The Weddyng of Syr Gawen and Dame Ragnell is a
15th-century poem of the Arthurian tradition.
While hunting, King ARTHUR finds himself alone
in the forest and is confronted by Sir Gromer-
Somer Jour who alleges that Arthur has appropriated
his lands for Sir Gawen (see GAWAIN). In
retaliation, he intends to cut off Arthur’s head in
12 months unless Arthur can answer a riddle:
What do women love best? Arthur agrees and returns
home. He confides in Gawen and they ride
out separately to poll the population in an attempt
to solve the riddle. Arthur meets a horrible
hag who claims to have the answer but her price
of disclosure is marriage to Gawen. Arthur declines
to promise but indicates he will counsel
Gawen, and the foul woman, Dame Ragnell, tells
Arthur that women love sovereignty best. Freed
from the bargain with Gromer-Somer Jour (who
happens to be Ragnell’s brother), Arthur returns
home, and Gawen and Ragnell are married. Ragnell
tells Gawen that she can be beautiful either
during the day when others see them together, or
during the night when they are in bed, and
Gawen asks her to choose what would be best.
This act of yielding to Ragnell’s decision gives her
the sovereignty she seeks, and having found a
knight who will treat her according to the riddle’s
solution, Ragnell is subsequently freed from the
curse of hideousness and is beautiful both day
and night. Gawen and Ragnell live happily together
until she dies five years later.
The transformation from the ugly to the beautiful
is part of a folktale tradition, the “loathly
lady” motif. Analogues to the poem include
CHAUCER’s WIFE OF BATH’S TALE (in which the errant
knight is burdened with solving the same riddle
as The Weddyng’s Arthur), GOWER’s “Tale of
Florent” from the CONFESSIO AMANTIS, and the later
15th-century Marriage of Sir Gawaine. Neither The
Weddyng nor The Marriage is as complex as The
Wife of Bath’s Tale. The riddle itself may have
grown out of the tenets of the COURTLY LOVE tradition,
which dominated ROMANCE literature. Poets
in this genre were frequently courtiers writing for
their female audience and the traditional chivalrous
knight was often emasculated while carrying
out mandatory sacrifices for the love of his lady. It
has also been asserted that the motif has Celtic origins
and was influenced by Irish,Welsh, Breton,
and French tales.
Another detail in the poem is also found in (the
roughly contemporary) AWNTYRS OFF ARTHURE AT
THE TERNEWATHELYNE, wherein a visiting knight alleges
that Arthur confiscated his lands and distributed
them to Gawen, then challenges Arthur’s
court to battle. In The Weddyng, Gromer-Somer
Jour threatens to behead Arthur because Arthur
took his lands and gave them to Gawen. It is
Arthur’s prideful and covetous nature that provoked
Gromer’s challenge. In the Awntyrs, Gawen
battles the knight on Arthur’s behalf, while in the
Weddyng, Gawen aids Arthur in his quest for the
riddle’s solution and ultimately acts as Arthur’s
savior by promising to marry Ragnell. One notable
difference in the two tales is that Gromer’s lands
are not restored to him in this poem.
As the tale relates to Arthurian literature, it is
consistent with the English tradition that recognizes
Gawen as the premier knight in Arthur’s
court, as opposed to Lancelot in the French tradition.
In The Weddyng, Arthur is often more shrewd
and thoughtful than the impetuous and rash character
encountered in some (particularly French)
Arthurian texts. For instance, when he initially
meets Gromer, he claims to be unprepared for battle
as he was hunting and had no war weaponry,
and thus avoids battle.
The poem’s one extant manuscript dates from
either the very late 15th century or early 16th century,
while the poem’s date of composition is believed
to be no earlier than the middle of the 15th
century. Its rhyme scheme is six-line TAIL-RHYME
stanzas with an aabccb scheme, and at least 64 lines
are omitted from the scene describing the wedding
banquet, as one page of the manuscript has been
lost.
The poem provides an alternative to the traditional
Gawain character, who often has the reputation
of a philanderer, but in this text, he marries
happily and sires a son. The poem is also useful in
considering the frequently transforming relationship
between the faithful knight, Gawain, and his
lord, King Arthur.
Bibliography
Shenk, Robert. “The Liberation of the ‘Loathly Lady’
ofMedieval Romance,” Journal of the Rocky Mountain
Medieval and Renaissance Association 2
(1981): 69–77.
Shepherd, Stephen H. A., ed., Middle English Romances.
New York: Norton, 1995.
Michelle Palmer