Chapter 7 Medieval Knights and Mighty Young Men

In: Neo-Victorianism and Medievalism
Author:
Ann F. Howey
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Chapter
Pages:
195–216
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004688353_009

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Abstract

After situating Charlotte M. Yonge’s The Heir of Redclyffe (1853), Rodman Philbrick’s Freak the Mighty (1993), and the latter’s film adaptation, The Mighty (1998) in the context of young people’s literature and culture, this essay traces the knight as figure of ideal masculinity in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, arguing that this figure blurs the boundaries of medievalism and neo-Victorianism. These texts depict characters’ recourse to medievalism to argue for the figure of the knight as a viable model of masculinity for young men as they seek to become constructive participants in society. The essay concludes by reflecting on the implications of this knightly model for spiritual or secular salvation and for the legacy of Victorian medievalism in young people’s literature.

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Neo-Victorianism and Medievalism

Re-appropriating the Victorian and Medieval Pasts

Series:  Neo-Victorian Series, Volume: 9 and  Neo-Victorian Series Online, Volume: 9
Cover Neo-Victorianism and Medievalism
E-Book ISBN:
9789004688353
Publisher:
Brill
Print Publication Date:
17 Apr 2024

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