Bitching about Medieval Literature

This episode is the first of three parts telling the story of Culhwch, King Arthur's nephew, who is cursed to marry no-one other than Olwen, daughter of the great and terrible giant Ysbaddaden Bencawr. In this part, we hear Culhwch's backstory, his request for assistance from King Arthur, and meet various characters with weird superpowers that are never explained or returned to.

WARNINGS: A lot of weird shit happens in this story. Culhwch's mother goes mad for the duration of the pregnancy, his stepmother is violently abducted and her previous husband killed, Culhwch threatens to shout so loud all the women in Arthur's court go barren or miscarry, the protagonists meet a woman who has had twenty-two sons killed by her brother in law, and the protagonists kill nine dogs that guard the gates of the evil guy's castle. All of these things are mentioned in like, half a sentence, and the story moves on without comment.

In today's story, Britain is afflicted with three plagues: an invasion by enemies who can hear whatever is spoken where the wind blows; a horrible scream every year that damages everyone's health; and the mysterious disappearance each night of all prepared food and drink in the king's court. The king, Lludd, consults his brother Llefelys, and with his advice, is able to remove these three oppressions from his kingdom.

WARNINGS: The injuries caused by the horrible scream include spontaneous miscarriages.

Welcome to Bitching about the Mabinogion! This season, we will be reading a set of approximately 12th to 14th century Welsh stories, with much more of a fairy tale vibe than the Decameron. In today's episode, we hear about an emperor of Rome, Macsen Wledig, who was inspired by a dream to seek out and marry Elen, a noble lady of northern Wales.

CONTENT WARNING: Brief mention of genocide/mutilation. Near the end of the episode, two characters are taking a conquering army all over Europe. It is briefly explained (with very little build up) that wherever they went, they killed the men, abducted the women, and later cut out the tongues of the women to prevent them passing on their own language. This is told very matter-of-factly and briefly, but with no criticism, simply as an explanation for a place name.

This is the longest and last episode of Bitching About The Decameron - but fear not! There will be a second season, with new stories to tell. This episode begins with some information about what's coming next, then has the last (and most fucked up) story of the Decameron (10.10), before concluding with the end of the frame tale and Giovanni's commentary on how anyone who doesn't like his work is welcome to skip it. If you do not want to listen to story 10.10 (and I don't blame you), I recommend skipping from 6:40 to 31:45. 

WARNINGS: (specifically for story 10.10, the rest of the episode is fine) Abusive relationship. Very abusive relationship. Just. A lot. Not physically? But verbal abuse, public humiliation, pretending to have her children killed, publically and humiliatingly divorcing her, forcing her to go naked or nearly naked in public, making her run the 'wedding' to his 'second wife'. Appearance of intent to marry a 12 year old, which, ew. Responsible character is widely considered to be a horrible husband, but no one stops him, and he feels justified in doing all this shit to 'test' his wife. No negative consequences for the guy, and she goes back to him at the end after not complaining ever for the entire story. 

In this, the penultimate episode of Bitching About the Decameron, I summarise all of the stories I skipped, and why I skipped them, and discuss what that means for how we approach the text.

WARNINGS: Mentions of domestic violence, violence against children, cruelty to animals, violence and physical assault in general, various kinds of non-violent rape (through deception, exploitation of power, etc), exploitation of trust, mention of slurs about the intellectually disabled. All of the above are mentioned, not described in detail. 

Today's story (10.9) is a lovely (if long) tale of chivalrous munificence, in which Saladin tours Europe disguised as a merchant, and encounters an incredibly generous and courteous knight. Later, when the same knight is captured in the crusades, Saladin recognises him and repays his generosity several times over. The lines between knightly brotherhood and courtly love are...a little blurred.

After skipping 10.6, this episode continues with two more stories on the theme of generosity. In 10.7, an apothecary's daughter falls in love with a king, and though she has no hope of requital, the king treats her kindly and honourably. In 10.8, set in the distant past of ancient Rome and Athens, a man falls in love with his best friend's betrothed, and the friend decides to help him marry her instead (not that they tell her about that). Much later, the strength of their friendship is once again tested, and the pair form a joint household.

WARNINGS: In the second story, sex (and thereby, legal marriage) with a woman who thinks she's sleeping with someone else. Also, the usual issues with the legal system - mention of torture for interrogation, risk of an innocent man being convicted and executed by crucifixion.

In this episode, two men decide not to demand sex from women they have power over, and are inexplicably praised for it. I get VERY bitchy about all this. In 10.4, a man goes to steal a kiss from the corpse of a woman who didn't requite his love, and discovers she is alive. In 10.5, a woman says she will sleep with a man if he does something impossible for her, and he actually manages it. 

CONTENT WARNINGS: Fortunately, not actual rape. However...

In 10.4, intended kissing and groping of a corpse. Keeping a woman away from her family and letting her family think she's dead, for months. Implied threat to not let her go back to her husband, once her husband DOES know.

In 10.5, a man completes the impossible task the protagonist set as a condition before she would have sex with him. He was aware this was meant to be a soft no. When the woman tells her husband, he instructs her to go and sleep with the guy. She goes to his house expecting that he will, and clearly unwilling.

In the first story (10.2), a genteel highwayman captures an abbot, cures him of his illness, and lets him have his goods back when it's time to leave. In return, the abbot leaves the highwayman most of his goods, and puts in a good word for him with the pope. In the second story (10.3), a man seeking a reputation for generosity is stymied by the even more generous Nathan. When he goes to meet Nathan, he discovers that his generosity is even greater than the man's reputation suggested.

This episode sets a new record for stories NOT told. Skipping stories 9.5 (abuse of trust), 9.7 (gore), 9.8 (violence without cause), 9.9 (domestic violence), and 9.10 (too explicit), I tell only story 9.6 before moving on to day 10. In 9.6, four people in one tiny bedroom give a new meaning to bed-hopping. In 10.1, a worthy nobleman is offered a generous gift, only to be thwarted by his own bad luck.