Chivalry, Moorish, and Byzantine Novels: An In-Depth Look
Chivalry Novels
Chivalry novels are epic tales that incorporate fantasy elements, such as dragons and wizards, and often feature magic. A prime example is the story of King Arthur and Merlin.
In the 16th century, these novels presented the fantastic adventures of knights-errant. The ideal Renaissance man appeared, depicted as a warrior who was also a writer and a nobleman. The beautiful woman was often portrayed as white, with blue eyes and light hair. The hero never dies, leaving the story open for potential sequels. The first novels of chivalry include Overseas and Fazienda Zifar Knight.
Moorish Novels
Moorish novels are typical of Mediterranean countries in contact with the Arab world. However, it was in Spain where this genre truly took shape, due to the long tenure of Muslims in the country.
These novels feature simple, idealized environments and happy endings. They showcase a taste for ornate decoration in the settings, mostly Andalusian. They are usually brief; sometimes, they were written to be merged into longer works. For instance, in Matthew German’s Guzman, the Moorish story Ozmín and Daraja appears, by the same author.
They can be classified into two groups:
- Novels that relate to the kingdom of Granada, such as The Abencerrage.
- Novels set during the period of captivity in Africa, in the 17th century.
Byzantine Novels
Byzantine novels are characterized by adventure and travel.
The Greek novel arose in the Hellenistic period, with settings in the Near East and the Mediterranean. In the 3rd century, a series of stories based on the structure of Homer’s Odyssey began to emerge. The new novel, derived from translations of Greek works and some novels by Heliodorus, such as Theagenes and Chariclea, can be classified as adventure. There is no hero who succeeds solely through courage, but rather through cunning. The main action is interspersed with secondary ones, all converging at a common point. Often, it is chance that directs everything. Mixed in are love stories where the female character is a noblewoman who retains her virginity through dangers.
Two thematic elements stand out: love and fidelity. Love, described in its physical dimension, involves a state of joy; hence, it is sometimes considered pornographic due to its approximation to reality. The characters are always depicted with great beauty. They are active, while men are more passive in the face of risk. These novels tell of the obstacles and hardships that two young lovers have to face, overcoming social, ethical, or religious barriers through many adventures. Fidelity is a vital requirement to overcome these dangers.
The Byzantine novel is marked by the axis of separation and reunion of the characters, with the following narrative constants:
- Long separation of the lovers, who are physically distanced due to false deaths.
- Faith of the lovers in their love.
- Dreams or predictions that herald the arrival but are later altered.
- Exaltation of physical beauty, which is the externalization of inner nobility.
- A series of episodes directed by chance.
- Pretense of personality or alteration of the characters’ identity.
The purpose of travel is essential, perhaps as a direct result of the sense of escape, signifying the desire for freedom of the Renaissance man. This avoidance also occurs in time, placing the action in the past.
Notable examples in Spain include: History of the Loves of Clareo and Florisea by Alonso Nunez de Reinoso and Jungle Adventure by Jeronimo Contreras. Later, Cervantes wrote Works of Persiles and Segismunda, known as The Persiles.