Assignment:
Read the excerpts from the Song of Roland, a tradition of oral tales that was finally written down about the year 1100 and the Lancelot story written down by Chretien de Troyes in roughly 1170.
These stories recount different facets of the chivalric or feudal code, of the code of behavior that emerged around the year 1100 in Western Europe and that portrayed an ideal set of values for noblemen warriors. Roland portrays a masculine world of brave warriors who commit their lives to protecting their superiors, while the Lancelot story portrays a feminized world where men submit themselves fully to the women they love.
Rather than a series of questions for these documents, I'll ask you just to list the masculine or feminine characteristics of the people and the plot in each story. You might think of Roland being written for a masculine audience, and Lancelot being written for a female audience. If that is true, then how do these stories appeal to both of those audiences?
Are there areas where the values of each story conflict with the values of the other?
Readings:
The Humanistic Tradition
By Gloria K. Fiero, Mcgraw-Hill