2216 midterm 1 LONG passages
. . . neither Queen Semiramis at the height of her wealth, power and knowledge, nor the Emperor Octavian, could have afforded even the right-hand side of it.. . . Inside this tent was the maiden who surpassed in beauty the lily and the new rose when it appears in summer. She lay on a very beautiful bed— the coverlets cost as much as a castle— clad only in her shift Lanval p. 74
- context: After Arthur neglects to give Lanval a gift like the other knights received, and Lanval rides in the woods where he finds a tent and the fairy goddess. Marie de France describes in her lai the beautiful supernatural tent that the fairy occupies and where she meets Lanval to tell him she wants him above all others and he agrees. - what was said in class: blazon, materiality, heat = masculine, largesse, conquest references; - taken further: SGGK and feminine materiality / domestic space - even in though she is a fairy creature who lives in nature, the fairy lover occupies a domestic space in the form of an opulent tent; the woman has to occupy a domestic space and be separate from nature. The herdsmen in Yvain and Lord Bertilak are able to occupy and perform in nature without the need for domestic space. But despite being a fairy and being associated to nature more than the male characters in other stories, the fairy must have a domestic space, with a bed, to emphasize her femininity.
But because The snake had gripped the lion's Tail in his poisonous teeth, He was forced to chop a piece From the tail, but he cut only as much as he had to, and he had No choice, there was no other way. Yvain lines 3381ff
- context: After defeating the Count and helping the Lady who saved him from his madness, Yvain travels to find out more about Laudine when he sees a snake fight a lion with fire. Yvain debates between killing the snake or the lion, but after reflecting on the treacherousness of the snake and it's venom, Yvain decide to attack the snake first and help the "noble" lion. When Yvain starts cutting up the snake, he has to cut a piece of the lion's tail. - what was said in class: beginning of Yvain's relationship with an animal; emphasizes the binary of man over lion as the lion becomes Yvain's servant and is under his control. Another test in his bildungsroman (Yvain identifies venom and treachery in the snake, and the nobility of the lion); - taken further: Association of lion to knight in this scene = the removal of the lion's tale seems to represent the removal of Yvain's old identity. As Yvain undergoes his transformation, Chrétien uses the lion as a reflection of Yvain's knightly identity. Through the madness he undergoes, Yvain loses a part of his identity the same way the lion has to lose an aspect of his self. Chrétien highlights the inevitability of the transformation in the bildungsroman of Yvain when he says that "there was no other way," indicating that in order for the lion to enter into another aspect of his identity as Yvain's companion, he must lose a part of his self. This is similar to the madness that Yvain undergoes to reach a better formation of the knight's identity.
The king himself led the way and closed all the doors on the wolf. After a while he returned, taking two barons with him. All three entered the room. They found the knight sleeping on the king's own bed. The king ran forward to embrace him, and kissed him many times. Bisclavret p. 72
- context: After receiving the clothes from Bisclavret's wife, the king is advised by one of his courtiers that Bisclavret feels shame and humiliation from dressing in front of others and suggests to take him to his room for privacy. The king feels joy after finally reuniting with his faithful knight who went missing for a year and shows his joy after Bisclavret turns back into a human. - what was said in class: The element of homosocial bonding that was mentioned in class can be viewed in this scene as the king and his knight are reunited again after Bisclavret went missing for a year. However, this scene also indicates the more intimate nature of the relationship between the king and his knight, describing more heartfelt affection between the two men as opposed to the relationship between Bisclavret and his wife. This scene also displays the feudal system that was established during the Middle Ages. - taken further: erotic love triangle between king, bisclavret, and his wife. King shows emotion towards other man, in defiance of masculine code during this period. This along with Bisclavret occupying feminine space in king's bedroom indicates the defiance of masculine/feminine binary in story. In the first line, Marie de France describes that the king himself closes his bedroom doors on Bisclavret, but specifies that it is the "wolf" that is left in his room. When the king returns, Bisclavret is human again, but occupies the king's bed, becoming associated to the king's personal space. This closeness is emphasized later when the king returns Bis.'s land to him and banishes his wife, removing the female relationship between himself and his knight. This is also seen as Bisclavret occupying with the female identity (associated to materiality) as the relationship between the king and his knight is highlighted by Marie.
