The Orchard and the “Ympe Tre”: Gardening, Mastery, and Ecology in Sir Orfeo

Abstract

When the fairy king in Sir Orfeo abducts Heurodis from the royal garden, he takes her from beneath a particular “ympe tre” or grafted tree. By examining the horticultural tradition of grafting, this paper will show that the grafted aspect of the tree is there to foreshadow the splitting and reunification both of the human body, but also of Orfeo’s kingdom. By reading episodes of both dismemberment and unity, I will argue that the presence of the grafted tree in both kingdoms suggests that the center of royal competition between Orfeo and the fairy king lies in their ability to control the natural ecology of their kingdoms. While Orfeo initially loses control of his orchard and thus his wife, his ten-year exile in the wilderness teaches him vital survival skills so that he can return a changed and improved ruler. In the same way that grafting requires knowledge of ecology as well as the ability to both dismember and recombine, both Orfeo and the fairy king engage in transformative gardening within the space of their respective kingdoms.