Survey of Medieval Literature

Sir Orfeo

Discovered in manuscripts dating to the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, Sir Orfeo is representative of the "Breton lays," retellings of popular stories sung by bards. It is possibly a translation from French, for a lai d'Orphey is referred to often in Medieval manuscripts.

The tale of Sir Orfeo brings Celtic mythology (especially the idea of fairy abductions) to the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. The Greek myth, however, was a story of tragedy, not eventual recovery. Orpheus traveled to the underworld to win back his dead wife Eurydice, who was granted to him on the condition that he not look upon her until they exited Hades. Orpheus glanced back, and she died a second death. It is his lack of faith which causes the tragedy, for love without faith is not enough to save Eurydice. The addition of fairies and the recovery of Heurodis in Sir Orfeo may dilute the original meaning of the Greek myth, but they create a narrative rich in excitement and drama.

After a prologue which introduces the story as a lay, the audience is given a description of Sir Orfeo, a noble, generous, and courteous king--born of the gods Pluto and Juno--the best of harp-players. His wife Heurodis is noted for her beauty and goodness. The story then begins with Heurodis napping beneath an "impe-tre." She wakes ill, and is rushed to the palace, where she makes the claim to Orfeo that she must return to the tree, for the fairies are going to take her away. Orfeo and his men try to protect her, but to no avail--she disappears and Orfeo loses himself in grief.

Orfeo gives his kingdom up, resolved to spend the rest of his life in exile for failing the queen he swore to protect. He orders his high steward to rule until his death, at which point a new king should be chosen. Orfeo takes only his harp and a cloak and spends ten years in impoverished solitude, finding only joy in his harp. One day, he spies his wife among the fairies that ride and dance through the fields. Their eyes meet, and she only sheds tears at the fate that caused his disheveled and poor appearance. When she flees to the fairy kingdom, he follows, gaining access by claiming to be a minstrel to the King of the Fairies.

Orfeo plays for the Fairy King, and plays so well that the king grants him a boon. Orfeo attains his wife, and quickly works to regain his own kingdom by testing the faithfulness of his steward and then revealing himself as king.

Sir Orfeo's immediate reaction to the loss of his queen is despair. He would never have reunited with her by his own doing--it seems merely coincidental that he was in a place to see her with the fiaries ten years after his exile. His primary inaction is indicative of his acceptance of loss, a virtue highly regarded in the Medieval period. Orfeo is shown to be wise and patient, and perhaps it is for these traits that he is rewarded with the chance to regain his wife.

The above image is of Orpheus, surrounded by the animals who are captivated by the sound of his harp. Can be found here with another translation of the Sir Orfeo lay.

posted by Ashley @ 9:05 AM