"Thou are not Gawayn" quoth the gome, "that is so goud halden, That never arghed for no here by hylle ne be vale, And now thou fles for ferde er thou fele harmez! Such cowardice of that knight cowthe I nevere here." ("You're not Gawain" said the man, "who is reputed so good, Who never quailed from an army, on valley or on hill, And now flinches for fear before he feels any hurt! I never heard of such cowardice shown by that knight. I neither flinched nor fled, sir, when you aimed one at me,") SGGK 2270ff
- context: Gawain has come to the Green Chapel to fulfill his agreement with the Green Knight. When the green knight brings his axe down for the first time over Gawain's neck, the knight looks up at the axe and hunches his neck to avoid the weapon's blow. The green knight becomes angry and says that he is the better knight and man b/c he didn't flinch when Gawain gave his blow in Arthur's court. After this, the Green knight does another blow but doesn't hit Gawain, and then on the 3rd blow with his axe only cuts Gawain on the neck a little. - what was said in class: In class, we discussed how the Green Knight is referencing Gawain's reputation of being a great knight, yet he feels fear in this moment at the Green Chapel. We also discussed the performativity of Gawain's masculinity in this scene because the knight flinches in fear for his life, focusing on protecting himself more than holding onto the knightly duty of keeping his agreement with the green knight. Active versus passive masculinity is highlighted in this scene as Gawain battles between protecting his body and letting the Green Knight fulfill their agreement. - taken further: In the story of SGGK necks are emphasized as Lord and Lady Bertilak play games with Gawain. From the beginning, Gawain cuts off the neck of Green Knight. Then scenes of hunting with focus on destroying the neck. Then scenes of Lord B and Gawain where Gawain grabs Lord B's neck. Then this last scene where the green knight hurts Gawain's neck. Also on masculinity, the Green knight takes this opportunity to mock Gawain, but the knight is only able to sustain the hard masculine standards he is referencing because of the magic of Morgana. His masculine identity is sustained by the efforts of a woman. The poet stating that despite the words and commitment to masculinity by the Green Knight, the true power comes from Morgana and a woman. Similar to the control and power Lady Bertilak has over Gawain. Both men are controlled and dominated by women.
No one in all the world Can lavish such wild adoration Even on the objects she owns, Touching them a hundred thousand Times . . . He presses it into his breast, Slips it between his shirt And his heart—worth more than a wagon- Load of emeralds or diamonds, Holy relics that free him Of disease and infection . . .his faith in her is complete" (pp. 47-8) Lancelot
- context: Lancelot is continuing his journey to rescue Guinevere when he and the lady who travels with him under his guardianship find a comb with hair still attached to it. The lady says that it is Guinevere's comb and Lancelot falls ill because he loses his senses at finding a small peice of Guinevere in the wild. The woman claims she wants the comb but before she takes it Lancelot removes the Guinevere's hair and keeps it in his armor. - what was said in class: Class discussion focused on the aspect of fin'amore that places women as goddesses because in this scene, Guinevere's hair is like a relic. Since a relic is a worshipped object that is typically the saint's body part, Guinevere's hair matches well to a relic and is what Chrétien iss referring to. Relics can have healing properties but Lancelot falls ill at the sight. Another thing mentioned in class is Lancelot's reaction to the relic. He is so ensorcelled by love for Guinevere that he almost falls from his horse when seeing the comb. When she sees him falling, the girl gets off her own horse to help the knight. This shames Lancelot and the women lies to help maintain his ego and masculinity. This is a sign of Lancelot's masculintiy is questioned and uncertain because he has to be saved by the woman from falling off his horse. Also binary heirarchy between horse, knight, woman. Falling off horse is another example of Lancelot's loss of masculinity. - taken further: Similar to the other references of fin'amore in stories like Equitan (when the king says without the woman's love he would die), Lancelot's identity becomes dependent on his devotion to Guinevere's love. Also, in Yvain, Yvain becomes mad because he has betrayed Laudine's love, showing another example of a man falling ill (mentally or physically) because of the woman the love. The knights hold such religious reverence for the women, that they become vulnerable to mental or physical attacks.
