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An early edition of Sir Guy of Warwick
© Courtesy of Coventry Libraries and
Information Services
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Who was Sir Guy of Warwick? |
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Ancestral romance
The poem is a prime example of an ancestral romance, a genre of poetry which arose from feelings of displacement and homesickness experienced by Norman families who had followed William the Conqueror, and made their home in England and Wales. The key elements of ancestral romance are out in full force in Gui de Warewic.
Close-up of an illustration of Sir Guy of Warwick
© Courtesy of Coventry Libraries and
Information Services |
Ancestral romances centre upon a hero, preferably a king, who eventually becomes the founder of an important Anglo-Norman family. Although the character of Gui de Warewic was not, and never became, a king, on his marriage to Felice, he raised himself from the lowly social status of squire to that of landed gentry. The poem celebrates Gui’s social advancement and new beginnings with the founding of a new branch of the Warwick family, with heroic Gui at the helm.
Another common element of ancestral romances are periods of exile, of which there are two in Gui de Warwick. The first records Gui’s adventures after he sets off from Warwick to prove himself worthy enough to marry Felice, a central factor in the tale, by travelling to the Continent to compete in tournaments. During this adventure he encounters, among other things, a dragon which he swiftly defeats. His second period of exile occurred soon after his marriage to Felice, when Gui, guilt ridden by his violent past, departs on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. On his second return, Guy retires to a hermitage, and dies an exemplary Christian.
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