Spenser, Malory, and Regionalism in Arthurian Literature

Abstract

Observing that “Arthurian literature . . . flourished in border spaces,” Kenneth Hodges emphasizes the significance of regional identity within the Arthurian tradition and argues that we miss a lot of nuance if we attend only to national concerns. The Round Table is perhaps the archetypal symbol of centralized, unified power, but Arthur’s knights also have significant links—by blood, marriage, diplomatic association, and conquest—to outlying British regions. Numerous romances used these regional identities to discuss intra-British politics and conquest. Hodges demonstrates that Malory, in particular, was sensitive to regional politics in the western territories. Accordingly, as readers of Le Morte Darthur, we need to pay attention to whether knights’ political actions and relationships serve causes beyond the monarchical center. It is from this angle that this chapter approaches the relationship between Malory and Spenser, and casts light on several conspicuous allusions to Le Morte Darthur in book 6 of The Faerie Queene. Spenser’s decision to include Sir Pelleas, Sir Lamorak, and Sir Tristram in “The Legend of Courtesy”—and to omit Sir Gawain, the traditional knight of courtesy—bears political implications. First, Pelleas and Lamorak come from the Kingdom of the Isles, a now-extinct polity (centered on the Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland) once crucial to England’s ambitions in the Irish Sea. In naming these knights, Spenser both recognizes the Isles’ geopolitical significance in Le Morte Darthur and frames England’s colonial efforts in Ireland within a long Arthurian history of inter-regional conflict. Second, Sir Calidore’s encounter with the Cornish Tristram shows how courtesy can flourish outside of the court, and serve purposes not immediately defined by monarchs.