Deconstructing Archetypes, Reforming Traditions in Bevis of Hampton

61 Pages·2013·2.44 MB·English

by  Catherine Fong

DECONSTRUCTING ARCHETYPES, REFORMING TRADITIONS
IN BE VIS OF HAMPTON
A Thesis
Presented
to the Faculty of
California State University Dominguez Hills
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Arts
in
English: Literature with Rhetoric and Composition
by
Catherine Fong
Spring 2013
UMI Number: 1523466
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Copyright by
CATHERINE FONG
2013
All Rights Reserved
This is dedicated to my husband, Beau.
Your love has supported me during the happiest and most difficult moments of this
journey. Thank you for encouraging me to follow my dreams.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to give special thanks to my committee chair, Professor Debra Best, whose
knowledge, guidance, and encouragement has made this thesis possible.
I thank the other members of my thesis committee, Professor Timothy Chin and Professor
Helen Oesterheld, for their insight and guidance.
I thank Christie Bettendorf and Jenifer Zinn for their inexhaustible encouragement and
support.
Finally, I thank my mother and sister, who raised me to have the strength and courage to
make it this far.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
COPYRIGHT PAGE.....................................................,..............................................................ii
APPROVAL PAGE.....................................................................................................................iii
DEDICATION..............................................................................................................................iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..........................................................................................................v
TABLE OF CONTENTS.............................................................................................................vi
ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................................vii
CHAPTER
1. INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................1
2. THE MONSTER REDEFINED...........................................................................................7
Giant: The Hybridity of Man..........................................................................................8
Saracens: Finding Good in the Other..........................................................................15
Patriarchs: Hidden Monsters.........................................................................................19
3. THE MATRIARCH REFORMED ;.........................................................................29
Retaliations for Forced Unions.....................................................................................30
Establishing the Matriarchal Other...............................................................................38
4. CONCLUSION.....................................................................................................................47
WORKS CITED..........................................................................................................................51
ABSTRACT
This thesis examines the romantic archetypes in Bevis of Hampton that shift
perceptions of tolerance, empathy, and acceptance of social hybridity. An analysis of the
monster, the Other, the patriarch and the matriarch concluded that the text opens a
‘contact zone’ to examine English social, and political structures and its involvement
with Muslims. The thesis argues that the text deconstructs these archetypes to challenge
the traditions of patriarchal dominance and criticize the stereotypes of the Other and their
symbolic threat to Christianity during the holy crusade. Furthermore, through the study
of the female characters, Josian and Bevis’s mother, the thesis discusses weakening male
dominance and control by confronting inappropriate and unjust forced marriages.
1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Medieval romances focus on the hero as he confronts and kills monsters,
demonstrating prowess and chivalry. Despite being removed or exiled from his
homeland, the knight remains true to his troth,1 gains the love of a fair maiden and favor
of kings, and earns respect from people near and far. The knight withstands all
temptations of sin, while the antithesis of the knight, the monster, embodies all that is evil
and dies at the hands of the knight. As stated by John Finlayson in “Definitions of
Middle English Romance,” the basic paradigm for a romance is expressed in the premise
that “the knight rides out alone to seek adventure,” while the basic definition for romance
is “a tale in which a knight achieves great feats of arms, almost solely for his own los et
pris in a series of adventures which have no social, political, or religious motivation and
little or no connection with medieval actuality” (Finlayson 55). As the English translated
and adopted French romances, the definition of romance began to take on new forms, and
in doing so critiqued the social and political conventions of the English land. Through
shifts in the plot, characterization, and archetypes, these tales introduced inevitable
conflicts and unions between Christendom and Islamic lands. While Bevis of Hampton
adheres to the genre of romance, no longer is it just the hero seeking to prove his
prowess; rather, transformations in characterization and conflict reveal social and
political injustices and raise questions about English patriarchy and cultural hybridity.
1 From Oxford English Dictionary: A faith or loyalty when pledged in a solemn agreement or undertaking.
2
Middle English Romance has often been associated with the famous legacies of
Charlemagne, King Arthur, and their knights; however, the story of Bevis of Hampton
was also popular during the Middle Ages. Originally written in the first half of the 1300s
as a chanson de geste, the story of Bevis gained popularity and by the 1400s existed in
six manuscripts.2 Unlike many of its counterparts during its time that existed in one or
two manuscripts, Bevis was translated from French into “at least five versions, each of
which is entitled to be considered a separate romance” (Baugh 34). Bevis's popularity
was widespread; however, not until the English translation appeared did Bevis gain the
status of national hero, contributing to the plethora of English heroes and legends.3
Along with Guy of Warwick, Sir Guy ofEglamour, Alliterative Morte d ’Arthur, and Sir
Gawain and the Green Knight, Bevis of Hampton manipulates the traditional “matter of
England” romance and French romance through the hero’s relationship with the heroine
and the Other (which in this case can be both). Furthermore, through the patriarch’s
failures, the text criticizes the abuses and misjudgments made by the traditional familial
protectors. Through this manipulation, Bevis of Hampton redefines relationships and
unions, defying cultural customs and confronting tensions created by the social patriarchy
during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
2 See introduction to Four Romances of England. Ed. Ronald B. Herzman, Graham Drake, and Eve
Salisbury. Kalamazoo: Medieval Institute Publication, 1999. Print
3 The version used for this study is the English Auchinleck MS version of Bevis of Hampton. The
differences in textual variations of the manuscripts are not included in this project. For a discussion of the
variations, see “The Middle English and Renaissance Bevis: A Textual Survey” by Jennifer Fellows in
Studies in Medieval Romance: Sir Bevis of Hampton Literary Tradition. Ed. Jennifer Fellows and Ivana
Djordjevic.
3
Initially, the story is not unlike other romances. The hero demonstrates prowess,
religious and political loyalty, and courtesy as he triumphantly exposes evil through a
series of episodic physical combats with archetypal monstrous beings—a wild boar,
Saracens, giants, and a dragon. However, the interrelationship of Bevis and the
conventional monsters—more specifically, his Saracen counterparts and Ascopard the
giant—introduces an evolution of the antagonist within the romance. Aside from being
the antagonist to our medieval heroes, the monster symbolizes a phenomenon to fear, to
avoid, and to destroy, which were more than often Muslims, pagans, and non-Christians.4
In Bevis, the monsters serve two functions: one as a symbol of fear and difference, the
other as an object to invoke empathy within the Christian audience, suggesting tolerance
and compassion for the Other. Bevis’s interaction with these antagonists introduces a
shift in the paradigm of what is deemed monstrous. Considering that monsters act as a
symbolic threat to the English and to Christianity, Bevis’s alliance with Saracens and his
choice to live outside of his hometown when the King of England welcomes him provoke
questions about social justice within Medieval England. Thus, with Bevis’s successful
union with Josian and their children’s advancement to nobility, Bevis supports the
intermingling of these two religions and races—deconstructing the inherent “monster”
stereotype of Muslims, pagans, and non-Christians found in medieval romances.
Bevis’s focus on Josian, the heroine, creates a shift in the romance paradigm by
developing a strong female counterpart for the hero. Her intelligence and wit are not
merely narrated in her characterization, but rather extended through her actions and
4 Bettina Bildhauer and Robert Mills provide an in depth discussion on the origins and purpose of monsters
and “monstrosity” in The Monstrous Middle Ages.