1986 Chapters (Layout Features)
Chapter 2: Land, Lineage, and Nation
The longer romances of English heroes usually connect exile and return to feudal dispossession and reinstatement, and double the hero's winning of land with his winning a bride to continue the lineage. As for Hornand Havelok, the law and the courts are important sources of justification for Bevis, Guy, and Fulk — though this confidence in law breaks down in the later Athelston and Gamelyn. In addition, the diffuse longer works incorporate new sources of validation for noble heroes. Motifs from epic, saints' legends, and courtly poetry demonstrate heroic worth by other standards than winning a heritage. Where these standards conflict, uneasy accommodations
reestablish the heritage as the dominant value for adventuring heroes.
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Also Published In
- Title
- Insular Romance: Politics, Faith, and Culture in Anglo-Norman and Middle English Literature
- Publisher
- University of California Press
More About This Work
- Academic Units
- English and Comparative Literature
- Published Here
- December 9, 2009