The demonic theme in the anonymous English poem “Richard Coer de Lyon” of the late 14th century: Origins and functions
Semenov Vadim Borisovich
Lomonosov Moscow State University
Submitted: 06.07.2023
Abstract. The paper is a pilot study of a little-known English poem of the late 14th century about Richard the Lionheart. In Russian-language literary criticism, there is no description of this poem, while in English-language literary criticism, there are few essays on its account, and there is no scientific literature on one of the central themes of its plot, on the theme of demonism. The paper aims to fill the information gap. The purpose of the study is to determine the features of the manifestation of the theme at the lexical-phraseological and plot levels of the text, as well as its functions. The scientific novelty of the paper lies in the fact that its author, using the comparative historical method, establishes typological parallels of the analyzed text with previous texts of other genre forms and also identifies folklore sources. As a result of the study, three functions of this theme in the poem were highlighted and defined: characterological, symbolic and political, which create the image of an ideal king warrior equal to the heroes of continental, primarily French, chansons de geste.
Key words and phrases: Ричард Львиное Сердце, жеста, эпическая поэма, средневековая поэзия, фольклорный мотив, стихотворный роман, Richard the Lionheart, chanson de geste, epic poem, medieval poetry, folklore motif, metrical romance
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