12/31/2023 0 Comments Franchise chivalry codeThey exude a level of bias that goes beyond Dares’ pro-Trojan sentiment. Yet, the style, tone, and length of the medieval versions complicate this simple assumption. Since many medieval authors stress the importance of Dares’ narration, it would appear obvious why so many late medieval retellings have a decidedly pro-Trojan bias and why their authors choose to depict Hector as the prime example of knightly virtue. This distinct attention holds special significance considering that Dares allegedly fought with the Trojans during the war and as such there exists a certain degree of pro-Trojan bias in this source. They instead consulted two other authorities concerning Troy: Dares the Phrygian and Dictys of Crete, with a particular emphasis on Dares’ account. Homer, however, was not the ultimate source whom medieval authors referenced when writing these retellings. Regardless of which work may have begun this late medieval love of Hector (and the Troy legend as a whole), the fact remains clear that his popularity as a knightly as well as princely hero permeated the literature and art of western Europe. Allusions to and depictions of Hector were widespread during that period perhaps in part due to Hector’s inclusion as the first of the Nine Worthies in Jacques de Longuyon’s 1312 work Les Voeux du paon. These two references to Hector in Chronicles represent a practice common in late medieval art and literature. According to the chronicler, this model citadel represented Troy and it was even adorned with pennons bearing the arms of “King Priam, the knightly Hector his son and his other children…” Later in Book IV, Froissart describes a model castle that had been built in the middle of the royal great hall in Paris. He mentions how, during the bloodshed, Earl James Douglas “saw that his men were falling back” so in response he charges into the fray “to recover the lost ground and show his warlike qualities.” Froissart then describes how “he went so furiously forward, as though he was a Trojan Hector expecting to win the battle single-handed…” Earl Douglas, however, received three separate wounds from lances all at once, leaving him badly injured on the battlefield. The first appears in Book III where he details the Battle of Otterburn. In his famous work recounting the Hundred Years’ War, Chronicles, Jean Froissart writes of two interesting episodes that any reader could easily overlook. Photo: The Three Heathen Heroes (Die Drei Guten Haiden), from Heroes and Heroines “Ther nys a bettre knight”: Hector as a Medieval Knightly Ideal
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