Crossing Lines: Topoi of Kynde in Medieval Romance

"Crossing Lines: Topoi of Kynde in Medieval Romance" examines the use of topoi, or stock plot events, settings, and characters, in late medieval romances to experiment with kynde, a Middle English word meaning type, nature, Nature, identity, essence, and kindness. Each chapter takes up a different cluster of topoi and set of kynde features. Chapter one considers how the sultan's marriage threat, monstrous birth, and sacraments explore conversions of race and religion in Sir Gowther, Chaucer's Man of Law's Tale, and King of Tars; chapter two examines the fair unknown and class and gender exchange in Le Roman de Silence; and chapter three takes up animal disguise and transformation in William of Palerne. My project considers also the nature of the genre of romance and its relationships with neighboring genres.