He who raises this stone, Using only the strength of his own body, will free From worldly confinement all those— Peasants, and men of noble Birth—who lie behind bars In a prison from which no one returns; Lancelot lines 1904ff
- context: Lancelot is still on his search for Guinevere but stops at a church where he finds an old monk. Lancelot asks the monk about the cemetery and the monk shows him that the headstones are intended for those still not yet dead. He shows Yvain's and Gawain's headstone. The the monk shows a large and ornate headstone with this inscription on it. The tomb is sealed by a stone so heavy that one man alone can't move it, the monk says to Lancelot. However, Lancelot quickly and simply moves the stone and defies the words of the monk. - what was said in class: During class we noticed the similarities to the Christian narrative of Jesus rising from his tomb and moving his own heavy stone. This passage also emphasizes Lancelot's identity as savior to the people throughout his journey and in the land of Gorre. - taken further: Another test that begins with saying Lancelot can't do smth and then he does it anyway. The story by Chrétien is based on Lancelot reaching a barrier to his quest and defying that barrier. Another example is in the beginning when a lady has two beds and forbids Lancelot from sleeping in the larger, more ornate and comfortable bed. Later, Lancelot defies the advice of his followers by climbing over the sword bridge. This emphasizes Lancelot as a defier of rules and laws, in contrast to the common knightly identity seen in other stories.
The cart Rolled slowly on, not stopping For even a moment; and the knight Followed along behind For several steps, not climbing Right up. Lancelot lines 358ff
- context: Lancelot is trying to find news of where Guinevere was taken because Kay has been defeated by Méléagant. He tires out his horse and finds a dwarf driving a cart used to carry criminals. The dwarf offers to tell Lancelot what happened to Guinevere but only if he rides in the cart. This scene marks the hesitation Lancelot feels as he battles between losing his reputation and honor to find his love. After this, Lancelot decides to get in the cart and Gawain is offered the same choice but declines for fear of losing his honor. - what was said in class: Lanelot's hesitation on entering the cart appears to be the knight's recognition that he is committing adultery with Guinevere and betraying his king. Chrétien claims that his hesitation is wrong and Lancelot should be completely committed to what love orders the knight to do. Later, Lancelot is admonished for his hesitation on entering the cart by Guinevere, so he is punished again for thinking about his own reputation before his desire for Guinevere. Lancelot's masculinity is diminished as he is being led by a dwarf. Since in the medieval period dwarves were considered less than a knight, it would have been indicative of Lancelot's lost masculinity. Visually, also indicative of a reverse of binaries since the horse, and dwarf are literally before the knight who is in the cart. - taken further: Reputation and honor is considered by the knight in a reverse fashion to how it was considered in Yvain. In Yvain, the knight chooses to go off with his felllow knights to seek knightly opportunities to bolster his identity and reputation instead of staying with his wife. Yvain must decide (similarly to Lancelot) between devotion to his love or his reputation and honor as a knight. Opposite to Lancelot, Yvain chooses to bolster his honor and pays for it by madness and loss of identity. Chrétien through these two examples, proves that a religious devotion to love is more important than knightly honor and comprises a more important aspect of knightly identity. = Yvain and Lancelot in opposition to each other: Yvain ultimately decides on honor and breaks his promise to Laudine after not returning for a year. Lancelot hesitates, but ultimately decides on sacrificing his honor to save Guinevere. There is also a dialectical harmony within these stories because both men betray the women they love for the sake of honor, and battling between keeping their knightly honor versus devotion to their lovers.
