Christianity and Romance in Medieval England (review)

Handbooks, casebooks, companions, thematic histories, and other collaborative volumes on various medieval topics are proliferating rapidly these days, and they always raise questions about their purpose and audience. Do they showcase original research by each contributor, or do they aim for an overview of existing scholarship? A snapshot of the latest developments, or a broader historical overview? Should they attempt to cover their field, addressing as many texts as possible, or to offer sharply focused exemplary readings and case studies? Are they intended for students, general readers, specialists? Are they for introductory reading, for classroom use, for more advanced scholarly debate, or for reference?

This attractive, intelligently conceived volume opts very largely for the introductory, coverage model. That, according to the description of the series of which it is part (“Christianity and Culture”), is part of its brief, as is the inclusion of some chapters on teaching. The book comes in four main sections. The three essays in “Christianity and the Matters of Romance” (by Helen Phillips, Stephen Knight, and Philippa Hardman and Marianne Ailes) sketch the sometimes fraught relationship of Christian culture and theology to non-Christian traditions: Classical antiquity, Celtic mythology, and the Muslim world. The second section, “Issues and Debates,” asks “How Christian is Chivalry?” (Raluca Radulescu), and explores “Magic and Christianity” (Corinne Saunders) and “subversive” elements in the Christianity of the romances (K. S. Whetter). Then there is a section of “readings,” the first of which, on women readers of hagiography and romance (Andrea Hopkins), might have fit better in the previous category; then Rosalind Field’s piece on Athelston and the late Derek Brewer’s unfinished sketch on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (SGGK). The concluding section focuses on teaching, with contributions by Michelle Sweeney (SGGK) and Thomas Hanks (Malory).

The promise implied in this ordering, of increasing specificity, increasing focus, and increasing attention to controversial issues, is only partially fulfilled. All the essays (and this is not a criticism) read more or less “introductory” to me, and all but the last four range widely over time and a large selection of texts. In particular, as I passed from the general first section to “Issues and Debates,” I expected a major shift in tone and method but did not necessarily find it. The prevailing model is centered on more or less false dichotomies (“Christianity and . . .”), which loosely structure a discussion of many texts. The dichotomy is questioned, not in order to enter into a debate but to allow for a more fluid ordering of the findings. The conclusion is usually that matters are not as simple as they might seem and that generalizations are to be distrusted. This is a handy and effective pattern (Helen Cooper’s sure-footed introduction sets the tone). Its drawbacks are also its strengths: fluidity, capaciousness, judicious evenhandedness rather than a sharply-drawn thesis or argument. Apart from a certain sameness—but that’s perhaps not an issue in a book that seeks to provide a first orientation—its chief danger is that of firmly reinscribing the binary previously put into question. This seems to happen, though not fatally so, in Stephen Knight’s interesting piece on “Celticity and Christianity”: while he does point out that to medieval English readers, Celtic civilization probably connoted a venerable Christian rather than pagan tradition, the two abstract nouns subsequently appear as neatly opposed.

Derek Brewer’s piece on SGGK is in a category of its own. As the editors explain, it appears here as he left it when he died, with no attempt to complete or edit it. A sketch of a summation backed by decades of experience with the poem, with several new but unfortunately unexplored observations, it is a fitting and poignant tribute to a distinguished medievalist.

Hands-on discussions of classroom practice are always welcome; but even more than the other sections, they raise the question of who they are for. Michelle Sweeney’s...