The Tournament and Literature

Beautiful ladies, dashing chevaliers, injuries, and death; how were these part of the literary tournament? This schematic analysis examines these and numerous other aspects of the knightly tournament as they were presented in works of the late twelfth to early thirteenth centuries, and also identifies the role the tournament played in the literature of the day. This analysis of Old French narratives views the sport in its infancy, and in the process reveals contrasts with the more colorful and better-known tournament of the fifteenth century.

The Author: Mary Arlene Santina received her Ph.D. in medieval French literature from Tulane University. She has presented numerous conference papers on various aspects of the literary tournament, and taught at the University of Dallas as Adjunct Assistant Professor of French. She currently resides in Rome, Italy, and is conducting independent research at the Vatican Library.