Womans In Beowulf And Lanval Essay, Research Paper
Property of the King: Life of Medieval Women in Beowulf and Lanval
History has been recorded throughout clip in narratives, books, verse forms and other literary plants. These Hagiographas give historiographers and readers of the present twenty-four hours valuable penetrations into the life styles, beliefs, society, economic sciences, political relations and heathen faith of the clip period they originate. Writers are greatly influenced by the beliefs and attitudes of their ain society and clip. The plant they write provide a window to the yesteryear that allows us to top out through and see what life was like for the people of that peculiar history. Middle Age literary plants show the reader of the nowadays who the people were, what was of import to them, and how they lived. In a civilization
with limited literacy and few lasting texts, works such as Beowulf and Lanval are highly of import factors in set uping these of import historical facets. The one thing that is evident
is the laterality of the strictly patriarchal society. The heroic codification, bravery in conflict, courage, trueness to tribes and male monarchs, topographic point in societal order, faith and gallant courtly love were what
this society was chiefly based on. The patterns and beliefs that were the fastness of Medieval society included work forces and excluded adult females. In this preponderantly male universe, one is
compelled to inquire the inquiry ; Where do adult females suit into this patriarchal Middle Age universe? What are their functions? What are they valued for as adult females? Beowulf and Lanval paint a clear
image of adult females in the Middle Ages. Both of these narratives tell of a male universe where adult females are valued as the belongings of their hubbies. The adult females of Beowulf and Lanval are trapped in a life of responsibility. There function is that of kid carrier, married woman, hostess, and cosmetic beauty. They are bound to their hubbies, valued as peace weavers, admired for their physical beauty, and have no power except the little influence they may hold on their powerful hubbies. Both Lanval and
Beowulf show the black world of the life of the subservient powerless adult females with few differences.
Beowulf is written in a male position. The reference of adult females is few and far between. The mere fact that they play such a minor function in this narrative is a good indicant that adult females are
non really of import to this society. Some of the adult females that are mentioned in the narrative are non even given names. Beowulf s female parent is non even considered of import plenty to reiterate her name. Hrothgar is praising Beowulf when he comments, Indeed, if she is still alive, that adult female ( whoever she was ) who gave birth to such a boy, to be one of world, may claim that the Creator was gracious to her in childbirth ( Beowulf 50 ) . Womans in this heroic narrative were non merely
valued for their childbirth accomplishments but besides for at that place function as peace weavers. Freawaru and Hildeburh are given in matrimony to beef up peace ties between contending kins. They are both
used to dicker impermanent peace. Both adult females are left with conflicting confederations between hubby and household. Their matrimonies are doomed to bring forth devastation and hurting for these adult females. Once
their hubbies die the impermanent peace is broken and the combat kins resume war. The adult females of Beowulf besides played he function of hostess
. They knew there topographic point in the Middle Age universe.
Wealhtheow walks around the hall mindful of ceremonial greets her invitees and offers them a sip from a ornamented cup ( Beowulf 43 ) . Wealtheow is dressed in gold, beautiful apparels and rings.
It would that she is besides a adorned hoarded wealth that the male monarch owns. The lone power that any adult female has in this narrative seems to come from a queens influence on her hubby. Queen Thryth commands that work forces, other than her hubby, that look at her be put to decease. It is non right for a queen, obliging though her beauty, to act like this, for a peace-weaver to strip a beloved
adult male of his life because she fancies she has been insulted ( Beowulf 70 ) . Her hubby, Offa, shortly puts a halt to it by directing her off to be reformed. Queen Thryth returns the good submissive
married woman she is supposed to be.
Lanval is written in the clip of courtly love. Womans were worshiped from afar for their beauty. The heathen faith was deceasing out and the age of Christianity was rousing. The chivalric
codification was followed by all respectable knights. Except for the new value placed on gallantry and the visual aspect of Christianity, it would seems that things did non alter significantly for adult females in
this new clip of so called courtly love. Lanval begins with the King giving out land and married womans to his loyal knights. This is a perfect illustration of the manner adult females are viewed as belongings. The
queen is the lone non charming adult females that is a of import character in this narrative. She is valued and loved for her superior beauty. Her lone power is found in her private relationship with her
hubby, the King. The Queen demonstrates her power by falsely impeaching Lanval of doing a base on balls at her. When the charming adult females appears in tribunal to liberate Lanval the queen is proven a prevaricator,
stripped of her influence on her hubby, and is no longer seen as a superior beauty. The hereafter of this queen is non hopeful. In both Lanval and Beowulf, the lone adult females that are spoken of in
length are adult females who are married or related to male monarchs. It is assumed that the adult females who are non Queenss have no power. The lone power for adult females in this lai seems to be found in the universe of
the supernatural, a land that would look to be inhabited merely by adult females. The queen represents the existent world of adult females. The beautiful supernatural adult females represents the manner Marie de
France wants society was like. The queen is left with no power or value. The charming adult females has power over Lanval, the tribunal of knights, and the male monarch. This lai is written from a female point of
position. It is both a good index of the world of the
clip and besides the manner the female writer imagines that it should be. Lanval is both a hopeful and cheerless narrative. The world is that adult females have no power and are virtually ownerships of their
hubby. The dream is that of a universe where adult females are given a topographic point in the universe. A topographic point that
includes power and value
Plants Cited
Beowulf. The Longman Anthology: British Literature Ed. David Damrosch. New York:
Longman, 1999. 27-94.
de France, Marie. Lanval. The Longman Anthology: British Literature Ed. David Damrosh.
New York: Longman, 1999. 171-185.
