Loyalty and Treason in Some Middle English Breton Lays
Middle English Breton lays often depict a feudal world that rests on mutual trust and fealty between a lord and his vassals, and in which love relations are conceived in terms of a covenant that binds the knight to his beloved, whether mortal or fairy. Be it at court, in a family or simply a married...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Institut du Monde Anglophone
2014-04-01
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| Series: | Etudes Epistémè |
| Online Access: | http://journals.openedition.org/episteme/223 |
| _version_ | 1818450371102638080 |
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| author | Agnès Blandeau |
| author_facet | Agnès Blandeau |
| author_sort | Agnès Blandeau |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Middle English Breton lays often depict a feudal world that rests on mutual trust and fealty between a lord and his vassals, and in which love relations are conceived in terms of a covenant that binds the knight to his beloved, whether mortal or fairy. Be it at court, in a family or simply a married couple, the harmonious unity of a social group depends on the loyalty of its members to its representative, values and beliefs. The stability and order of a group and the lovers’ unbreakable vow of fidelity are always jeopardised by a felonious character that acts as a treacherous opponent in thwarting the designs of the hero or heroine in their quest for self-fulfilment. The severance of close political, familial, marital and amorous ties at the hands of a traitor brings about a crisis that needs to be resolved. Though a secondary figure in the plot, the villain actually fulfils a significant dramatic role, that of the blocking agent bent on impeding the main protagonist’s progress to successful recognition by the community and/or the beloved. The study of the Breton lays and the Franklin’s Tale focuses on a multi-faceted key notion in the Middle Ages: pledging and keeping one’s word and its opposite, breaking one’s promise or betraying one’s pledge. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T20:50:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-04efd46a18b24e969897768a69c6663f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1634-0450 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T20:50:14Z |
| publishDate | 2014-04-01 |
| publisher | Institut du Monde Anglophone |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Etudes Epistémè |
| spelling | doaj.art-04efd46a18b24e969897768a69c6663f2022-12-21T22:47:49ZengInstitut du Monde AnglophoneEtudes Epistémè1634-04502014-04-012510.4000/episteme.223Loyalty and Treason in Some Middle English Breton LaysAgnès BlandeauMiddle English Breton lays often depict a feudal world that rests on mutual trust and fealty between a lord and his vassals, and in which love relations are conceived in terms of a covenant that binds the knight to his beloved, whether mortal or fairy. Be it at court, in a family or simply a married couple, the harmonious unity of a social group depends on the loyalty of its members to its representative, values and beliefs. The stability and order of a group and the lovers’ unbreakable vow of fidelity are always jeopardised by a felonious character that acts as a treacherous opponent in thwarting the designs of the hero or heroine in their quest for self-fulfilment. The severance of close political, familial, marital and amorous ties at the hands of a traitor brings about a crisis that needs to be resolved. Though a secondary figure in the plot, the villain actually fulfils a significant dramatic role, that of the blocking agent bent on impeding the main protagonist’s progress to successful recognition by the community and/or the beloved. The study of the Breton lays and the Franklin’s Tale focuses on a multi-faceted key notion in the Middle Ages: pledging and keeping one’s word and its opposite, breaking one’s promise or betraying one’s pledge.http://journals.openedition.org/episteme/223 |
| spellingShingle | Agnès Blandeau Loyalty and Treason in Some Middle English Breton Lays Etudes Epistémè |
| title | Loyalty and Treason in Some Middle English Breton Lays |
| title_full | Loyalty and Treason in Some Middle English Breton Lays |
| title_fullStr | Loyalty and Treason in Some Middle English Breton Lays |
| title_full_unstemmed | Loyalty and Treason in Some Middle English Breton Lays |
| title_short | Loyalty and Treason in Some Middle English Breton Lays |
| title_sort | loyalty and treason in some middle english breton lays |
| url | http://journals.openedition.org/episteme/223 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT agnesblandeau loyaltyandtreasoninsomemiddleenglishbretonlays |