ABSTRACT

Almost immediately after the marriage of Yvain and Laudine had been celebrated, Gauvain started encouraging Yvain to leave his wife and seek fame and honor in tourneys. His exhortation is based essentially on the following arguments: one, love cannot prosper if the worth or renown of one of the partners declines (vv. 2491-501);1 two, the esteem one enjoys and one’s own inner worth are enhanced by active participation in tournaments and in the life of court (vv. 2502-11); three, if Yvain is willing to accompany Gauvain himself to the tournaments, their companionship will be maintained in spite of the marriage (vv. 2512-6); four, the joy of love is greater when there are impediments to its realization (vv. 2517-40). In short, Yvain is warned against slipping into recreantise, that is, the neglect of the very activities which it behooves a good knight to engage in-for example, tournaments. If Yvain becomes recreant, he will lose his reputation for prowess, chivalry, and courtliness.