Giants and Dwarves

 

Overview

Perhaps the first thing to pop into one's mind when the topic of Arthurian romances comes up is the character of the knight. He is the primary subject and most often the main protagonist within these works. His honor, masculinity and prowess are of great importance and are often tested. He is who young children want to be for Halloween. But what of those characters that often remain nameless, or exist as the Other within these works? After all, you cannot have a knight without an enemy to be slain or a servant to do his bidding.

King Arthur and the giant of Mont St. Michel

The Function of the Giant

The body of a giant in Medieval literature is typically one that reflects the human body yet in excessive size. They may highlight or bring to attention issues of social or physical ideals within the Arthurian court and among human nature by broadcasting them on a large scale. The giant is more than a nameless stock character, often times having familial relationships. The role they play will often depend on the scenarios in which they encounter the protagonists of the stories. In her book The Giant Hero in Medieval Literature, Tina Boyer explains that "the giant's appearance and manner depend to a great extent on his role in the text, rather than on his similarity to an abstract type" (1).

For a knight, the giant may be a status symbol or a representation of their own masculinity. Boyer explains, "by virtue of their size, warrior prowess and other warrior virtues, they reinforce the courtly expectations of the ideal knight and fighter" (1). It stands to reason then, that by engaging in battle with and slaying a giant, the status and reputation of a knight would grow. One of the ultimate tests of a knight's prowess and masculinity in literature is to have him attempt battle with a giant.

The Giant of Mont St. Michel

The story of one giant in particular, that of the giant of Mont St. Michel, is used to call into question King Arthur's prowess and authority. He is a rather terrifying creature, called "the most troubling monster in all of romance" by Jeffrey Cohen (2). In some iterations he is described to resemble a greyhound, a bear, a boar or a badger, among other things. In the story the giant abducts the niece of a king, ravaging her and plundering nearby villages until he is confronted by King Arthur himself. In her article on the subject, Hwanhee Park explains that the giant of Mont St. Michel "highlights the message that kingly authority is prone to be challenged by others, even if the king is as great as Arthur is reported to be" (3). The giant of Mont St. Michel calls into question Arthur's authority as king and forces him to prove himself worthy of the status he has been granted. For more on this story, this episode of the podcast Medieval Death Trip details differing versions of this story and speculates some alternative meanings that may be attached to the tale.

The Function of the Dwarf

Many times within Medieval literature, dwarf characters are used as devices to move the plot forward. This can be seen in stories such as Cretian de Troyes' Lancelot, or the Knight of the Cart, in which the story seems to take a new direction each time the character of the dwarf appears. Often times, as explained by Megan Leitch in her article on the subject, "dwarves are deployed throughout these texts to examine or to offer explanations, to characters and to readers" (4). They are often shown interacting with knights, contributing to their development but with no character development of their own. They may be the knight's servant, acting as a figure with which the knight may be physically compared and thus contributing to their overall status and reputation. 

Evadaem, the Dwarf Knight

In one instance that I found, a dwarf character seems to take center stage. Evadaem, the Dwarf Knight, serves as the main focus of his own story, in which his dwarfism is a spell cast upon him in order to test his character. He is compared to the likes of the knight Gawain, his counterpart who is handsome in face but not as morally sound as Evadaem. Yet Evadaem proves himself a worthy knight despite his physical disabilities, falling in love and in one instance defending himself against five physically-abled knights. The story resolves with Evadaem redeeming himself and regaining his physical abilities. Although not the palatable ending that you and I might prefer, Kara Larson Maloney reminds modern audiences that this story "humanizes Evadaem in ways that few other dwarfs are within the medieval Arthurian canon" (5). He is given a name, a familial lineage, a lover, and a character arc. This is not often the case for dwarf characters that may simply be known by their physical description or their role in regard to the main characters of the story.

The image below, taken from The British Library's Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts is described as dwarf killing a knight, and may be related to the story of Evadaem.

Works Cited 

1. Boyer, Tina Marie. “The Giant Hero in Medieval Literature.” The Giant Hero in Medieval Literature, 2016.

2. Cohen, Jeffrey. "Of Giants: Sex, Monsters and the Middle Ages." University of Minnesota Press, 1999.

3. Park, Hwanhee. "Arthur and the Giant of Mont St. Michel in Layamon's Brut: Exposing the Fragility of Kingship." Arthuriana, vol. 26 no. 1, 2016. Project MUSE.

4. Leitch, Megan G. "The Servants of Chivalry? Dwarves and Porters in Malory and the Middle English Gawain Romances." Arthuriana, vol. 27, no. 1, 2017 p. 4. JSTOR.

5. Maloney, Kara Larson. "Evadaem, The Dwarf Knight from the Lancelot-Grail Cycle (ca.1220-30)." Medieval Disability Sourcebook: Western Europe, Punctum Books, 2020. JSTOR.