Lanval," the knight is asked to make a promise to his "ami" not to let anyone know of their affair. Although Lanval does not remain true to his word, the importance of the oath is made clear in the simple fact that his love trusts his word implicitly. It is important to note that, were it not for the implied oath of a knight to remain loyal at all costs to his king, Lanval would have kept his promise

In this paper I will analyze two characters in two separate works, one from a literary text and one from a film. The focus of this paper will be on heroes that have a relationship to an element of mythology. I will use the character Odysseus from Homer’s epic poem, “The Odyssey” and the character Wonder Woman from the American superhero film “Wonder Woman”. In this essay I will analyze the gender, appearance, actions, and roles that these heroes have. Throughout this essay, I will also discuss the negative characteristics that both these heroes have, such as their violent actions towards others. Heroes possess numerous qualities that make them great, however, there are certain qualities of a hero that are consistent throughout Greek mythology; bravery, intelligence, and strength. These qualities are significant to these two Greek Mythologies because these heroes are known to bravely risk their lives for others, using their wisdom to guide them, all while fighting strongly for what they believe in. This paper will serve to prove that regardless of the gender of each of these personas, the characteristics that define a hero remain consistent.