Medieval Literature VI: Medieval Chivalry II

Passion, love, and romance take center stage in Medieval chivalric literature. As we survey some of the greatest works of that genre, we’ll find answers to the following questions:

1. How does Tristan and Iseult highlight the tension between marriage and love that was commonplace in the past?
2. What light does Tristan and Iseult shed on the nature of love versus loyalty?
3. Why is the chivalric idealization of woman such an important development in the context of Christendom and Western culture?

Recommended Reading: The Romance of Tristan & Iseult. Retold by J. Bédier. Translated by H. Belloc, George Allen & Company, Ltd., 1913. de Troyes, Chrétien. Arthurian Romances. Translated William W. Kibler and Carleton W. Carroll, Penguin Classics, 2004. Early Fiction in England: From Geoffrey of Monmouth to Chaucer. New York: Penguin Classics, 2015.