A werewolf is a ferocious beast which, when possessed by this madness, devours men, causes grat damage and dwells in vast forests. I leave such matters for the moment, for I wish to tell you about Bisclavret. Bisclavret p. 68
- context: Marie de France's opening statements about her lai on the werewolf Bisclavret. Spoken by the author, these statements describe the stereotype of werewolves during this period. - what was said in class: Marie de France begins her story about Bisclavret with a description of the stereotype of werewolves in order to defy this stereotype throughout her story. The stereotype of werewolves describes the beastly nature of the imaginary creature, and Marie de France describes the significant areas of the werewolves' nature that creates fear in people: madness, violence, cannibalism, and living in the forest. In the story, Bisclavret is depicted as peaceful, and rational, only causing violence or damage when he wants to condemn his wife and her lover of their immoral actions. He is also depicted as loyal to the king, and not a cannibal because he hunts animals instead, also limiting his time in the forest to three days a week. All of the elements of the stereotype are defied through Bisclavret's character, and Marie identifies the true beastly nature in Bisclavret's wife. The wife of Bisclavret uses deception and persuasion to learn of her husband's secret, using his faith and trust in her to trick and abandon him and gain a new male lover. Marie de France concludes her argument that Bisclavret's wife is the true monster when the werewolf condemns her for her actions by biting off her nose, deforming his wife and making her outside appearance reflect the monstrous deformities of her identity. - taken further: nature binary, shame with being naked... In the story, Marie de France creates an association between the lack of being clothed and shame. When the wife learns of her husband's condition, she asks him whether he stays dressed while a werewolf or becomes naked, indicating that nakedness is an important question to ask about by the wife. Throughout the rest of the story, Bisclavret's nakedness is linked to his shame during the year that he remains a werewolf since it is what keeps him from changing back into a human. When the king returns Bisclavret's clothes to him, his advisor notes the humiliating nature of nakedness and highlights the element of public shame by suggesting that the king take Bisclavret to his personal room so that the werewolf can regain his dignity and honor through clothing himself. This also creates a distinction between nakedness and a beastly/animal nature and being clothed and a human identity, since it is when he is clothed that Bisclavret is a human with honor.
. . .all there began to believe that he were come from hell and bore the name of devil, he who stunned them thus and felled them underfoot, so that many of them never again spoke a word. That men smote and thrust at him bothered him not at all: in this he resembled his father, the noble knight Sir Acglavael. Moriaen lines 2550ff
- context: Moriaen is returning to the hermit and his friends after being rejected by the people on the ship, and he finds Gawain , captured and about to die on a wheel. Moriaen defends his friend without any help and defeats all those men who surround Gawain. This passage is from the narrator who describes the skill of Moriaen in defeating all the men without any help. - what was said in class: In class we discussed the Medieval thoughts about devils and sin. Since Moriaen has dark skin, he is commonly referred to as a devil in the story. The fact that he is a "Moor" or Saracen lends to the fact as to why the author describes the skill of Moriaen in battle as so fearful is because during that time the Moors were considered strong and skilled opponents against the Christian empire during that time. - taken further:In this scene, the knightly masculinity of Moriaen is emphasized more than Gawain's, who is placed in the inactive feminine role because he is captured. Moriaen is filled with action in this scene and in the narrative, but Gawain remains wounded and on the ground while Moriaen does all of the fighting to save his friend. During the scene, the narrator claims that Moriaen would have killed even the Devil in a fight b/c of his amazing skills. Contrasting the depictions of him as a devil by claiming that the knight would defeat the Devil.
but then he thought to himself, "What does it profit a man to exert himself if he knows it is in vain? 2445 They will not take me across because I am a Moor" Moriaen 2444ff
- context: Moriaen is searching for his father, Percival's brother, and when he tries to travel on a ship, no one will take him b/c they think he's the devil based on his skin color. Moriaen is disheartened by this and this scene shows Moriaen recognizing the racism of the period. - what was said in class: In class, we discussed how this section shows the author's recognition of racism during their own time. This is also Moriaen's moment of recognition that the color of his skin seperates him from any other knight. Another good comment was made that the crossing of water represents the line that Moriaen cannot cross into society because of racism prevalent during that time. the liminality of racial acceptance. - taken further: Before this moment, Moriaen is defiant and determined to fight for news about his father (ex: when he battles with Lancelot when they first meet), but in this moment, Moriaen loses hope. When Moriaen is in action and battle, he is defiant, but when he is asking civil questions in a normal social interaction, the racism of the people defeat Moriaen's spirit. The author does this to emphasize that Moriaen's gains confidence through action, and in knightly jousts, racism is not as important as in social interactions. Moriaen removes his helmet to talk to the people, but he is treated as a freak, when the knight is fighting Lancelot, he keeps his helmet on and race is not a factor in his merits as a knight.
