Rite of Transition in Guy of Warwick and Bevis of Hampton: The Liminal Persona in Betwixt and Between

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the Self-quests of two transitional heroes from two great Anglo-Norman romances, Guy of Warwick, and Bevis of Hampton in terms of Gennep's notion of the phases of Ritede Passage and Turner's notion of liminal state. It attempts to trace the heroes' journeys in light of Gennep's and Turner's terminology. The main purposein doing this this is to show that both heroes in both romances act as bridges to fuse the cultural elements between Pre-conquest and Post-conquest England in order to make the way for the birth of a new Self at individual and national levels with regard to changing dynamics of the contemporary society. It also discusses how the birth of a new Self necessitates the metaphorical deaths of the transitional heroes in both romances. This article is outlined as the introduction of the romances and the general discussion of the heroes' Self quests in both romances in light of Gennep's and Turner's notions.