Women at War in Early Medieval Poetry and Late Medieval Romance

In early Medieval English poetry and late Medieval romance, there are multiple roles violent women perform. They can be protagonist, antagonist, and supporting character. They prove to be active characters with strength, skill, intelligence, and power. In early Medieval English poetry, Grendel's mother from Beowulf and Judith from Judith share certain noble traits. Grendel's mother is an antagonist of the titular hero, but she is described as a noblewoman, honorable, loyal to her family, and a fierce fighter. Judith is often considered a hagiographic heroine, but Judith paints her in a more secular manner as intelligent, politically powerful, and proud. Lynet from Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte Darthur may not be as violent as the other women in this study, but she is equally powerful and intelligent. These women show different ways in which violent women characters had agency and active roles in the texts they inhabit.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

English

Department dc:contributor.department

English

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2021

Author dc:creator

• Barnes, Nathan Christopher

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Hodges, Kenneth

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Swenson, Karen
• Cleland, Katharine

• heroine
• women
• medieval
• violence
• gender roles

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:30531

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/112681