Social Disorder and Discontent in Thomas Chestre's Sir Launfal

More documents

Recommendations

Info

partnership is introduced in the text as a remedy for an ailing society, a society where the old order has been corrupted by the adulterous and idolatrous phenomenon of courtly love, a corruption whose self-serving ideals represent a new world order concerned with mendacious love and material concerns. Chestre is searching for a world of truth, integrity and honest love, a world that for him existed before the influence of corruptive courtly love. Launfal represents this ideal world, while the notoriously adulterous Guinevere personifies the praetorian passions that throw that world into disorder. There have been few new assessments of Sir Launfal in recent years, and many readings of Chestre’s text continue to centre on the thesis, firmly established in the mid 1960s, of Launfal as a solitary figure who does not fit in. B. K. Martin (1966) sees him as the typical isolated hero of the folktale, while Daryl Lane (1973) laments his deplorable treatment at Arthur’s court. Launfal’s position in society is indeed crucial to the understanding of the text, but for different reasons from those that have been previously proposed. Even a cursory reading of the text should indicate to us that our hero is not in fact the mistreated wretch he is often made out to be, and that his ‘otherness’ has been greatly exaggerated. At Arthur’s court in Carlisle Launfal is made king’s steward “for his largesse and his bounté” (line 31). i There is nothing to indicate that he is in any way mistreated or neglected; in fact, he holds this position for ten years. There is a marked difference here in comparison with Marie’s lai, where the hero is sorely neglected by the king. Launfal is very much a part of his community and is loved and respected. It is the arrival of Guinevere and her neglect of Launfal that upsets his utopian existence. Here Chestre deviates from his primary source, Sir Landevale, in order to include the motif of the vengeful queen of ‘Graelent’ and, as Peter Lucas (1970) has pointed out, he places the whole burden of responsibility for the action in the tale on Guinevere’s shoulders. It is she who is the discordant element in Sir Launfal, and we can relate this to a number of Arthurian legends where her affair with Lancelot brings about the fall of Camelot. Her arrival marks the beginning of the decline in Launfal’s relationship with his community, or rather, the decline of the established status quo, and his discomfort with her presence may be seen as an omen of what is to befall his perfect society. As steward, Launfal represents law and order, and Guinevere’s neglect of him at the wedding feast may be seen as her dismissal of the rules and structure of the principles for which he stands. Their mutual dislike of each other is immediate, and expressly stated by Chestre (lines 44, 71). Theirs is a struggle between an established society, a ‘golden age’ of British history, and a new order — or disorder — which threatens that ideal. It is the newcomer at court, not the established community, who provides the impetus for Launfal’s self-imposed exile. That his exile is indeed self-imposed should not be overlooked. He is not driven from the court and we learn that he will in fact be sorely missed by everyone, including the king. At the news of his imminent departure Arthur urges him to take “greet spending” (line 81), sends his own nephews as travelling companions, and anticipates his
eturn. In Carlisle, Launfal is possessed of his own personal identity and of true friends whose loyalty later becomes evident. It has until now been home for him, but with the coming of Guinevere that changes irrevocably. They cannot both live together in Carlisle; only one social order can survive. Although Launfal has served his king faithfully, Arthur’s marriage to Guinevere represents the ultimate acceptance. The pernicious Guinevere drives the king’s steward — order — from court. In Marie’s lai there is no doubt that, although Lanval is poor, he is still a member of the ruling classes. There is no Caerleon episode — he simply leaves the court on his “destrier” (line 41) ii and rides towards his encounter with his lover. In Chestre’s Sir Launfal, the town of Caerleon serves to embody the new world order which Guinevere has begun to introduce into Carlisle. In Caerleon, wealth and status, not personal integrity, define who Launfal is. Upon his arrival in the town Launfal reveals that he is no longer one of Arthur’s knights; Chestre does not allow Launfal the individual to hide behind Launfal the knight. Once he makes his situation known he is treated with contempt by the mayor, his former servant. The narrative moves from a society concerned with honour and virtue to one concerned with monetary gain. Anderson, commenting on Kane (1951), Bliss (1960) and Sands (1966), refers to the “‘bourgeoisification’ of the Lanval story” (Anderson, 1977, p. 116), and the mayor’s rise in status from servant to head of Caerleon might indeed help to support this argument — if the mayor were a likeable character. Yet Chestre deliberately creates an individual who invites our disapproval through his lies, his concern with social status, and his treatment of Launfal. The text does not, as has been previously suggested, represent a sort of wishfulfilment in terms of social advancement and monetary gain, but in fact deplores the very principles upon which the community of Caerleon is built. Launfal’s drastically altered circumstances reflect the gap that exists between the ideal society that Arthur’s court represented and the emerging everyday reality of a world preoccupied with the attainment of status and wealth. That the mayor, the head and representative of the town, offers Launfal his worst room as lodgings highlights the disregard that this new social order has for the old world. While Launfal may reside in Caerlon, it is not home for him. Its values are not his values. We very quickly come to expect dishonesty and treachery from the Machiavellian mayor, but we do not expect it from the noble Launfal; as a result the two lies that Launfal tells in the course of the tale are highly significant. When he urges John and Hugh not to reveal his misfortune to Arthur he underlines what his initial lie about his father’s funeral first indicated — that he is genuinely concerned with the court’s opinion. Whereas he hides nothing from the townsfolk of Caerleon, he takes great pains to maintain some semblance of personal prestige in the eyes of Arthur and his court. His concern is reciprocated in Arthur’s delight in hearing that he is “in good liking” (line 176). Again, it is only Guinevere — the newcomer — who is disgruntled by this news.
Page 1: Social Disorder and Discontent in T
Page 5 and 6: atmosphere vanishes in Chestre’s
Page 7 and 8: Carlisle and Caerleon are worlds ap
Page 9 and 10: Sir Launfal represents a hankering

Social Disorder and Discontent in Thomas Chestre's Sir Launfal

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?