Josian and the Heroism of Patience in Bevis of Hampton

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article argues that the solo adventures of Josian, the main female character of the Middle English Bevis of Hampton in the Auchinleck Manuscript, develop in the way that they do because they are meant to be directly parallel to the adventures of her lover and husband, Bevis. In comparison to Bevis’s deeds, which are mainly physical, Josian’s are best described as acts of patience. Her adventures then can fit into a tradition of female heroism that praises acts of patience in the way that traditional male heroes are praised for their deeds of daring on the battlefield. With abilities such as minstrelsy, disguise, and resourcefulness, Josian demonstrates a kind of heroism that is revealed, through its direct parallels with Bevis’s accomplishments, as an unexpectedly proto-feminist construct, with the two main characters in the poem presented as equals at important junctures.