The queen saw the spattered Curtains, and the bed, and was stunned; Shame brought the color To her face: "So help me God, But this blood I see on my curtains Never came from Sir Kay. Last night I had a nose bleed"-- Lancelot lines 4784ff
- context: This is after lancelot climbs through Guinevere's window to spend the night with her, and cutting his finger as he climbs through. He doesn't notice the wound because of his desire for Guinevere and spreads the blood on her bed. Méléagant finds the blood the next morning and accuses sir Kay of raping Guinevere because of his still-bleeding wound. - what was said in class: Méléagant accuses Guinevere not Kay, representing the thoughts on rape during that period. Also, why did Guinevere not say it was period blood? it would have made more sense, but this indicates the aversion to mentioning period blood because of the private/shameful aspect of women's menstrual blood during that period and in the romance genre. - taken further: Guinevere claims the blood as her own, even when she knows it is Lancelot's wound. Blood acts again as an indicator of guilt, as in Moriaen. The wound on Lancelot's hand represents the pleasurable pain of fin'amore for Lancelot, but this is never recognized and Guinevere takes the guilt on herself and protects Lancelot from the guilt of committing adultery. Other blood scenes are in Moriaen when blood is also an indicator of guilt. the blood of the knight that Gawain killed is used as a way to find the murderer. In this scene, Chrétien also indicates blood as a vengeful substance that seeks out guilt.
Their work is excellent, it pleases me, But it makes me distinctly unhappy To see how their faces and their bodies Are so thin and pale and wretche. Yvain 5229ff
- context: This is when Yvain is in the Castle of infinite Misfortune and sees the maidens who work for the two sons of the Devil in the castle. It is before he goes to the garden and sees the host and after he is told to turn back because the castle is cursed. - what was said in class: In class, we discussed that this scene show how Yvain is ambivalent to the suffering of the maidens from the devils and is more concerned with the materials that they are creating. Yvain is focused on the appearance of the maidens because women are supposed to keep a composed and proper appearance. The wretched appearance of the women discomforts Yvain because he would prefer the women to be beautiful. This shows that the purpose of women are to be the pleasure for the man since Yvain is not concerned with the poor conditions of the maidens but with their "pale" and "thin" appearance. Yvain sees only that the women could be beautiful if they had the things to make them lovely and clean. The maidens are another test in Yvain's bildungsroman to fulfill his job as regaining his knightly identity after his madness. - taken further: This scene seems like a reverse blazon because it goes over the maidens' appearance through specific details. Yvain was in the same position as the maidens (in his madness, he was poor, hunting food like an animal, unshaved, and naked), and Chrétien references this by describing Yvain's discomfort in seeing how the women reflect his same poor and improper appearance when he was mad. the binary hierarchy of women and men during the Middle Ages is displayed in this scene as the poor appearance of women is associated to their forced enslavement from a male king, and they are left helpless without being to save themselves. Yvain's degradation of self is helped from the efforts of a woman and magic.
