Heroes And Villains In Medieval Literature

Heros and villains are the backbones of literature. From Polyphemus in the Odyssey to Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter series, villains create conflict, create for contrast, add drama and excitement to stories, and serve as the drivers of the plotline. In different eras of literature, villains take on different shapes and sizes, and serve different purposes. In Medieval Literature, the purpose of a villain is to act as a foil for the hero character. In doing so, the villain brings out the qualities valued during Medieval times in the hero. This is done in three different ways. One way the villain brings out the hero is by acting as a character foil, and shining a bright light on the hero 's virtues. By displaying the very traits not valued in Medieval society, the villain provides a contrast to allow the reader to more clearly see the virtuous qualities of …show more content…
Finally the villain can bring out the hero by literally sending the hero off on a sort of “hero 's journey” where his character will be tested. These three methods employed by Medieval authors on villains can be seen in three different Medieval texts: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Laustic, and The Song of Roland.

In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the villain- the Green Knight, sends the hero character Sir Gawain on both a physical journey and test, as well as a journey and test of character. The Green Knight enters the court of King Arthur on Christmas in order to challenge and test the character of the Arthurian knights. Sir Gawain volunteers to take upon the challenge, and is designated as the hero character in the story. After delivering a blow beheading the magical Green Knight, he is tasked to search through the realm in one year 's time for the Green Knight in order to complete the challenge, by allowing the Green