The construction of knightly identity in late Middle English romances
Abstract
My dissertation explores the complex nature of knightly behavior and knightly identity in three late Middle English popular romances: the anonymous Sir Perceval of Galles, Thomas Malory's The Tale of Sir Gareth of Orkney (a self-contained tale in Le Morte Darthur), and the anonymous Ywain and Gawain. Borrowing from performativity theory, I argue that a knight's outer or knightly identity is constructed via the performance of chivalric acts. I maintain that a knight's performance is validated by the noble audience of his great deeds, which reinforces and underscores his distinguished lineage and innate, noble nature—his natural nobility. By performing knighthood in a particular way, such as subduing Saracen minions, subjugating unruly knights, or rescuing damsels in distress, a knight demonstrates how he fulfills a specific social role (safeguarding the Church, governing the land, or protecting the people, respectively). I contend that a romance's emphasis on one of these roles is dictated by the specific historical moment in which the text was produced. I further claim that these texts belong to a sub-genre of late Middle English literature—which I term knightly identity romances—that has often been overlooked in modern scholarship. Through the examination of knightly identity construction in these romances, scholars can gain a better understanding of the role of knighthood and chivalry in fourteenth- and fifteenth-century English society.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Armstrong, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Medieval literature|British and Irish literature
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