The French tradition of the Arthurian legends, however, are far less overtly political in their approach to the tales and to Guinevere in particular, and though politics and loyalties are still important elements of these stories the aspects of romance, love, and sexuality are far more prominent. Beginning with the poet Chretien de Troyes, Guinevere began to take on a more active role that at once justifies the feminine

courtship good for women? The Lais of Marie de France: Was courtly love good for women? The Lais of Marie de France chronicle the trials and tribulations of various women in love, as seen from a female perspective. Little is known about the life of Marie de France. However, one thing is clear: she was a poet with passionate feelings on the subject of male-female relationships. The primary convention structuring the

Middle Ages Romances Le Chevalier au Lion Chretien de Troyes' Le Chevalier au Lion (The Knight of the Lion) tells the story of the lovelorn Arthurian knight Yvain, rather than Arthur and Guievere themselves. Thus, the tale of Yvain acts a powerful challenge to contemporary assumptions of about what constitutes a Middle Age Arthurian Romance. First of all, the tale does not revolve around the knightly, courtly conventions of Arthurian honor

Narrative Poems: The Influence of Celtic Elements Poetic styles obviously different greatly among early European writers. These three poets represent writing that captures not only their ethnicity but also thematically what was common in their worlds. The reader will notice a harshness in the Irish poem; a sense of romanticism in the French poem and an almost depressing element in the English poem. But even with these differences, it would seem

villains in Beowulf and the Song of Roland, I believe those in the last-mentioned work are more justified in their actions than those in Beowulf. This at least is true from the perspective of the 20th century religious paradigm. In the modern world, it is vitally important to display a tolerant attitude towards all pardigms of religion and other directions of philosophy. In Beowulf there is a direct rivalry

"Arthurian female heroes, contrariwise, exist (at least for a time) as active helpers to male heroes, but always in the service of the patriarchal culture the hero upholds" (Fries, 3). One could argue that since this universe is thus so narrow for women, that embodying these counter-hero roles is actually the one way in which women can become empowered. Since autonomy and self-determination does not so strongly exist for