Plot summary
"Doon" begins with a beautiful heiress who lives near Daneborc (modern-day Edinburgh). She is very prideful and will not take a husband. All the men in the land try to woo her, but she refuses unless her suitor can travel from Southampton to Edinburgh in the span of one day. Most men who attempt this fail at the task. If they succeed, the lady invites them into her home where she asks them to sleep in a very soft bed. There, they die of exhaustion. In this way, she avoids marriage for a long time.
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian, it is located in Lothian on the Firth of Forth's southern shore.
Southampton is the largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, England. It is 70 miles (110 km) south-west of London and 15 miles (24 km) west north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest. It lies at the northernmost point of Southampton Water at the confluence of the Rivers Test and Itchen, with the River Hamble joining to the south of the urban area. The city, which is a unitary authority, has an estimated population of 253,651. The city's name is sometimes abbreviated in writing to "So'ton" or "Soton", and a resident of Southampton is called a Sotonian.
One day, a noble knight named Doon from France attempts to win the hand of the lady. With his great horse Baiart, Doon makes it from Southampton to Edinburgh and is invited into the woman's castle. Rather than laying down, however, Doon stays up all night, realizing that he risks death by sleeping in the bed prepared for him. When the servants find him alive the next morning, they all rejoice; but the lady procrastinates by giving Doon a second quest. He must ride as far as a swan can fly.
Bayard is a magic bay horse in the legends derived from the chansons de geste, renowned for his spirit, and possessed the supernatural ability to adjust his size to his riders.
Doon agrees, and after he and his horse have rested, they start out from Edinburgh behind the swan. Doon easily completes this task and marries the heiress. After only four days of marriage,however, Doon leaves his wife behind to return to France. He reveals to her that she is already pregnant and gives her a ring for her to give to the child. She later gives birth to a son.
When the son is grown, he goes to a tournament at the Mont Saint-Michel. Unknowingly, the son ends up jousting against the father, whom he defeats. At the end of the tournament, Doon goes to speak to the young man and asks to see his hands. He immediately recognizes the ring that he gave to his wife many years ago and explains who he is. Doon and his son return to Edinburgh to the lady, where they live together in happiness.
Analysis and significance
Structure
The poem can be broken down into the following sections:
- Prologue (vv. 1-6)
- The maiden, her test, and the suitors (vv. 7-64)
- Doon passes the tests (vv. 65-160)
- Doon leaves and a son is born (vv. 161-188)
- The son grows up (vv. 189-218)
- The tournament (vv. 219-253)
- The return to Edinburgh (vv. 254-280)
- Epilogue (vv. 281-286)
Allusions
Elements of "Doon"'s story are taken from several other lais. The father-son motif, including the tournament at the Mont Saint-Michel, bears a striking resemblance to Marie de France's lai "Milun". A swan appears in "Milun" as well. The motif of a test to determine a worthy suitor can be found in another of Marie's lais, "Les Deux Amants" as well as in the anonymous "Tyolet". In Marie's "Yonec", Muldumarec accurately predicts the birth of his son just before his death.
"Les Deux Amants" is a Breton lai, a type of narrative poem, written by Marie de France sometime in the 12th century. The poem belongs to what is collectively known as The Lais of Marie de France. Like the other lais in the collection, "Les Deux Amants" is written in Old French, in rhyming octosyllabic couplets. This lai tells the tragic story of two lovers.
Tyolet is an anonymous Breton lai that takes place in the realm of King Arthur. It tells the tale of a naïve young knight who wins the hand of a maiden after a magical adventure.
"Yonec" is one of the Lais of Marie de France, written in the twelfth century by the French poet known only as Marie de France. Yonec is a Breton lai, a type of narrative poem. The poem is written in the Anglo-Norman dialect of Old French in rhyming couplets of eight syllables each. This lai tells the story of a woman who seeks to escape a loveless marriage, and of the child born from the love that she found elsewhere.
A character named Doon de Mayence and a powerful horse named Bayard appear prominently in works of the Matter of France, or the legends surrounding Charlemagne. Doon is the forefather of a line of heroes who generally oppose Charlemagne, and gives his name to one of the three major cycles of Carolingian chansons de geste . Bayard is most often associated with this family, particularly with Doon's grandson Renaud de Montauban.
Symbolism
The horse and the swan have special significance. The horse, a traditional symbol of masculinity, can stand for Doon. The swan, a traditional symbol of beauty and harmonious union, can represent the woman. Thus, the horse's defeat of the swan symbolizes Doon's ultimate conquest of the woman. [3]
The ring can represent the life-cycle. It is through the ring that Doon's son's identity is known so that he can be reunited with his father.
Renaud de Montauban was a fictional hero and knight who was introduced to literature in a 12th-century Old French chanson de geste known as Les Quatre Fils Aymon. The four sons of Duke Aymon are Renaud, Richard, Alard, and Guiscard, and their cousin is the magician Maugris. Renaud possess a magical horse Bayard and the sword Froberge.
The Matter of France, also known as the Carolingian cycle, is a body of literature and legendary material associated with the history of France, in particular involving Charlemagne and his associates. The cycle springs from the Old French chansons de geste, and was later adapted into a variety of art forms, including Renaissance epics and operas. Together with the Matter of Britain, which concerned King Arthur, and the Matter of Rome, comprising material derived from and inspired by classical mythology, it was one of the great literary cycles that figured repeatedly in medieval literature.
