’Fairy’ in Middle English Romance

258 Pages·2014·1.535 MB·English

by  Chera A. Cole

'FAIRY' IN MIDDLE ENGLISH ROMANCE
Chera A. Cole
A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD
at the
University of St Andrews
2014
Full metadata for this item is available in
St Andrews Research Repository
at:
http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/6388
This item is protected by original copyright
This item is licensed under a
Creative Commons Licence
‘FAIRY’ IN MIDDLE ENGLISH ROMANCE

Chera A. Cole

A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
at the School of English in the University of St Andrews

17 December 2013

i

ABSTRACT

My thesis, ‘Fairy in Middle English romance’, aims to contribute to the recent resurgence
of interest in the literary medieval supernatural by studying the concept of ‘fairy’ as it is
presented in fourteenth- and fifteenth-century Middle English romances. This thesis is
particularly interested in how the use of ‘fairy’ in Middle English romances serves as an
arena in which to play out ‘thought-experiments’ that test anxieties about faith, gender,
power, and death.
My first chapter considers the concept of fairy in its medieval Christian context by
using the romance Melusine as a case study to examine fairies alongside medieval
theological explorations of the nature of demons. I then examine the power dynamic of
fairy/human relationships and the extent to which having one partner be a fairy affects
these explorations of medieval attitudes toward gender relations and hierarchy. The third
chapter investigates ‘fairy-like’ women enchantresses in romance and the extent to which
fairy is ‘performed’ in romance. In my fourth chapter, I explore the location of Faerie and
how it relates as an alternative ‘Otherworld’ to the Christian Otherworlds of Paradise,
Purgatory, Heaven, and Hell. My final chapter continues to examine geography by
considering the application of Avalon and whether Avalon can be read as a ‘land of
fairies’.
By considering the etymological, spiritual, and gendered definitions of ‘fairy’, my
research reveals medieval attitudes toward not only the Otherworld, but also the
contemporary medieval world. In doing so, I provide new readings of little-studied
medieval texts, such as the Middle English Melusine and Eger and Grime, as well as
reconsider the presence of religious material and gender dynamics in medieval romance.
My thesis demonstrates that by examining how fairy was used in Middle English
romance, we can see how medieval authors were describing their present reality.

iii

SUBMISSION OF PHD AND MPHIL THESES
REQUIRED DECLARATIONS

1. Candidate’s declarations:

I, Chera A. Cole, hereby certify that this thesis, which is approximately 73,300 words in length, has been
written by me, that it is the record of work carried out by me and that it has not been submitted in any
previous application for a higher degree.

I was admitted as a research student in October 2009 and as a candidate for the degree of Ph.D in
September 2010; the higher study for which this is a record was carried out in the University of St Andrews
between 2009 and 2013.

Date Signature of candidate

2. Supervisor’s declaration:

I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate
for the degree of Ph.D in the University of St Andrews and that the candidate is qualified to submit this
thesis in application for that degree.

Date Signature of supervisor

3. Permission for electronic publication: (to be signed by both candidate and supervisor)

In submitting this thesis to the University of St Andrews I understand that I am giving permission for it to
be made available for use in accordance with the regulations of the University Library for the time being in
force, subject to any copyright vested in the work not being affected thereby. I also understand that the title
and the abstract will be published, and that a copy of the work may be made and supplied to any bona fide
library or research worker, that my thesis will be electronically accessible for personal or research use
unless exempt by award of an embargo as requested below, and that the library has the right to migrate my
thesis into new electronic forms as required to ensure continued access to the thesis. I have obtained any
third-party copyright permissions that may be required in order to allow such access and migration, or have
requested the appropriate embargo below.

The following is an agreed request by candidate and supervisor regarding the electronic publication of this
thesis:

Add one of the following options:

(ii) Access to all of printed copy [after ONE YEAR] but embargo of all of electronic publication of thesis
for a period of THREE years on the following ground(s):

• publication would preclude future publication.

Date Signature of candidate Signature of supervisor

A supporting statement for a request for an embargo must be included with the submission of the draft copy
of the thesis. Where part of a thesis is to be embargoed, please specify the part and the reasons.

v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The journey over the past four and a half years may have been a long one, but I have had
company along the way. I am grateful to my supervisor Rhiannon Purdie, for her sound
advice, challenging feedback, and for her expert hand in guiding the creation and
completion of this thesis. My thanks also go to Ian Johnson, my secondary supervisor,
and Sandra Wallace, the School of English Postgraduate secretary (who surely does know
everything).
My colleagues and peers have been excellent companions during my studies. I am
grateful for the Medieval Reading Group cohort, whose fellowship made the PhD process
much less isolating. I am also thankful for the friendship and support of those in the
Postgraduate Christian Forum and St Andrews Renaissance Singers. I have also been
lucky with housemates: thank you, Ros Powell and Elena Goetting, for helping create a
place we can call home.
For their spiritual and personal support, I would like to thank the congregation of
All Saints, their rector Jonathan Mason, and also Donald MacEwan. I am also grateful to
Dr Karen Graham for her assistance with my health.
I am especially grateful for my many proofreaders. Your insightful comments and
sharp eyes have been an immense help.
And to those whose friendships have blessed me the last several years and
especially these last few months – to Lola Arellano-Weddleton, Megan Berryman, Kelly
Ledbetter, Ros Powell, Sarah Williams, and others – thank you. Your encouragement,
wisdom, steadfastness, and love have proved invaluable to me, and I cannot thank you
enough.
Most of all, I thank my parents, Dave and Carrie Cole, without whose love,
encouragement, and support this project would not have been possible.

vii

CONTENTS

Abstract i
Declarations iii
Acknowledgements v
Abbreviations viii
Introduction 1
Fairy ‘belief’: a brief review of studies on fairy 6
The development of ‘fairy’ and ‘elf’ 13
Lexical Themes: Linguistic associations with ‘fairy’ and ‘elf’ 21

I: Fairies and Demons: The case of Melusine 31
The texts 32
The body and soul 40
To be a ‘humayn woman’ 54

II: Fairies, Gender, and Power 67
Paradigm of Violence 70
Paradigm of Control 78
Ways of control: Patronage 80
Ways of control: Speech 83
Gendered control 91

III: ‘Performing’ Fairy 95
Performing Fairy 97
The case of Partonope of Blois 102
The case of Eger and Grime 113

IV: The Fifth Road to Faerie 123
Studies of the Otherworld in medieval literature 125
The Journey into Faerie 137
The Topography of Faerie 150
The Kingdom of Faerie 155
Why Faerie? 159

V: Fairies in Avalon 163
Avalon in the chronicles 163
Avalon in Middle English romance 179
Morgan… the Fairy? 188

Conclusion 193
Bibliography 201