The Ill-Speaking Woman and the Marriageable Lady

Abstract

This chapter considers how Malory’s chiding damsels, such as Lyonet and Maledysaunte, may reflect Malory’s unique presentation of the scolding type in both literary and historical contexts, against the backdrop of fifteenth-century legal records of cases of scolding, and in comparison to other contemporary tales containing chiding damsels in the Fair Unknown tradition. Tension between ill-speaking women and marriageable ladies is also explored, culminating in discussion of Malory’s depiction of Nynyve and Ettarde. Malory indulges characters who resist fulfilling their stereotypical role within romance.