Discussion About Yvain, Essay Example

While popular culture tends to label literature or entertainment “romantic” if it involves love in any way, more formal definitions of the romantic mode involve more than just the exchange or pursuit of affections. Literary Critic Northrop Frye, for instance, looks to Aristotle’s classification of fiction for his definition of Romance. Aristotle, says Frye, divided men into two groups spoudaioi and phauloi – higher and lower. According to Frye, every literary mode can be defined by the highness or lowness of its characters and their “power of actions.” The mode of romance is defined by the presence of a hero who is a human being who is, in some way, superior to other men. The romantic hero is mighty in strength. He can endure more than others and, says Frye, “he moves in a world in which the ordinary laws of nature are slightly suspended.” (Frye, p. 1) Indeed, according to Frye, the romantic genre often involves the occurrences of magic events and it is, he says, out of the romantic mode that fairytales and legends are developed (Frye, p. 1).

Chivalrous romance, rather than dealing with religious stories such as the fate of the saints, concerns itself with knightly and courtly deeds. Stories such Le Morte d’Arthur, detailing the heroic and highly fantastical adventures of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table is a good example of this sort of romance. Chivalrous romance must deal with a knight’s code of chivalry, which require adherence to the values of courage and loyalty, along with ethical rules of combat and “courtly” manners. Courtly manners involve politeness fit for the king’s court (Frye, p. 1).

Chivalric romances generally place a knight as the protagonist. But the knight must be one who abides by the principles of chivalry. While chivalric romances can focus on a knight’s courtship and love, they do not have to. They do, however, tend to focus on a knight’s bravery. Chivalric Knights, will, for instance, risks their lives fighting dragons out of loyalty to their kings.

Indeed, a knight’s loyalty to his king is a principle part of chivalric romance. Courtly manners are defined by adherence to the rules of the feudal system. Understanding one’s place and acting in a manner fitting to one’s position is a key part of courtliness. In the feudal system, vassals would be bound my loyalty and great oaths to their lords. They are often also bound by family connects or strong friendships – which are also secured by oaths and agreements of “mutual loyalty.” Anyone who threatens a vassal’s lord, then, becomes the vassal’s enemy. Likewise, any person who threatens a formal friendship (secured by oaths) becomes the enemy of both friends (Frye, p. 2).

The feudal system is also built around legal codes that are important for knights to observe. A knight must consider the values of fairness and justice. He must give an ear to evidence and rituals of complaint. He must also consider different sets of rules for challenges and war. He must further follow a code of courtly love – not treating women as cattle, but rather as his beloved. He generally courts a woman to win her favor, rather than simply forcing himself on her.

One rather interesting example of Chivalric Romance is the tale of Yvain – Knight of The Lion. The knights in Yvain behave in a courtly manner. The handsome knight Calogrenant begins the tale by speaking of a battle that he is ashamed to have lost. Yvain, noting that Calogrenant is his cousin, declares that because Calogrenant is his cousin, he shall avenge Calogrenant. Here, we see evidence of Yvain’s chivalric loyalty. Yvain, on his way to avenge his cousin meets with dangers such as bulls and monsters. He wins victory against them and goes on to find the knight who defeated Calogrenant (Auerbach, p. 127). Here the reader can see evidence of the romantic nature of Yvain, for the author includes a fantastical description of the knight that declares, “But before their jubilee had ceased there came the knight, more blazing with wrath than a burning log, and making as much noise as if he were chasing a lusty stag.”  In the battle, both knights abide by their codes of ethics, each refraining from hurting the other’s steeds. Yvain scores what appears something akin to a mortal blow and sends the knight fleeing. He gives chase and manages to just escape a closing portcullis that would, in ordinary circumstances have pierced his body clean through. This is evidence of Yvain’s romantic heroism. He is able to escape things ordinary men would not (DeTroyes, Part 1).

The other knight dies and Yvain finds himself in enemy territory. But because Yvain is also extraordinarily kind, Lunette, a maid who he had shown kindness to earlier in his life comes to his aid. She schemes to help him marry the dead knight’s widow. Lunette swears loyalty to Yvain, saying “Please take this little ring of mine, which you will return when I shall have delivered you,” following the custom of the swearing of oaths under the feudal system. The author praises the widow for being a “fair, Christian dame,” showing the great importance Christianity and ethical codes of conduct were to the knights of the time. She is so loyal to her husband that her grief causes her to try to kill herself. But her maid convinces her to take Yvain as her husband, declaring that he is even more courageous and noble than her dead husband (DeTroyes, Part 2).

Here we see all the elements of romantic chivalry. Yvain is larger than life. He can defeat any danger and his code of conduct cannot be challenged. He is courageous, kind and loyal to a fault (Auerbach, p. 131). Women love him instantly. He is the stereotypical knight in shining armor that chivalric romances are made of. Yet Yvain’s bravery is also his downfall. He obtains his wife’s permission to go out on adventures, where he bests beast after beast. But because he gets lost in his adventures he is not faithful in keeping his promise to his wife to return at a certain deadline. Because of this, she banished Yvain and he goes mad. But because the laws of nature and life do not apply to chivalric heroes, Yvain is magically given back his sanity by a noble woman, and when he does one more great dead – rescuing the maid who helped him in the earlier scenes from the gallows, the maid helps him win back his wife (DeTroyes, Part 3). The story, thus, ends happily, as chivalric romances tend to do.