been suggested as a possibility, partly on the basis of
the poem’s fi nal references to imprisonment. It is com-
posed in TAIL-RHYME STANZAs of six lines each, rhyming
aabccb, but this frequently breaks down, indicating that
many lines are likely missing.
The Weddynge of Sir Gawen and Dame Ragnell belongs
to a group of late medieval texts that feature the motif
of a loathly lady transformed into a beautiful one. Its
narrative is very close to that of GEOFFREY CHAUCER’s
“The WIFE OF BATH’S PROLOGUE AND TALE,” JOHN GOW-
ER’s “Tale of Florent” in his CONFESSIO AMANTIS, and the
fragmentary BALLAD “The Marriage of Sir Gawain.” No
common source is known. There are two main differ-
ences between the Weddynge of Sir Gawen and “The
Wife of Bath’s Tale.” First, the Wife’s Tale features an
unnamed knight who is forced to answer the question
and to unwillingly marry the hag as punishment for a
rape, whereas in the Weddynge of Sir Gawen, the trans-
gression is Arthur’s, and it is Gawain who (willingly)
marries. Second, Chaucer presents the choice as hav-
ing the wife be fair and unfaithful or foul and humble,
not fair by night and foul by day.
Early critical commentary on the Weddynge of Sir
Gawen disparaged its poetic quality and lack of moral
and aesthetic complexity and compared it unfavor-
ably to its more famous analogues. However, there
has been a growing appreciation of its humor and
liveliness, including the grotesque descriptions of
Ragnell and the comedy of Arthur and Gawain riding
the land to collect in their books the answers. Some
argue that it is intended to be read as a satiric response
to or a comic imitation of other late romances (see
SATIRE).
Other recent criticism has centred on the text’s han-
dling of noble values. The land dispute that precipi-
tates the action of the poem seems to be a commentary
on contemporary practices of land inheritance. The
Weddynge of Sir Gawen and Dame Ragnell also gives
prominence to the values of courtesy, beauty, and
fi delity. It has been seen as weighing the importance
of such values and, simultaneously, examining the
ability of the noble world to live up to them. Gawain
emerges as a man of exemplary honor and loyalty,
treating Ragnell with respect and remaining true to his
word.
FURTHER READING
Hahn, Thomas, ed. Sir Gawain: Eleven Romances and Tales.
Kalamazoo, Michigan: TEAMS, Medieval Institute Publi-
cations, 1995.
Shepherd, Stephen H. A. “No poet has his travesty alone:
The Weddynge of Sir Gawen and Dame Ragnell.” In Romance
Reading on the Book: Essays on Medieval Narrative presented
to Maldwyn Mills, edited by Jennifer Fellows, 112–128.
Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1996.
Sumner, Laura, ed. The Weddynge of Sir Gawen and Dame
Ragnell. Folcroft, Pa.: The Folcroft Press, 1924.
Cathy HumeWELSH WOMEN POETS Early Welsh
female poets faced a number of obstacles. Welsh poetic
techniques were dominated by strict-meter verse (fi xed
metrical pattern), but access to appropriate training and
membership in the poets’ guild was denied to women.
Moreover, Welsh bardic law even forbade women to
hear strict-meter poetry declaimed publicly in court.
How, then, did women in Wales acquire their
knowledge of the strict meters? Three possible chan-
nels seem likely: reliance on oral transmission; the
infl uence of a poetically inclined father or husband;
and, to a lesser degree in this period, the support of
poetic circles. Once the bardic guild began to decline,
court entertainments were accessible for women. It is
also likely that many learned their craft from their
fathers or husbands, a pattern that echoes the strong
hereditary vein of the poetic guild as a whole. For
instance, the 12th-century poet Gwenllïan ferch Rhirid
Flaidd (fl. 1460s) is believed to be the daughter of the
poets Tudur Penllyn and Gwerful Fychan. Alis ferch
Gruffudd ab Ieuan (b. 1500) was the daughter of Gruf-
fudd ab Ieuan ap Llywelyn Fychan (1485–1553), a cel-
ebrated amateur poet. Elsbeth Fychan (fl. 1530?) was
also the daughter of a gentleman amateur poet, Siôn ap
Hywel ap Llywelyn Fychan (fl. 1500–30). Bardic cir-
cles may have helped, though evidence is scarce. Other
women, such as Jane Fychan of Caer-gai (b. ca. 1590s),
Catherin Owen (d. 1602), and Elin Thomas (d. 1609)
were married to amateur poets.
Not confi ned by the bardic guild’s rules, women
poets were free to choose their own themes and experi-
ment with conventions. For example, Marged Harri (fl.460 WELSH WOMEN POETS