Medieval Female Roles
To understand the power dynamics of courtly love, we must first examine medieval female gender roles. In short, women were seen as property to be governed by the greater sex, men. People in medieval society used texts in the Bible, in particular the story of ‘original sin’ and the letters of Paul, to claim that women were inferior to men (Bovey). These stories resulted in the “belief that women were inferior to men, and that they were morally weaker and likely to tempt men into sin” (Bovey). Due to Christianity, and the belief that disobeying God and his word (the Bible) was an egregious sin, men constructed a society built with the bones of masculinity. As a result of living in a masculine world, women left with two options. The first was to maintain her virginity until her family arranged a marriage for her. After marrying, the new wife would then be charged with maintaining her husbands household and producing children. The second option was to become a nun, and enter into the service of God. Neither of these options left women with much control.
The Illusion of Feminine Power in Medieval Literature
In medieval literature, there are texts engaging in the concept of courtly love, which highlight women having a certain dominatrix-al power. This seems to be a step of progression toward gender equality. However, this authoritative role reversal (women having power over men) seems to only occur in the realm of the fantastical. As a result, it stands that women can only be more powerful than men in boudoir reverie. A woman can only be superior over her male counterpart when literary fact proves that she is fae or of inhuman origin. A great example of this ideal is found in Marie de France’s Lanval. In this story, Lanval (one of King Arthur’s knights) encounters a nameless woman of Avalon. This woman summons the lonely Lanval to come to her, and the two become lovers under the one condition that Lanval must “tell [their] secret to no one… [or she] shall be lost to [him] for ever” (France 145 &148). However, Lanval breaks his vow in an attempt to ward off the advances of Queen Guinevere. Shortly after Lanval’s tryst with the unnamed woman, Guinevere approaches Lanval with a proposition of courtly love. Lanval denies Guinevere’s request. Offended, Guinevere verbally attacks Lanval until Lanval breaks his agreement with his lover and sates, “but I love, and possess the love/of one who should be prized above/all other women whom I’ve seen;” (France 293- 295). Angry and humiliated Guinevere complains to King Arthur and accuses Lanval of “[demanding druerie]” (France 317). Infuriated, King Arthur summons Lanval to court, where if found guilty Lanval will die. Knowing that because he broke his oath to his lover, Lanval goes to court prepared to hang for insulting Guinevere. However, the nameless woman arrives just in time to save Lanval. Lanval jumps on the back of the nameless woman’s steed and the pair rides off into the sunset, their destination Avalon.
This text poses a few key issues with courtly love in regards to female power. The primary issue is the reality, or lack there of, of the nameless woman. This woman, possessing enough power to save a man, hails from the land of Avalon. So, in theory, she is not fully human. Her lack of humanity is what enables her to dominate a male society. Her magic and lack of reality even give her power over King Arthur’s court. But, this nameless woman is only allowed to be more powerful than a man, because it is clear that she is not real. Another issue that arises in this story is that the nameless woman is in fact nameless. Her character’s namelessness adds to the mystery and magic – it adds to her not being real, because she does not have a name. A third issue is that Guinevere tries to romance Lanval, but is shut down. Now, this is problematic because Guinevere is not only a real, human woman in the story but also a queen – a woman who supposedly has power. And yet, not even she can attain the lover she wants. Not even she can exert power over a man, who in theory is below her in hierarchy. Lanval, and stories like Lanval give women a hue of power, but in reality, it is still men who are in control.
Works Cited:
France, Marie de. Lanval. The Norton Anthology English Literature 10th ed. Eds. Greenblatt, Stephen et al. Vol. A. New York, NY: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc., 2018. 171-187. Print.
Bovey, Alixe. “Women in medieval society.” 30 April 2015. https://www.bl.uk/the-middle-ages/articles/women-in-medieval-society. Accessed 27 Oct. 2019.
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