Epic Heroes and Excessive Emotions: Démesure in The Song of Roland and Raoul of Cambrai

IF 0.3 3区 历史学 0 MEDIEVAL & RENAISSANCE STUDIES COMITATUS-A JOURNAL OF MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE STUDIES Pub Date : 2021-11-17 DOI:10.1353/cjm.2021.0002
Ivy McKay
{"title":"Epic Heroes and Excessive Emotions: Démesure in The Song of Roland and Raoul of Cambrai","authors":"Ivy McKay","doi":"10.1353/cjm.2021.0002","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract:The Song of Roland and Raoul of Cambrai, at first glance, present two different portrayals of knighthood. However, both title characters, Roland and Raoul, exhibit the same excessive pride. Their pride surpasses reason so blatantly that it transforms into vainglory and anger, respectively. More than emotions, these two traits are also categorized as deadly sins. Each knight is motivated by his pride to protect his reputation and irrationally insists on going to battle. Roland's and Raoul's recklessness, or démesure, warns readers of the dangerous effects of excessive pride. Despite this emotional and sinful sameness, however, the heroes' ideological treatment by the texts and their audiences are quite different. Roland is revered and deemed an inspiration while Raoul is condemned and labeled an antihero. Therefore, the texts disseminate contradictory messages by excusing Roland's pride and condemning Raoul's. This article shows the progression and evolution of the knights' emotions and points to the reasoning for their differentiation. That is, in order for institutions (e.g., the Church/Frankish monarchy) to sustain themselves, literature must promote characters who support institutions while making a negative example of those who rebel against the same systems. Roland and Raoul represent both instances of this literary interpellation and participate in the perpetuation of institutional power.","PeriodicalId":53903,"journal":{"name":"COMITATUS-A JOURNAL OF MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE STUDIES","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3000,"publicationDate":"2021-11-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"1","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"COMITATUS-A JOURNAL OF MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE STUDIES","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1353/cjm.2021.0002","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"MEDIEVAL & RENAISSANCE STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 1

Abstract

Abstract:The Song of Roland and Raoul of Cambrai, at first glance, present two different portrayals of knighthood. However, both title characters, Roland and Raoul, exhibit the same excessive pride. Their pride surpasses reason so blatantly that it transforms into vainglory and anger, respectively. More than emotions, these two traits are also categorized as deadly sins. Each knight is motivated by his pride to protect his reputation and irrationally insists on going to battle. Roland's and Raoul's recklessness, or démesure, warns readers of the dangerous effects of excessive pride. Despite this emotional and sinful sameness, however, the heroes' ideological treatment by the texts and their audiences are quite different. Roland is revered and deemed an inspiration while Raoul is condemned and labeled an antihero. Therefore, the texts disseminate contradictory messages by excusing Roland's pride and condemning Raoul's. This article shows the progression and evolution of the knights' emotions and points to the reasoning for their differentiation. That is, in order for institutions (e.g., the Church/Frankish monarchy) to sustain themselves, literature must promote characters who support institutions while making a negative example of those who rebel against the same systems. Roland and Raoul represent both instances of this literary interpellation and participate in the perpetuation of institutional power.
查看原文
分享 分享
微信好友 朋友圈 QQ好友 复制链接
本刊更多论文
史诗英雄与过度情感:《罗兰之歌》与《康布雷的拉乌尔》中的Démesure
摘要:《罗兰之歌》和《康布雷的拉乌尔之歌》乍看之下呈现出两种不同的骑士形象。然而,两个主角罗兰和拉乌尔都表现出同样的过度骄傲。他们的骄傲如此明显地超越理性,以至于分别转化为虚荣和愤怒。除了情感之外,这两种特质也被归为死罪。每个骑士都是出于自尊而保护自己的名誉,非理性地坚持要去战斗。罗兰和拉乌尔的鲁莽,或称过度骄傲,警告读者过度骄傲的危险后果。然而,除了这种情感和罪恶的同一性之外,文本和观众对英雄的思想处理却截然不同。罗兰受到尊敬,被认为是一种灵感,而拉乌尔则受到谴责,被贴上了反英雄的标签。因此,文本通过宽恕罗兰的骄傲和谴责拉乌尔的骄傲来传播矛盾的信息。本文揭示了骑士情感的发展与演变,并指出了骑士情感分化的原因。也就是说,为了让制度(如教会/法兰克君主制)能够维持下去,文学必须促进那些支持制度的人物,同时对那些反对同一制度的人树立反面榜样。罗兰和拉乌尔代表了这种文学质询的两个例子,并参与了制度权力的延续。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
求助全文
约1分钟内获得全文 去求助
来源期刊
CiteScore
0.10
自引率
0.00%
发文量
0
期刊介绍: Comitatus: A Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies publishes articles by graduate students and recent PhDs in any field of medieval and Renaissance studies. The journal maintains a tradition of gathering work from across disciplines, with a special interest in articles that have an interdisciplinary or cross-cultural scope.
期刊最新文献
Women’s Lives: Self-Representation, Reception and Appropriation in the Middle Ages ed. by Daniel Armenti and Nahir I. Otaño Gracia (review) The Complete History of the Black Death by Ole J. Benedictow (review) Art and Curiosity Cabinets of the Late Renaissance: A Contribution to the History of Collecting by Julius von Schlosser, and: Kunstkammer: Early Modern Art and Curiosity Cabinets in the Holy Roman Empire by Jeffrey Chipps Smith (review) Bishop Æthelwold, His Followers, and Saints’ Cults in Early Medieval England: Power, Belief, and Religious Reform by Alison Hudson (review) Writing Old Age and Impairment in Late Medieval England by Will Rogers (review)
×
引用
GB/T 7714-2015
复制
MLA
复制
APA
复制
导出至
BibTeX EndNote RefMan NoteFirst NoteExpress
×
×
提示
您的信息不完整,为了账户安全,请先补充。
现在去补充
×
提示
您因"违规操作"
具体请查看互助需知
我知道了
×
提示
现在去查看 取消
×
提示
确定
0
微信
客服QQ
Book学术公众号 扫码关注我们
反馈
×
意见反馈
请填写您的意见或建议
请填写您的手机或邮箱
已复制链接
已复制链接
快去分享给好友吧!
我知道了
×
扫码分享
扫码分享
Book学术官方微信
Book学术文献互助
Book学术文献互助群
群 号:481959085
Book学术
文献互助 智能选刊 最新文献 互助须知 联系我们:info@booksci.cn
Book学术提供免费学术资源搜索服务,方便国内外学者检索中英文文献。致力于提供最便捷和优质的服务体验。
Copyright © 2023 Book学术 All rights reserved.
ghs 京公网安备 11010802042870号 京ICP备2023020795号-1