Now that door was high and broad, But the entry was exceedingly narrow, . . . For it was built exactly like a trap Set for a rat when he comes Hunting what was never his. And a sharp blade hung Up above, which shot viciously Down on its tracks . . . Yvain lines 907ff
- context: Yvain has snuck from Arhtur's castle to redeem himself from the taunts of sir Kay and avenge his cousin's shame from being beaten by the knight at the spring. Yvain finds the spring and does what the herdsmen tells him at the spring. After he angers the knight who guards the spring, Yvain and the knight fight, and Yvain fatally wounds the knight. The knight flees from Yvain, and yvain follows him to his castle where the knight goes into a portcullis gate. This is when the narrator is describing the portcullis gate before Yvain rides through it and barely escapes, while his horse is cut in half. - what was said in class: In class, we discussed that Chrétien stresses the architecture of the castle in a way that reflects the belle conjointure of his own writing and his formation of his narrative in pleasing organizations. Yvain's shift in character was also noted. Yvain is careful and controlled when he is at Arthur's castle, embodying the dualstic binary of mind over body as he remains perfectly rational. However, when he chases after the knight, Yvain loses control and continues to chase the knight through his castle and into danger for fear of losing the opportunity of avenging his cousin and maintaining his own masculine/knightly ego. We also discussed that the cutting off of Yvain's spurs when he enters the portcullis gate is representative of Yvain's Achille's heel that indicates that Yvain's fatal flaw is his pride (for chasing after the knight and almost dying). - taken further: association of Yvain to a rat that steals is a good example of Chrétien's conjointure because later when the knight of the castle dies, Yvain steals his wife (Laudine). Yvain's entrance to the castle is associated to entering a trap, which could also be reflective of Laudine's covenant that she makes with the knight (that he must return to her) that he breaks, trapping the knight into a fall from his knightly status into madness. Yvain also literally becomes trapped once he falls from his dead horse after running through the gate, and he can only be saved by Lunete, who gives him a magic ring that hides him from harm. Yvain fulfills the words of the narrator when he enters into the castle and becomes trapped in the castle.
. . . . and Yvain went into The garden, and the girl and the lion Went after him. And he saw a gentleman, Propped up on his elbow, lying On a silken cloth, and a girl Was reading him from some French romance, I have no idea about whom. Yvain, lines 5360ff
- context: Yvain is lodging for the night in the "Castle of Infinite Misfortune" owned by two sons of the Devil. After seeing and talking to the maidens who work in the castle, Yvain leaves them to find the lord of the castle to thank for the lodging. Yvain is still on his quest to redeem his name and knightly identity and his relationship with Laudine when he finds the Castle of Infinite misfortune. - what was said in class: As stated in class, this is during the pesme aventure in Yvain's story because it is before the hard and difficult battle between Yvain and the two sons of the devil. The stakes are high as Yvain tries to save himself and the lives/honor of hundreds of maidens who work in hardship in the Castle of Infinite Misfortune. This scene displays wealth and opulence as the family of elite read a romance in their garden, a contrast to the poor and grueling work conditions of the maidens in their castle. The silk cloth and garden indicate wealth and opulence. The garden is a contrast to the hell of the garden, and could represent the Garden of Eden in opposition to the hell of the maidens. The family is seen as profiting from the devils' sweatshop. This seen was mentioned in class as Chrétien's possible critique on the escapism of the Romance genre. It is a meta-moment as Yvain (a romance) mentions the reading of a romance novel in the narrative, showing a mise en abyme by Chrétien. The mise en abyme is when the content of a medium is the medium itself, in this case, the romance novel has a reference to a romance genre. This scene forces the reader to remember that they are reading a romance genre and to reflect what the purpose of the romance novel is for the reader. - taken further: This scene displays dualism between the elite and poor classes of the feudal system, since the wealthy are profiting from the work of the poor maidens. Also, later displays the emphasis that the medieval period had on hospitality when the lord of the castle offers Yvain every hospitality and greeting. The lord's daughter also serves Yvain in every possible way. However, the hospitality of the lord contrasts with the way he treats the maidens of the castle. The care for a noble knight who can marry his daughter is a primary concern for the lord rather than caring for the maidens who work for him and give him profit. After this, the author talks about love and the "God of Love" after referencing the beauty of the lord's daughter. Emphasizing the importance of feminine beauty and its association to romance. Performative hospitality is also witnessed in Moriaen when the host of the castle chooses hospitality over avenging his own son's death.
