| Paper 821-a | From Occident to Orient: Empire and Kingdoms, Cultures and Stereotypes in Bevis of Hampton's Travels
(Language: English)
Lucie Herbreteau, Département Lettres, Langues, Histoire et Arts, Université Catholique de l'Ouest, Angers
Index terms: Language and Literature - Middle English, Mentalities |
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| Paper 821-c | Anger, Sorrow, and Retribution: Christian Emotional Solidarity in The Sege of Melayne
(Language: English)
Marcel Elias, Faculty of English, University of Cambridge
Index terms: Crusades, Language and Literature - Middle English, Rhetoric, Sermons and Preaching |
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| Abstract | Paper -a:
In the medieval romance of Bevis of Hampton, the hero travels through different empires, kingdoms and cities, and this paper will deal with the way foreign cultures are depicted by a medieval and occidental writer. From bewitching oriental cities like Jerusalem or Damascus to the less exotic but nonetheless fantastic Holy Roman Empire, Bevis is - and sometimes cruelly - confronted to foreign cultures. Different traditions, different religions, how are foreign culture presented in the romance? Are they subject to stereotypes or does Bevis discover these empires and kingdoms with the unprejudiced eyes of a real globetrotter?
Paper -b:
In the course of its development the figure of Robin Hood has been established in a domain that has become inseparably connected to the legend. This paper will explore the reasons how and why in the course of time this apocryphal character has been ascribed to a utopian realm. The earliest accepted sources will form the basis of this study while later additions to the popular legend will also be taken into account. Sherwood Forest can be viewed as the apotheosis of an idealised society controlled by a benevolent leader in contrast to a corrupt external empire governed by a cruel and despotic ruler. It will be shown that the medieval texts form the basis for criticism of contemporary political and social environments through comparison with a romanticised view of a historical frame of reference.
Paper -c:
The crusade narrative of The Sege of Melayne is regularly called upon by critics as a salient exemplar of the Middle English Charlemagne romances' tendency to display a patently Christian fervour which transcends national or regional identity boundaries. While Christian communal identity undeniably constitutes a main focus of Melayne, arguably the most prominent narrative means by which this powerful sense of cohesion is negotiated and attained has, thus far, evaded critical attention. In this paper, I shall argue that it is on the grounds of communal emotional drive - subsuming depicted characters, narrator, and reader/auditor - that the romance constructs its petition and infuses feelings of fervent involvement and collective agency. By adroitly drawing upon the emotional rhetoric of crusade propaganda, the poem merges individual into communal and creates a cohesive Christian front - an 'emotional community', to borrow Barbara Rosenwein's terminology, in which emotional expression is integral to collective identity.
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