Arhurian Romances Essay - 1376 Words

Chretein de Troyes, Arthurian Romances nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;From the Classical age through the medieval age, women were greatly disrespected. They did not have any say in anything and were not appreciated. In Classical texts such as The Odyssey, the women were treated as if they were animals. They did not have the respect of others and some were thought of as whores. In the stories of Erec and Enide, Lancelot, and Perceval, we see a dramatic change in this, due to the system of government that Arthur entails giving them the freedom and rights they deserved. The new man to woman relationship brought about in these stories is very different then the past stories we have read from the classical age. This system gave great honor†¦show more content†¦It was Erecamp;#8217;s chivalric duty to defend her honor as a lady and the queen.While Erec was at the town he played in the Sparrow-hawk ceremony, which dealt with showing the most beautiful maiden in the kingdom. Whoever had enough gall to present his lady as the m ost beautiful and handed her the sparrow in front of the town wins. Erec presents Enide as the most beautiful and is approached by Ydor, who thinks his woman is the best. They battled and by defeating him and winning the game, he walked away with his love, Enide. He loved and cherished every move she made. He loved her so much that he gave up his knightly duties for her. He stopped going on quests and participating in all the ceremonies. amp;#8220; But Erec was so in love with her that he cared no more for arms, nor did he go to tournaments. He no longer cared for tourneying; he wanted to enjoy his wifeamp;#8217;s company, and he made her his lady and his mistress. He turned all his attention to kissing her; her persued no other delight.; (pg.67 Erec and Enide)He wasnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; greatly shamed by all the knights and nobles for doing this. She refused to tell him about this in fear of his actions. These unknightly actions created problems with him and the other knights. Enide finally tells him the truth about what everyone else is thinking and is blamed for it. He brings her out on quests to test her love