중세 영국 로맨스 영웅을 찾아서: 『해브럭』에 나타난 이상적인 군주 (In Search of a Hero in Middle English Romances: Ideal Kingship in Havelok)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 영미문학연구회
· 수록지 정보 : 영미문학연구 / 16호 / 119 ~ 140페이지
· 저자명 : 배경진

초록

The Middle English romance, Havelok, composed around 1289-1300 and one of the oldest English romances, relates a rags-to-riches male Cinderella story of heroic adventure, heroes and villains, and restored kingdoms. Considering the fact that the subject of half of the romances in Anglo-Norman dialect we know of today is English heroes, this paper aims to examine an English hero in Havelok in an attempt to reveal some characteristics that distinguish Middle English romances from the counterparts of the Continent. Even though every Middle English romance of English heroes has an Anglo-Norman antecedent, the heroes in Middle English romances reveal very unique social contexts of England, where, unlike the continental hereditary nobility, the feudal organization is relatively inclusive and flexible. As Middle English romances address not only gentle audiences but also bourgeois and peasant audiences because of their language, Havelok also stretches to encompass a wider community from the ruled to the rulers. Havelok’s journey through the classes has led to constructive discussions about the way the work portrays the rulers and the ruled.
Havelok depicts a king who is a man of the people, in tune with the wants and needs of the laboring class, while at the same time, he rules over them by right of divine favor. At some point, the work seems to please a peasant fantasy in which a cook and fisher men become lords. At other point, the work seems to please barony by reinforcing the existing feudal structure. And at some other point, the work seems to please the crown by defending absolute royal power in order to keep the nation in law and justice. No matter what variety of audience the work pleases, it is a romance in which the hero’s goal is personal, typically involving the protection of his rights. However, it is also a Middle English romance in that it delineates the correct interaction between a ruler and his community and emphasizes the positive virtues of social order. Havelok defines a hero in terms of his relationship with his people and identifies his fate with that of his followers.

영어초록

The Middle English romance, Havelok, composed around 1289-1300 and one of the oldest English romances, relates a rags-to-riches male Cinderella story of heroic adventure, heroes and villains, and restored kingdoms. Considering the fact that the subject of half of the romances in Anglo-Norman dialect we know of today is English heroes, this paper aims to examine an English hero in Havelok in an attempt to reveal some characteristics that distinguish Middle English romances from the counterparts of the Continent. Even though every Middle English romance of English heroes has an Anglo-Norman antecedent, the heroes in Middle English romances reveal very unique social contexts of England, where, unlike the continental hereditary nobility, the feudal organization is relatively inclusive and flexible. As Middle English romances address not only gentle audiences but also bourgeois and peasant audiences because of their language, Havelok also stretches to encompass a wider community from the ruled to the rulers. Havelok’s journey through the classes has led to constructive discussions about the way the work portrays the rulers and the ruled.
Havelok depicts a king who is a man of the people, in tune with the wants and needs of the laboring class, while at the same time, he rules over them by right of divine favor. At some point, the work seems to please a peasant fantasy in which a cook and fisher men become lords. At other point, the work seems to please barony by reinforcing the existing feudal structure. And at some other point, the work seems to please the crown by defending absolute royal power in order to keep the nation in law and justice. No matter what variety of audience the work pleases, it is a romance in which the hero’s goal is personal, typically involving the protection of his rights. However, it is also a Middle English romance in that it delineates the correct interaction between a ruler and his community and emphasizes the positive virtues of social order. Havelok defines a hero in terms of his relationship with his people and identifies his fate with that of his followers.

참고자료

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