It's good *thumbs up*

This story was awesome. I liked it! Demons, death, redemption, it was like an episode of Supernatural(only the greatest show in existence, fight me!). To be honest, I thought we were going to read about Gowther raping and pillaging villages until someone killed him. Come to find out he seeks redemption after discovering Mommy has been lying to him all these years about who his father was...plot twist! I do wonder if he would have bothered seeking forgiveness if he never figured out his dad was Satan. If he were Satan from Supernatural, surely not.

Look at that face! 

Another intriguing point is how Mommy dearest became impregnated with our lovable Sir Gowther...shame on you Daddy for blaming infertility on Mommy and kicking her out. Now she’s gone done and slept with Satan! For all they know he could have been the infertile one. I imagine this has to do with the time period though, if a wife cannot bear any kids, she must be the infertile one. If it’s thought that a wife can’t become pregnant, is that grounds for an automatic divorce? Divorces didn’t really happen during this time, right? So I’m guessing there are very few reasons for the Pope, or whomever, to allow one to take place. I feel like we might have discussed this in class, but a refresher wouldn’t hurt in this instance(please).

Everyone on this show is adorable 

I’m really glad the romance wasn’t a main focus of the story. We get an introduction to the silent girl, and then read how Sir Gowther was able to marry her off in the end, but to me it wasn’t a large portion of the story. This brought me immense joy. It was a nice deviation from the stories we have been reading thus far. I was actually a little glad for Gowther, he really proved himself. You go man, you go. Team Free Will.

 Overall, Sir Gowther was an awesome story. Cringe worthy at a few spots(the failed breastfeeding episode), but overall it was an enjoyable read. I’m happy that Gowther redeemed himself and received his happily-ever-after. It was actually a well rounded story, now that I think about it. Action, adventure, romance...of course I definitely would not have minded my first thoughts taking route, seeing a little demon hunting action is never a bad thing in my eyes, but beggars can’t be choosers. I’ll willingly accept canon. If only Supernatural could end in such a pleasing manner…*cough cough* Destiel.

I'm not even sorry

Enough Already

OH JOY! He finds his lost love...Can you feel my sarcasm? Is it tangible? Because the sarcasm is so thick you should be able to physically see it from your screen.

I don’t know if it’s due to my being in both the medieval romance class and Jane Austen, but I’m just kind of, a little bit, really sick and tired of romance. Maybe it’s because I was once really obsessed with Greek and Roman mythology that I’m slightly biased towards the version where Eurydice dies and Orpheus done screws up and loses her in the end. Who knows. Either way, this version bored me. I’m a cynic. Sue me.

My eyeballs must permanently be stuck in an upright position...it’s literally the same story we’ve been reading all semester. Girl gets kidnapped, boy is sad, boy goes on quest, boy wins, everyone is really happy. What would have been a cool twist was having Cerberus eat Orfeo or something. Not lazily wrapping up the ending with unicorns and rainbows. Lame. The ending was so ridiculous, it’s almost as if they didn’t know how to really write it so they just threw ink across the page and said “close enough.”

I might be coming off a tad harsh...so let me say something nice. It was nifty how the ladies had falcons as pets. I liked that. I wish I had a falcon as a pet….I would totally use it to send messages...if I had people to send messages to. Damn.

Back to the story, after my sharp turn down the rabbit hole, I’m not sure if it was a direct reference to the original but the name dropping of “snakes that past him glide” (253) was interesting. That whole section was actually interesting. It detailed his descent(ten bloody years) into a hermit, comparing and contrasting his nobility to the poor rank he fell to. “Ermine robes...leaves and grass...castles...freezing weather…” (241-247). It really brought into perspective this King Orfeo lost everything when he lost his love. Same ol’ story but it was a nice few lines.

Lastly, the appendix, let me just take a moment to revel in the appendix. “...like smoke dispersing in air, she was gone” (498-499). Beautiful. I love this version. Just the tragedy and the loss, I love it. Something about the hero not winning pleases me.

Side note, I looked up the different types of harps, because I was curious if he had a mini harp or something, and there are a lot of harps in the world. Even a harp guitar.

This is obviously not a harp guitar.

He gets what now?

As I finished The Wife of Bath's Tale, I immediately had to re-read it. Even translated into modern day english I found I had to double back to understand what had taken place. Now, I will admit I'm still working through the middle english version...that's some rough language.
I can't believe that the knight, who completely disregarded his knightly code of honor and committed such a disgusting act, still got "redemption". Not to mention his wife went all Hocus Pocus and suddenly the ugly crusty woman he forced himself to marry is now beautiful and everything is peachy. Yeah, he really learned his lesson.

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This knight, someone who is supposed to be widely respected and trusted, violated a girl in the worst way possible. But it's okay cause the fairy queen-lady-thing gave him a good talking-to so he totally learned what he did was a no-no. Seriously? Even if the queen decided to send him on this impossible task(seemingly impossible at the time) I would still argue she should have let the guy die. Forever.

