Family and Friends

Generation in Medieval Romance

by Annick Sperlich

Book cover: Family and Friends

Extent: 324 pages

Publisher: Universitätsverlag Winter

Subjects: Literary Studies, Medieval Studies

Series: Anglistische Forschungen

Series volume number: 438

Language: English

Hardback (Published)

(August 2014)

ISBN: 9783825361389

6.5 x 9.65 inches

Price: $72.00

Out of stock

This volume analyses the generational relationships in the so-called ‘ancestral romances,’ narratives in verse form composed in the centuries after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. The romances respond to the Normans’ strong need for continuity and stability to support the establishment of their rule by preserving socio-cultural values and morals from the Anglo-Saxon and Norman past in an archaising style while simultaneously reflecting the concerns and interests of their contemporary audience. They address current issues and offer idealised solutions. Generation is a dominant topic in the narrative pattern, and genealogical-dynastic relationships play as much a central role as relationships between members of separate age cohorts.


This volume analyses the generational relationships in the so-called ‘ancestral romances’, narratives in verse form composed in the centuries after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. The romances respond to the Normans’ strong need for continuity and stability to support the establishment of their rule by preserving socio-cultural values and morals from the Anglo-Saxon and Norman past in an archaising style. At the same time, they reflect the concerns and interests of their contemporary audience by addressing current issues and offering idealised solutions. Generation is a dominant topic in the narrative pattern, and genealogical-dynastic relationships play as much a central role as relationships between members of separate age cohorts. Detailed literary analyses of the four romances ‘King Horn’, ‘Havelok the Dane’, ‘Bevis of Hampton’ and ‘Athelston’ emphasise this generational pattern and open new perspectives not only on the texts themselves but also on their socio-historical background.

  • By (author) Annick Sperlich