Jan 29, 2019 - "Lanval"

The poem “Lanval” is a piece of romance literature that tells the story of a young knight, named Lanval, who was a beautiful man that many, even King Arthur, did not favor. Lanval ends up leaving the kingdom due to the many people who dislike him because they are jealous of him. Because Lanval leaves his home, he ends up encountering the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, “... the lily and the young rose when they appear in the summer are surpassed by her beauty.” (123). Lanval ends up falling madly in love with this woman but this love comes with a price - he is not allowed to speak of her to anyone because their love must be kept a secret. She wants their love to be kept as a secret because otherwise she says she would have to leave Lanval, “... you would lose me for good if this love were known; you would never see me again or possess my body.” (124). Many romance literary works involve many situations where the protagonist goes off away from his home and experiences something new and enchanting. Lanval spends some time with his new love and grows quite fond of her but after some time she informs him that he must go back to his home. The beautiful woman gave Lanval fine clothes and riches to take home with him, “That night, his accomodations were rich but no one knew where it came from.” (125). As time went on, Lanval enjoyed his riches and respect from his peers as well as secret meetings with his new love. One day, Lanval was invited into the King’s garden by the Queen; the Queen attempted to get Lanval to love her but he refused, “I have no desire to love you. I’ve served the king a long time; I don’t want to betray my faith to him.” (127). Lanval also makes a point to brag about his love but in doing this he loses her. Because of this encounter, the Queen became angry and informed the King that Lanval had tried to initiate something with her. After that accusation, a whole trial began on whether Lanval should be executed for his actions. The trial takes some time to go through because the King’s men were unsure how to deal with Lanval. Near the end of the trial, many beautiful women show up asking the King for a place for their lady to stay in which the most beautiful of the women appears who happens to be Lanval’s love. Lanval’s love supports his claim of saying that he had someone else and was not simply insulting the queen, “... the queen was in the wrong. He never made advances to her. And for the boast that he made, if he can be acquitted through me…” (133). In the end, Lanval’s love saves him from death. He cannot bear to be away from her ever again so he jumps onto her horse’s back as she is riding out of the castle and leaves with her forever. This story definitely follows the structure of a romance in the sense that Lanval leaves his home but then comes back in a renewed way. In addition, unlike Anglo-Saxon literature, romances typically end on a happier note like this story did in which Lanval ended up with the beautiful woman. Romances were considered rather whimsical stories of the time and stories about exotic and beautiful woman that had no true origin were fascinating for people to read about in the Anglo-Norman literary period.  
Greenblatt, Stephen. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: the Major Authors. W.W. Norton & Company, 2013.

Comments

  1. julieburkett12January 29, 2019 at 3:10 PM

    what do you think this story meant in the conext of the time peroid? do you think that this story served any purpose? why do you think that this purpose was important? I think that this story does bring in some warm tones and romantic elemnts to an otherwise dark time peroid.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Haley WilliardJanuary 29, 2019 at 3:10 PM

    Excellent analysis of this poem. It comes off a little bit like a summary, so maybe add more about the Anglo-Norman period and analyze how the characters in this story were probably feeling. This story had a pretty satisfying ending, which you captured nicely.

    ReplyDelete
  3. gstroudJanuary 29, 2019 at 3:10 PM

    Though i feel like a bit of this is summary, I thoroughly agree with your analysis and comparisons at the end. Medieval romance is such a heel-turn from the deep and depressing nature of the Anglo-Saxon pieces we've been reading. Both genres of literature have such a wondrous quality to them, however the tone and subject matters are near opposites. Do you think there are any characteristics of Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Romantic literature that intersect? The differences are so stark that I'm now intrigued by the possible similarities.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Margaret-Cavendish-April-4-2019

A World of Four Atoms by Margaret Cavendish expresses the importance of understanding atoms because of the many great things that come from the tiny building blocks of life. She speaks of how four major components of nature and science help to combine and make the world around us in a way that many people do not often sit and think about, “Atomes Fire subtle, quicke, and dry, The Long, like Shafts still into Aire fly. The Round to Water moist, (a hollow Forme,) The Figure square to heavy dull Earth turne.”. From this passage, Cavendish speaks of four main elements that atoms contribute to making. She puts emphasis more so on nature than actual chemically made items from atoms which is an interesting scientific perspective that looks at beauty in nature in a new way. Then, Cavendish speaks of the various shapes that atoms can help create for the various structures in nature, “Thus the Fancy of my Atomes is, that the foure Principall Figures, as Sharpe, Long, Round, Square, make the fou...
Read more

Mary Wortley Montagu - April 23, 2019

Mary Wortley Montagu was a woman who went against gender standards in her time in the eighteenth century. Montagu was one who was passionate about education, medicine, and representing women in a non-stereotypical manner. In addition, she was a woman who travelled all over the world and learned about different countries and their cultures compared to that of England. In one such excerpts from letters she had written about the Turkish Embassy, Montagu illustrates the social differences between women in two vastly opposing cultures. One particular place that Montagu visited while in Turkey was a beautiful town called Sophia. She speaks of the many hot springs and baths that she visits in this town and how remarkable they are, but what was most remarkable was how these native women treated Montagu when she came to enjoy the springs one day. She talked about how they welcomed her without hesitation, “Yet there was not one of them that showed the least surprise or impertinent curiosity, bu...
Read more

Oroonoko by Aphra Behn - April 9, 2019

The story of Oroonoko by Aphra Behn appears to be about an African Prince and his love to a beautiful woman but this slowly transitions to a tale of despair and struggle of these two due to the cruel reality of the slave trade during this time. The story begins with the Prince, Oroonoko, who falls for one of the King’s mistresses, Imoinda, but their love is stopped by the King because it is a great crime to be with a mistress of the king. Through the help of other workers of the King, Oroonoko sneaks in to see Imoinda in which he tells someone at the door that this is their time together, “Therefore stand back, and know, this place is sacred to love and me this night; tomorrow tis’ the King’s” (1023). The two end up being caught by one of the King’s loyal followers due Oroonoko’s statement. Because of this incident, Oroonoko tells Imoinda to inform the King she was assaulted by Oroonoko so that she would not be as harshly punished for their actions. The King ultimately decides to sen...
Read more