Yvain, or the Knight With the Lion
58 pages • 1-hour read
Chrétien De TroyesYvain, or the Knight With the Lion
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Symbols & Motifs
Castle of Ill Adventure
Yvain and his lion spend the night in a strange and eerie castle, where the occupants greet visitors with “Ill-come!” instead of “Welcome” in an attempt to warn them off. Inside, 300 maidens sew and knit without pay; others care for horses they only think they own; the rest behave as if all is well but betray sadness, as if someone evil watches them. Yvain discovers that the castle is ruled over, not by its baron, but by two demon brothers. In many epics, the hero must descend into Hell as part of his quest; in Yvain, the Castle of Ill Adventure, which resembles a medieval vision of Hell, symbolizes Hell and thus fulfills this part of the story. Yvain prevails: He fights the demons and, with the lion’s help, defeats them. This victory frees the castle, and the 300 maidens are liberated.
Jousting
De Troyes makes use of jousting as a kind of manhood test between his characters. Invented early in the 1100s, some decades before Yvain was composed, jousting caught on as the sport of knights, who would wear heavy armor and, mounted on horseback, charge at one another and try to knock each other off their horses by striking them with long lances. The sport was dangerous but spectacular, and great honor befell victorious riders. Yvain travels the jousting circuit with his dear friend Gawain, and he becomes a champion, but, amid all the action and glory, he forgets his vow of return and loses his wife, Laudine.
Ring of Invisibility
Lunete saves Yvain from capture and death at her castle by giving him a ring that makes the wearer invisible. Lady Laudine later gives the ring to Yvain to protect him when he sets off to compete in jousting competitions, but he has no need for it. The ring symbolizes Laudine’s love for Yvain, and when he betrays her, she sends a messenger to retrieve it. The idea of a ring of invisibility arose with a thought experiment by the philosopher Plato, who asks whether a good person would remain virtuous if a ring made him or her impervious to penalties. In this sense, it is possible that the mere possession of such a ring made Yvain arrogant. When he comes to his senses, he spends the rest of the story winning back Laudine’s love.
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