Media Check!

Simply stated, chivalric romances have their own amount of importance. Were they a little bit cheesy? (More than a little…) Yes. But that doesn’t change the fact they have shaped our views on love & relationships.

If it wasn’t for chivalry, we wouldn’t have the rules for relationships that we do now. Men are expected to respect & swoon ladies & ladies are supposed to be gentle, kind souls with hot, hot bodies. Okay, that was a bit hyperbole-d, but they did have a lot of expectations on both ends. For example, check how they describe Lanval’s “hot elf lover”:

“This was how the maiden dressed up:
Of white linen, her camisole
Was made so that it showed both whole
Sides, shining where it laced up.
Her body was slim, long-waisted, tall,
Her neck was whiter than fresh snow-fall.
Grey were her eyes, white her face,
Lovely her mouth, nose in the right place,
Brown eyebrows, forehead smooth and fair,
Bright blond, crisply curling hair--
The radiant light of pure gold thread
Fades by the brightness of her head.”


Um… if you ask me, she sounds pretty disgusting but hey, everyone needs love. It later talks about how all the men did basically everything but hoop, holler & pat Lanval on the back for scoring such a babe.

Looking beyond that though, I would say that this scene can be tied back to our culture today. Even in those times, the rules were set for women. They had a social standard that they were expected to meet. The media affects how we view ourselves, & weren’t the minstrels a form of media? Songs & stories about thin, ghostly, blonde women with perfect noses are no different that images of skin & bones, orange tanned, blonde women with straight hair & perfect noses. Just think about it: w many girls think they need to be thinner? That they are fat lards who should throw up every meals & that no man will ever love her for her “full figured” self?

I’d say, if it weren’t for chivalry, & chivalric romances specifically, we wouldn’t have such self image problems. We might, just might, be happier with who we are, inside & out.

Demons in our closet...erm...lake?

(pg. 48, l 441-443)

"A brilliant
Light burned all around him, the lake
Itself like a fiery flame."

Though short & sweet, this line has a lot going on beneath its orange chicken surface. In the literal, it's just saying that the lake was on fire. Whoosh. It added another crispy element to the story 'cause what's more heroic than beating the snot out of a foe underwater, burning water?

This, though, has a definite deeper meaning. It brings the story of Beowulf to a whole new level. It implies that Beowulf has in fact gone into Hell to fight Grendel's mother. He's a divine hero, sent by God to save the world. Sounds a little Jesus-esque, no?

We know that the Beowulf poet was a Christian, for Christianity had spread in the Angelo-Saxon culture at the time it was penned. There are tons of allusions to God in the piece, & I believe it's might be a retelling of the triumphs of the son of God.

I find it interesting they made the "Devil", Grendel's mother, a woman. Are they really that evil? Like really? Who knows. Maybe they are.

This story is just another epic at face value. A man's man saves the day, but if you dig deeper, you can see a whole new story. I hope I'm not crazy in seeing this. Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. Either way, Beowulf = Jesus in burly, bear form. End of story.