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Another issue I had with this particular little tale is when the hag told the knight her ugliness should be a security to him. “Don’t worry, the fact I’m ugly means I’m less likely to cheat on you.” Are we really going there right now? Did I really just read that? How about the knight made a promise to do whatever you want, a situation he got himself into in the first place, and whether or not he likes you he should honor that promise. OH WAIT! He raped a girl so I can see how she would worry he might cheat, but never ever should a girl think of herself like that. Even if she is a fairy queen who totally and completely knows what she is doing by manipulating the entire story, it still infuriated me.

https://33.media.tumblr.com/fe69a267bad77c9ff17a79a938e53718/tumblr_n93rfq1CU31tfo43go2_500.gif

So, do I think he really learned his lesson after the really long sermon? Not really. I’m curious if anyone did. Even still, should the hag have transformed herself into a younger woman in despite of his crime? Maybe. I don’t believe he deserved it, he violated everything knights stand for: chivalry, honor, respect. He ignored all of them just to satisfy himself. I wonder what people thought of this story when it was written...would they agree or disagree with what we are saying now?

http://33.media.tumblr.com/79a04632fcaf5ee23fe6bcb52c93d6b3/tumblr_n4cknktFAS1tr2c16o1_500.gif

Self-Insert and Honor

    Erec and Enide was a fabulous read! A bit dry in some lines, but overall enlightening. I enjoyed the self insertion of the author during a couple points of the story: “I do not know what work they were doing” (pg 6) I don’t know why I gain so much amusement from it…sort of reminds me of Jane Austen...it adds to the bedtime story feel. Perhaps I should get to the point now.

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    Both the characters of Erec and Enide were equal parts important to this story. I really like how the focus was on both the male and the female rather than one or the other. The whole point of the first half was Erec redeeming himself as a Knight, after being whipped in the face by a dwarf. What a vicious dwarf he was...then the last half of the story was about Enide learning that perhaps she should’ve been more delicate in telling her husband he’s lost his public manliness. Tsk tsk. However, in these areas they both drive the story forward. Without one, there wouldn’t be a plot. They are both instigators in the rising action. As Erec rides to regain his knightly pride, he finds Enide and is able to fight the rude knight Sir Yder. Without a beautiful maiden, Erec would not have been able to fight in the competition(it just so happens he finds the most beautiful maiden). In the second half of the reading without Erec, Enide would not have had anyone to insult. Simple as that.

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     I would like to mention briefly my favorite part of medieval tales such as these:honor. The honor that these knights(both “good” and “bad”) is such a cool aspect. For example, when Yder and Erec were fighting they both agreed “hey man, I’m beat, you’re beat, let’s chill for a mo’” that’s so cool! Then of course Erec got mad and told Yder to get up and finish this, but he let him live so that’s cool too. Another example could be afterwards, when Yder actually rode all the way to the Queen and surrendered himself. For being so honorable, he got a place in court. SWEET! Maybe some might find it lame, but Knights in these tales really cared about their honor as men and as Knights. It’s something I really enjoy.
    There are a lot of interesting aspects of Erec and Enide. I look forward to reading the rest of it for class.

Taboo Love

In this day in age, society is all about the passion...or is "lust" the word I'm looking for? Sex is thrown in our faces in every television show, movie, and book; one can't even open a magazine without seeing half naked models posing scrumptiously on a sandy beach, complete with a horse mid-stride behind them. To go from "we have to take our clothes off to have a good time" (Clothes Off!!, Gym Class Heroes), to "no, we shouldn't even be in the same room together" is quite the leap. Although I would agree having thirty-one rules for "Courtly Love" is a bit excessive (especially the bit about public love never endures). I mean, c'mon.

My first reaction upon finishing Andreas Capellanus' The Art of Courtly Love, was one of confusion and surprise. His position on blind men confuses me more than anything. Why did he feel the need to mention this at all? I can see where he, being a member of the church, would feel the need to state homosexuality is a no-no(of which I, along with a large portion of the world today, would not agree with), but stating a blind man can't love because he can't see? That's superficial and also incredibly false(could be the point?). Why include it though...a question perhaps my fellow classmates have some insight to. I can see how this would fit into the theory of this reading being pure satire, but maybe there's more to it than that?

The rest of the reading was somewhat enjoyable, from a comedic standpoint. I enjoy the fact women hold complete power in these types of relationships and I'm sure the women of the time got a smidgen of happiness too. In a period where women had no say in their lives, this was probably a main factor as to why these stories were read; knights proving their love to their ladies, grand quests, romance, the authors really understood their audience.

In today's world, we view "love" in a vastly different way. I believe people(especially the young padawans) don't see the beauty in love. I would argue the media is largely responsible for this. As I stated earlier: everything is sexualized. The exact opposite of Courtly Love. These stories, according to the second study guide, were taboo. It wasn't probable in actual society; love didn't exist. Where our media gives the notion that relationships revolve around sex, Courtly Love was used to mold proper gentlemen and inspire love.

Although society was vastly different in medieval times(duh), romance is still incredibly popular now. The idea of knights and quest for love are appealing to women(and men, don't deny it). We aren't so different in that aspect after all.

Cites

Capellanus, Andreas. The Art of Courtly Love. New York: Columbia Univ Press, 1960.

Schwartz, Debora B., Dr., and Elnora Supp. "Backgrounds to Romance: Courtly Love."

Backgrounds to Romance: Courtly Love. English Dept., Caifornia Polytechnic State

University, 1998. Web. 22 Jan. 2015.

Stump, Patrick. Clothes Off!! Gym Class Heroes. Rec. 27 July 2007. S*A*M & Sluggo, 2007.

CD.

Thompson, Diane. "Courtly Love." Courtly Love. North Virginia Community College, Extended

Learning Institute, 15 July 1998. Web. 24 Jan. 2015.