This chapter demonstrates identity’s fluid and ever-evolving nature in Guillaume de Palerne, and it argues that the poet constructs a complex identity network that binds together the Sicilian prince and his lupine companion. This network oscillates between queerness and heteronormativity through its incorporation not only of human and animal bodies, but also of spatial, material, and erotic elements. The poet’s frequent blurring of the boundaries between orchards, forests, and chambers contributes to the fluid nature of his protagonists’ identity network and reveals an understanding of space as a constructed and highly mutable concept. The chapter also details how the poet foregrounds subjective violence, rendering the Sicilian prince the pinnacle example of Cohen’s chivalric circuit, and it argues that both subjective and political violence, especially coercion, are intrinsic to sovereign power. Discussion ultimately turns to how the various layers of the protagonists’ continually evolving identity network link to the contexts of the text’s production. The identities articulated through the prince and his lupine companion provide a sense of continuity and unity that would appeal to an audience faced with frequent conflict, especially one such as Sicily, which operates as a zone of cultural contact during the Middle Ages.

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Guillaume de Palerne

  • Renée Ward

摘要

This chapter demonstrates identity’s fluid and ever-evolving nature in Guillaume de Palerne, and it argues that the poet constructs a complex identity network that binds together the Sicilian prince and his lupine companion. This network oscillates between queerness and heteronormativity through its incorporation not only of human and animal bodies, but also of spatial, material, and erotic elements. The poet’s frequent blurring of the boundaries between orchards, forests, and chambers contributes to the fluid nature of his protagonists’ identity network and reveals an understanding of space as a constructed and highly mutable concept. The chapter also details how the poet foregrounds subjective violence, rendering the Sicilian prince the pinnacle example of Cohen’s chivalric circuit, and it argues that both subjective and political violence, especially coercion, are intrinsic to sovereign power. Discussion ultimately turns to how the various layers of the protagonists’ continually evolving identity network link to the contexts of the text’s production. The identities articulated through the prince and his lupine companion provide a sense of continuity and unity that would appeal to an audience faced with frequent conflict, especially one such as Sicily, which operates as a zone of cultural contact during the Middle Ages.