The Chivalric Romance and the Essence of Fiction

Ranging from Chretien de Troyes to Shakespeare, this study proposes that the chivalric romance is characterized by a centerless structure, self-conscious fictionality and a propensity for irony. The form is tied to historical reality, yet represents the archetype of imaginative literature, declaring its fictional status without claiming to embody fixed truths. Through use of irony, the chivalric romance precludes conclusive interpretations, inviting readers to inhabit multifold fantasy worlds while uncompromisingly showing that an ideal world is only a fiction. Thus the reader is enjoined to confront the suspension of truth in their own lives. Preface PART I ONE Genesis TWO Form and Structure PART II THREE Creative Cornerstones: Chrétien de Troyes and the Lancelot-Grail Cycle Chrétien de Troyes The Lancelot-Grail Cycle FOUR Medieval Masters: Chaucer, Malory, the Lay and the Gawain Poet Chaucer Malory The Lay The Gawain Poet FIVE Renaissance Refashionings: Ariosto, Spenser and Shakespeare Ariosto Spenser Shakespeare Bibliography List of Names and Terms Ranging from Chretien de Troyes to Shakespeare, this study proposes that the chivalric romance is characterized by a centreless structure, a self-conscious fictionality and a sense of irony. The genre's form is tied to historical reality, yet represents the archetype of imaginative literature, creating multifold fantasy worlds which audiences inhabit in denial of their real-life social contexts. "Ranging from Chrétien de Troyes to Shakespeare, this study proposes that the chivalric romance is characterized by a centerless structure, self-conscious fictionality and a propensity for irony. The form is tied to historical reality, yet represents the archetype of imaginative literature, declaring its fictional status without claiming to embody fixed truths"--