Chrétien de Troyes' Yvain is undoubtedly a most important source in studying the social elements at play during the twelfth century. Throughout the often idealistic plot of the story, de Troyes' chivalric hero faces many conflicts which reflect the personal, social and political ideals of his time. From the beginning of the story when Yvain sets off for his journey to avenge his cousin's defeat, until his reunion with Laudin, the hero goes through a drastic change. While Yvain had been great, but not a perfect knight when he left King Arthur's court for the spring with the basin, at the end of the story, after his many adventures, he manages to emerge as a "paragon of virtue- ; resolving all of his conflicts. Some of the most prominent conflicts that shape Yvain's story are the ones between love/hate, love/duty, madness/wisdom, honor/dishonor, good/evil and chivalry/impoliteness. While all of these conflicts are important in analyzing the social implications of the story, the two most prominent conflicts are the ones between love/hate and love/duty, which in turn lead to other, less significant ones. While it is true that Yvain faces a series of dangerous external conflicts to reach happiness, it is resolving the inner conflicts of love/duty and love/hate that lead him to perfection.
The story of Yvain begins in King Arthur's court with two conflicts. While the king is depicted as neglecting his duty and instead sleeping in his room, Lord Kay, the cynical and unpopular knight in Arthur's court is shown in conflict with Yvain. De Troyes uses Kay's contemptuousness to bring out the greatness in Yvain's character. .
Thus introduced as an honorable knight as opposed to the disagreeable Kay, Yvain sets off for a series of adventures. Even though Yvain is thus introduced as a great knight, some of his forthcoming actions prove his weaknesses through the wrong decisions he makes when he is presented with conflicts of love/duty and love/hate.
The narrator of Yvain portrays Love in the most idealistic terms. ... Once he has given up his heart to her, Yvain is discribed as completely conquered. ... When he realizes his error, Yvain is "bereft of reason." ... When Yvain encounters his lady's spring, he is torn by remorse and sorrow. ... Upon realizing this, Yvain immediately proclaims himself defeated. ...
Yvain is a tale of chivalrous exploits and a romance from which chivalry was of great importance. ... We may argue that Yvain's situation is unique and that he may have been unaware of the commitment one must give to one's spouse. ... As readers we are divided between our empathy with Yvain's knightly duties and his responsibility to his sworn word to his life-mate. ... In the courtly life of Yvain the noble status of the knight is found everywhere. Despite the ambiguities of Yvain's ability to fulfill his knightly duties and the tendencies of the reader either to overl...
So, he simply turns pale and silent when he learns of Lancelot's affair with Guinevere in the Mort Artu, whilst in Chrétien de Troyes's Yvain, the Knight of the Lion, he is unable to stay awake after a feast and has to retire for a nap.[77] Nonetheless, as Norris J. ... Erec and Enide and Cligès are tales of courtly love with Arthur's court as their backdrop, demonstrating the shift away from the heroic world of the Welsh and Galfridian Arthur, while Yvain, the Knight of the Lion, features Yvain and Gawain in a supernatural adventure, with Arthur very mu...
SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT" An anonymous author wrote Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in the 14th century. It was written in a dialect from Northern England. The poem uses alliteration similar to the Anglo-Saxon form of poetry. Alliteration uses a repetition of consonants. The poem ends the way it begins. ...
Sexuality in Medieval literature Rules of medieval society clearly depict that it is a man's world, but medieval literature seems to reverse this notion. In medieval text, fiction or non-fiction, the reader can expect the foundations of the characteristics of the main character to be the same. Y...