(perhaps appendicitis). He was succeeded by his
brother Richard, duke of Gloucester, who took the
throne as Richard III. Richard ruled only two years
before dying in battle against another claimant to the
throne, Henry Tudor, a Lancastrian offshoot, at Bos-
worth in 1485. Upon ascending the throne as HENRY
VII, he married Elizabeth of York, thus uniting the two
houses.
Many poems and BALLADS are associated with the
Wars of the Roses, some written during the period.
Printed anthologies of such medieval ballads appear as
early as 1612. Sixteenth-century poems about the Wars
of the Roses appear in A MIRROR FOR MAGISTRATES
(1559), with 18 tragedies in verse (for example, poems
on Henry VI and the earl of Warwick, and a long entry
on Anthony Woodville, Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s
brother).
See also HUNDRED YEARS’ WAR.
FURTHER READING
Chambers, E. K. English Literature at the Close of the Middle
Ages. Oxford: Clarendon, 1964.
Ross, Charles. The Wars of the Roses: A Concise History. New
York and London: Thames/Hudson, 1986.
Graham N. Drake
WEDDYNGE OF SIR GAWEN AND
DAME RAGNELL, THE (THE WEDDYNG
OF SYR GAWEN AND DAME RAGNELL
FOR HELPYNG OF KYNG ARTHOURE)
ANONYMOUS (ca. 1450–1500) Out hunting, King
ARTHUR encounters Sir Gromer Somer Joure, who
claims that Arthur has wrongfully given his lands to Sir
Gawain (Gawen). He presents Arthur with a challenge:
In one year’s time, Arthur must return, alone, and
reveal “whate wemen love best.” If he cannot complete
this challenge, Arthur will lose his head. Arthur agrees
to the terms.
At court in Carlisle, Arthur tells Sir Gawain, one of
his knights, what has happened. Gawain proposes that
together they seek out the answer to the question, so
the two ride out, stopping everyone they see and
recording in books the various answers they receive.
The answers vary widely and include such things as “to
be welle arayd” (well dressed) and “a lusty man” (a
strong man). None of the answers satisfi es Arthur, who
rides out again in desperation. This time, he encoun-
ters an ugly lady, Dame Ragnell, whose hideousness,
or “lothynesse” (loathliness) is described at length. She
purports to have the answer to the question but will
only give it to Arthur if she marries Gawain. Arthur
agrees, somewhat unwillingly, to ask Gawain.
Gawain readily agrees to marry her. Arthur meets
her once more in the forest, and she tells him the
answer: Women desire to have sovereignty, or author-
ity and rule, over men. Arthur then returns to Gromer
Somer Joure and gives him all the answers he has
received, including the correct one. Gromer Somer
Joure is infuriated that Arthur has found the correct
answer; however, he is forced to concede that Arthur is
right. As Arthur leaves, Gromer Somer Joure curses
Dame Ragnell, who, it emerges, is his sister.
Ragnell accompanies Arthur back to the court, where
she meets Gawain, and the wedding preparations begin.
Guinevere tries to persuade Ragnell to marry in private,
but she insists on a public celebration. Gawain fulfi ls
his duties without complaint until the wedding night
arrives. In bed, Ragnell asks Gawain for a kiss, where-
upon he responds, “I wolle do more!” However, when
he turns to face her, he discovers a beautiful lady instead
of an ugly hag. Gawain is surprised but delighted. Then
Ragnell offers him a choice: She can be fair by night and
foul by day or the other way around. Instead of choos-
ing, Gawain gives the choice over to her. In doing so,
he breaks the enchantment Ragnell had been under,
which could be broken only by marrying “the best of
Englond” and winning sovereignty over him. Now she
will be beautiful all the time.
The next day, a concerned Arthur seeks out Gawain,
and is told the delightful truth. Ragnell then promises
Gawain that she will be obedient to him for the rest of
her life, and Arthur forgives Gromer Somer Joure.
Gawain and Ragnell have a son together, Gyngolyn,
but their marriage lasts only fi ve years before Ragnell’s
death. Gawain marries many more times but never
loves as well again. The narrator of the tale ends by
asking for God’s help, since he is imprisoned.
The Weddynge of Sir Gawen and Dame Ragnell is a late
15th-century ROMANCE written in an East Midlands dia-
lect of the MIDDLE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. Although no
author is named in the text, Sir Thomas Malory hasWEDDYNGE OF SIR GAWEN AND DAME RAGNELL, THE 459