The prevalence of lions in Medieval European literature raises fascinating notions of its importance and purpose in developing characters. While both the lion in Yvain; or, The Knight with the Lion and The Song of the Cid appear to invoke the fear that comes with seeing a ferocious lion, both books differ in their characterization of the relationship between the lion and the main hero. Yvain’s lion became the knight’s loyal and mighty companion while the Cid’s lion is more of a pet and a plot device setting up the actions of the Carrión nobles. Thus, the former’s lion plays an important role in representing knightly virtue while the latter’s lion simply emphasizes the Cid’s powerfulness.
The lion in Yvain helps mark the transition of the knight Yvain from his mad self to his return into true knighthood. The scene where Yvain decides to help the lion …show more content…
The lion may not represent the various honorable virtues that Yvain’s lion does, but it does exemplify the powerful influence of the Cid. When the lion left his cage, “terror spread through the palace,” and most notably, one witnesses the extreme cowardice of the sons-in-law. However, the Cid simply walks toward the lion, causing fear in the lion to the point that he “stopped and bent his head” (Raffel, 159). Throughout the book, the Cid was not only famed for his great generosity, but his fighting prowess. The people are willing to listen and follow him because they either love or fear the Warrior. Therefore, the lion’s response to Cid has some similarities to Yvain’s lion in terms of the bending of the head for submission but the former happens due to fear and power while the latter occurs out of thankfulness and deference. While the lion does serve to advance the story, his presence merely aids in emphasizing the mightiness that is the
The lion in Yvain helps mark the transition of the knight Yvain from his mad self to his return into true knighthood. The scene where Yvain decides to help the lion …show more content…
The lion may not represent the various honorable virtues that Yvain’s lion does, but it does exemplify the powerful influence of the Cid. When the lion left his cage, “terror spread through the palace,” and most notably, one witnesses the extreme cowardice of the sons-in-law. However, the Cid simply walks toward the lion, causing fear in the lion to the point that he “stopped and bent his head” (Raffel, 159). Throughout the book, the Cid was not only famed for his great generosity, but his fighting prowess. The people are willing to listen and follow him because they either love or fear the Warrior. Therefore, the lion’s response to Cid has some similarities to Yvain’s lion in terms of the bending of the head for submission but the former happens due to fear and power while the latter occurs out of thankfulness and deference. While the lion does serve to advance the story, his presence merely aids in emphasizing the mightiness that is the