This paper provides a summary of the fourteenth-century Italian cantare Bel Gherardino, and examines the similarities and differences between it and the Old French Partonopeus de Blois. In many of the passages where Bel Gherardino differs from Partonopeus — notably in the characterisation of the heroine, in a simplification of the passage concerning the hero's return home, and in the location of the rescue of the hero by the heroine's sister — the Partonopeus version appears to be the result of a clearly identifiable intervention on the part of an author. It may be concluded that Bel Gherardino does not derive from the text we now know as Partonopeus de Blois, but rather from an earlier story, which may be termed Ur-Gherardino. The existence of an Ur-Gherardino poem would also help to shed light on the problematic relationship between Partonopeus, Ipomedon and Lanzelet.

The Middle English Partonope of Blois possesses two characteristics which are more in keeping with twelfth-century French romance than with fifteenth-century English literature: a strong focus on place and the forceful presence of the heroine. Both Melior and her city undergo a substantial shift in identity: Melior is transformed from a dominating woman who seeks to control the hero into a more passive figure; Chef d'Oire changes both in character — from being an otherworldly magical place with its own independent sense of time to a tournament venue more grounded in reality — and in the terminology which is used to describe it. Throughout the work Melior and her city are portrayed as interdependent and inseparable, and in order to convert the initially subversive and powerful Melior into a more conventional romance heroine it is also necessary to adapt the image of her city.

This paper is concerned with the inverted gender roles portrayed in the Middle English Partonope of Blois, and the part played by Urake in realigning them. The relationship between hero and heroine begins with Partonope in a female passive role as a "kept man," and Melior in a male dominating role as a sexually self-assured woman who chooses the man she wants and controls him. Urake, one of the most unusually interventionistic of romance go-betweens, saves Partonope's life and prepares him, both physically and psychologically, to assume his position as the triumphal hero; she also torments Melior into accepting a less controlling form of love more suitable for a medieval woman. In this way the conventional ending to the romance is enhanced by the satisfaction of seeing the inverted gender roles of hero and heroine put to rights

This paper is concerned with two interrelated aspects of the Old French Partonopeus de Blois; the subjective perspective of the narrator, and the theme of recognition. The frequent narratorial interventions show that the poet's position is not one of detachment: his own desire intrudes into the story of Partonopeus, and the two tales of desire inform each other; in this way, the romance may almost be interpreted as a confession addressed to the female beloved. The narrator repeatedly identifies himself with female characters, claiming that his personal experience has allowed him to recognize their inner realities: his identification with these female characters and his failure to communicate with his beloved can be seen as related phenomena. The female addressee does not merely provide the poet with an excuse to work; she also enables him to produce a new and complex kind of literary discourse.

Magic appears frequently in medieval narrative, offering both danger and opportunity to the individual. The link between magic and fear is one of the most intriguing aspects of courtly romance, and this phenomenon is extremely well-developed in Konrad von Wiirzburg's Partonopier und Meliur. Konrad displays remarkable skill in developing the psychological aspects of his protagonists, and this paper demonstrates that the process of personal growth for the hero of this text is reflected in multiple manifestations of fear Partonopier is initially afraid of the strange forest, the supernatural ship, the deserted city, the dark night and the invisible Meliur; later he fears losing both Meliur's love and God's grace. Fear proves to be the basic element of his entire life, but it provides him with the opportunity to search for himself; his path towards maturity is directly linked to his ability to overcome it.