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The Mistrel's Song Of Silence Analysis

1288 Words6 Pages

Kings and queens, knight and ladies, faeries and fear are all intermixed in the stories of Sir Orfeo and Lanval. In these stories, silent queens are good, noisy ones bad, and both can threaten the power dynamic between men and women in these medieval poems. In her essay, “The Minstrel’s Song of Silence”: The Construction of Masculine Authority and the Feminized Other in the Romance Sir Orfeo,” Carlson argues that the very thing that is often downplayed in interpretations of this poem—the character of Queen Heurodis—is actually essential to its being. Had Queen Heurodis not been abducted and suffered isolation in the fairy lands, would Orfeo even have a reason to sing? It is her silence that prompts his noise. This argument suggests to me that silence plays a significant role in whether a queen is …show more content…

It seems that in this poem, it is Queen Heurodis who possess those traits. An example of this is the queen’s unexpected outburst upon being threatened by the king of Fairy. Sir Orfeo is utterly shocked by her reaction and attempts to calm her, not realizing the seriousness of his threats. This is precisely where his fault lies. By regarding the fairy king’s threats seriously and recognizing what a threat they are to Sir Orfeo and her kingdom, Heurodis is thinking wisely. She accepts her abduction because she understands the consequences of it. Sir Orfeo embarks on a meaningless journey which leads him no closer to rescuing the queen or restoring his kingdom. Instead, he grows a ridiculously long beard and wanders the woods playing his harp instead of being proactive and exercising his agency as a good king should. It is only when he stumbles upon the fairy lands that he decides to act. Carlson argues that it is Sir Orfeo’s “vocal and musical skills” that distinguish him “as a good king” and that “likewise, it is not only Herodis’s loveliness that makes her an ideal queen, but also her silence”

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