Everyone has heard the story of a handsome and virtuous young man who sets out on a quest to save or win the heart of a young person. and beautiful woman. This type of story is known as a tale of courtly love. The theme of courtly love is very common in medieval literature and particularly in Arthurian legends. Most of these medieval tales of courtly love centered around a knight in shining armor who would go to great lengths to prove his worthiness to a beautiful young woman. Chivalry and nobility are two of the dominant themes in stories of courtly love. Marie de France, one of the few female authors recognized for their work during this era, wrote a lay titled Lanval that did not fit the traditional mold of courtly love that was common in her time. Through my analysis of Lanval and the use of Gareth's tale, a more traditional tale of courtly love, I will show how Lanval's story does not fit into the typical structure of a tale of courtly love. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay In a way, this story follows typical courtly love quite well, except that the roles of the man and woman are reversed in this story. It is the brave and handsome knight who is pursued by the beautiful woman. This is evident when the fairy says: “Sweet love, thanks to you I have come from my country; I came to look for you from afar” (from France, 156). Not only is she the one who sought him out, but she is also the one who proves her love to him through gifts and services. Another way of reversing the roles is that it is Lanval who submits to the authority of the fairy out of love. Usually, once the knight in shining armor has won the maiden's heart, she submits to him, but it is Lanval who says to the fairy: "If I could have such joy that you loved me, there is nothing you can order. , in my power, what I would not do for you, whether foolish or wise” (de France, 156). In medieval male-dominated society, this idea of ​​a man completely submitting to a woman was very rare. In many courtly tales, the man must go out and perform a great act of heroism to save the woman from a great threat, such as a dragon or a wizard. In Lanval, it is the fairy who rides on a white horse to save Lanval from the wrath of Queen Guinevere. Lanval's story modified the traditional roles of a courtly love story. Instead of having a knight in shining armor and a damsel in distress, Lanval has a damsel in shining armor and a knight in distress. It wouldn't be hard to argue that Sir Gareth is the ideal knight in shining armor. First of all, Gareth looks the part, he is described as handsome and fair at the beginning of the tale. You would have to go through several roundtables to find a knight who better embodies the idea of ​​chivalry than Sir Gareth. The knights' code of chivalry imposes on Arthurian knights a high code of honor that sometimes seems paradoxical. A chivalrous knight must be bold, courageous and fierce on the battlefield, but loving, humble and gentle when serving a woman. Gareth fights his way through knight after knight in this tale, but he allows Lynet to mock and belittle him for most of the time they travel together. After everything he has already done for Lynet, Gareth still has to serve Lynet for a year and win a tournament to win her affections. It's not the fact that he does all of this that makes Gareth the ideal knight in shining armor, but the fact that he does all of thiswith humility and chivalry. Gareth clearly fulfills the stereotypical male role in a story of courtly love. Jack Parsley Lanval and Gareth have a lot of similarities in these two stories. Both knights are described as handsome, kind and virtuous men. Both Lanval and Gareth had to work to earn the respect of their fellow knight. Although they were both beautiful and kind, neither of them had fallen in love before the tales they were in. At the beginning of his tale, Lanval was a stranger and a loner who was not well liked by the other knights. Gareth was ridiculed and mocked by the knights shortly before becoming one, and his reputation revolved around his "pretty hands" and his role as a kitchen boy. Lanval and Gareth also had several differences. Lanval was the polar opposite of an archetypal knight in shining armor while Gareth embodied everything about being a good and chivalrous knight. Gareth had to defeat evil knights, fight thieves, compete in a tournament and give a year of service to win Lynet's love. Lanval had the love of the fairy lady offered to him on a silver platter. In addition to being pursued by his love, Lanval was also spoiled by gifts from him. These two knights have very similar personalities, but they find themselves in extremely different situations. If Lanval had been written in a traditional tale of courtly love, I have no doubt he would have made a great knight in shining armor. If a beautiful and powerful fairy had sought out Gareth, I believe he too would have acted in a very similar way to Lanval. Ultimately, it was the plot that made the difference between these two very similar characters. Lanval is not a typical Arthurian legend, so I will use the tale of Gareth from Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Malory. Gareth's story begins with Gareth's arrival at King Arthur's Whitsun feast as an unknown guest. Gareth is mocked for his appearance and is nicknamed "Beaumains" or pretty hands. Gareth is not offended by the teasing and is not offended by being forced to help in the kitchen. A young lady named Lynet arrives at King Arthur's court and asks Arthur to send knights to help save her sister whose castle is being attacked by the Red Knight. Arthur refuses to send knights to help the young damsel, but Gareth asks Arthur to send him on this mission and he asks to be knighted by Sir Lancelot. Arthur accepts these requests and makes Gareth a knight and sends him away with Lynet. Lynet is not happy about being kicked out with only the help of this kitchen boy. Lynet abuses Gareth throughout all the trials they face to save Lynet's sister. These trials included fighting the thieves, fighting the Black Knight, fighting the Green Night, and finally fighting the Red Knight. It is not until Gareth defeats the Red Knight that Lynet begins to love him, but to prove his love for her, he must serve her faithfully for a year. At the end of his year of service, Gareth and Lynet plan a tournament for Gareth to win Lynet's hand. Gareth fights his way through several knights in this tournament, then marries Lynet. Marie de France wrote the story of one of the lesser-known knights in King Arthur's court, Lanval. Lanval is the son of a king from a distant country. Lanval could indeed very well play the role of the knight in shining armor or the prince charming if Marie de France had written this story differently. At the beginning of the story, Marie de France declares: “For her valor, for her generosity and her bravery, most men envied her” (de France, 154). Although Lanval is.