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Sir Orfeo

Sir Orfeo. Sir Orfeo : Manuscripts and sources. 3 manuscripts of which Auchinleck is the earliest: http://auchinleck.nls.uk/mss/orfeo.html Composed late 13th-early 14th century Possible lost Old French source

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Sir Orfeo

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  1. Sir Orfeo

  2. Sir Orfeo: Manuscripts and sources • 3 manuscripts of which Auchinleck is the earliest: http://auchinleck.nls.uk/mss/orfeo.html • Composed late 13th-early 14th century • Possible lost Old French source • Draws on Orpheus myth but also Celtic and folk motifs—testing of steward, exile and return, journey to otherworld, rash promise

  3. Orpheus • Based on the Orpheus myth found in Greek art from 6th century BC • Virgil’s Georgics and Ovid’s Metamorphoses best-known versions in Middle Ages • Christian allegorical readings in Middle Ages

  4. Structure • Built upon antitheses—loss/restoration; civilisation/wilderness; wealth/poverty etc • How does the poet establish these patterns of contrast? • Are the fairy king and his world the opposite of Orfeo’s world, or uncomfortably close to it?

  5. Orfeo’s exile • His time in the wilderness resembles early Christian hermits • How might we interpret it within the context of the poem? • An act of despair? Of atonement? An initiation? An expression of love or a sign of excessive love?

  6. The harp • Parallels with King David and his lyre • In other romances it is a sign of courtly refinement, e.g. King Horn ll. 243-44: ‘Horn thu undervonge / And tech him of harpe and songe’ • What role does the harp have as object and symbol within the poem?

  7. The lay is a Christianized narrative of penance and purification (Kenneth Gros Louis) • The narrative expresses themes of nostalgia and grief (Felicity Riddy) • The lay shows the power of language and narrative to restore loss and create meaning out of chaos (Seth Lerer)

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