Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index


  • Record Number: 10589
  • Author(s)/Creator(s): Brockington , Mary.
  • Contributor(s):
  • Title: The Separating Sword in the "Tristan" Romances: Possible Celtic Analogues Re- examined [author argues that the Irish tales of Diarmaid and Grainne do not provide a source for the chaste lovers discovered sleeping by King Marc].
  • Source: Modern Language Review 91, 2 (Apr. 1996): Pages 281 - 300.
  • Description:
  • Article Type: Journal Article
  • Subject (See Also): Chastity in Literature Diarmaid and Grainne Tales Ireland Irish Literature Literature- Verse Scotland Sources Tristan (Literary Figure)
  • Award Note:
  • Geographic Area: British Isles
  • Century: General
  • Primary Evidence:
  • Illustrations:
  • Table:
  • Abstract: There is no evidence that Celtic literature in general or the "Diarmaid and Gráinne" stories in particular were the source of the motif of the Separating Sword in the medieval Tristran romances (Morrois episode). To demonstrate to non-Celticists how misunderstanding has arisen, I examine the origin of the widely-held misconceptions on this point, and attempt to trace the development of the Diarmaid stories in Ireland and Scotland, concluding that the chastity-motif found in a few of the more modern versions is unlikely to be much older than those versions themselves. [Reproduced by permission of the Modern Humanities Research Association.]
  • Related Resources:
  • Author's Affiliation:
  • Conference Info: - , -
  • Year of Publication: 1996.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN/ISBN: 00267937