Mark of Cornwall was a king of Kernow (Cornwall) in the early 6th century. He is most famous for his appearance in Arthurian legend as the uncle of Tristan and husband of Iseult, who engage in a secret affair.
Sir Launfal is a 1045-line Middle English romance or Breton lay written by Thomas Chestre dating from the late 14th century. It is based primarily on the 538-line Middle English poem Sir Landevale, which in turn was based on Marie de France's lai Lanval, written in a form of French understood in the courts of both England and France in the 12th century. Sir Launfal retains the basic story told by Marie and retold in Sir Landevale, augmented with material from an Old French lai Graelent and a lost romance that possibly featured a giant named Sir Valentyne. This is in line with Thomas Chestre's eclectic way of creating his poetry.
Maugris or Maugis was one of the heroes of the chansons de geste and romances of chivalry and the Matter of France that tell of the legendary court of King Charlemagne. Maugis was cousin to Renaud de Montauban and his brothers, son of Beuves of Aygremont and brother to Vivien de Monbranc. He was brought up by Oriande the fairy, and became a great enchanter. He won the magical horse Bayard and the sword Froberge which he later gave to Renaud.
Sovay is a traditional English folk song about a young woman who dresses and arms herself as a highwayman in order to test her suitor. In disguise she robs her suitor of nearly all his possessions, but even under threat of death he refuses to give up the gold ring given by Sovay, thus proving his devotion. Sovay subsequently confesses the ruse to her lover and returns his various possessions, admonishing him only that had he indeed given up the ring, she would have killed him. The name 'Sovay' is probably a corruption of 'Sophie' or 'Sylvie' - both of which appear instead in some versions of the song.
Lanval is one of The Lais of Marie de France. Written in Anglo-Norman, it tells the story of Lanval, a knight at King Arthur's court, who is overlooked by the king, wooed by a fairy lady, given all manner of gifts by her, and subsequently refuses the advances of Queen Guinevere. The plot is complicated by Lanval's promise not to reveal the identity of his mistress, which he breaks when Guinevere accuses him of having "no desire for women". Before Arthur, Guinevere accuses Lanval of shaming her, and Arthur, in an extended judicial scene, demands that he reveal his mistress. Despite the broken promise, the fairy lover eventually appears to justify Lanval, and to take him with her to Avalon. The tale was popular, and was adapted into English as Sir Landevale, Sir Launfal, and Sir Lambewell.
"Guigemar" is a Breton lai, a type of narrative poem, written by Marie de France during the 12th century. The poem belongs to the collection known as The Lais of Marie de France. Like the other lais in the collection, Guigemar is written in the Anglo-Norman language, a dialect of Old French, in rhyming octosyllabic couplets.
"Chaitivel", also known as "Les Quatre Deuils" or "Le Malheureux" in modern French or "The Four Sorrows" in English, is a Breton lai by the medieval poet Marie de France. Chaitivel is the tenth poem in the collection known as the Lais of Marie de France and is one of very few lais to contain alternate titles. Like the other poems in this collection, Chaitivel is written in the Anglo-Norman dialect of Old French, in couplets of eight syllables in length.
Trot is an anonymous Breton lai. It tells the story of a knight who happens upon maidens riding through the forest, and from them, he learns the importance of love.
Nabaret is a short, humorous Breton lai that tells the story of a knight and his vain and prideful wife. With only 48 verses, Nabaret is the shortest of the anonymous lais.
Melion is an anonymous Breton lai that tells the story of a knight who transforms into a werewolf for the love of his wife who betrays him.
The Four Sons of Aymon, sometimes also referred to as Renaud de Montauban is a medieval tale spun around the four sons of Duke Aymon: the knight Renaud de Montauban, his brothers Guichard, Allard and Richardet, their magical horse Bayard, their adventures and revolt against the emperor Charlemagne. The story had a European success and echoes of the story are still found today in certain folklore traditions.
Sir Eglamour of Artois is a Middle English verse romance that was written sometime around 1350. It is a narrative poem of about 1300 lines, a tail-rhyme romance that was quite popular in its day, judging from the number of copies that have survived – four manuscripts from the 15th century or earlier and a manuscript and five printed editions from the 16th century. The poem tells a story that is constructed from a large number of elements found in other medieval romances and modern scholarly opinion has been critical of it because of this, describing it as unimaginative and of poor quality. Medieval romance as a genre, however, concerns the reworking of "the archetypal images of romance" and if this poem is viewed from a 15th-century perspective as well as from a modern standpoint – and it was obviously once very popular, even being adapted into a play in 1444 – one might find a "romance [that] is carefully structured, the action highly unified, the narration lively."
Sir Perceval of Galles is a Middle English Arthurian verse romance whose protagonist, Sir Perceval (Percival), made his debut in medieval literature well over a hundred years before the composition of this work; in Chrétien de Troyes' final poem, the 12th-century Old French Conte del Graal. Sir Perceval of Galles was probably written in the northeast Midlands of England, in the early 14th century, and tells a markedly different story to either Chretien's tale or to Robert de Boron's early 13th-century Perceval. Told with a comic liveliness, it omits any mention of a graal or a Grail.
Graelent is an Old French Breton lai, named after its protagonist. It is one of the so-called anonymous lais and draws on Marie de France's Lanval.
