The Song of Roland, a tradition of oral tales that was finally written down about the year 1100, and the Lancelot story, written down by Chrtien de Troyes in roughly 1170, recount different facets of the chivalric or feudal code, of the code of behavior that emerged around the year 1100 in Western Europe and that portrayed an ideal set of values for noblemen warriors.  Roland portrays a masculine world of brave warriors who commit their lives to protecting their superiors, while the Lancelot story portrays a feminized world where men submit themselves fully to the women they love.

Write a paper of a minimum of 200 words describing the masculine or feminine characteristics of the people and the plot in each story.  You might think of Roland being written for a masculine audience, and Lancelot being written for a female audience.  If that is true, then how do these stories appeal to both of those audiences?  Are there areas where the values of each story conflict with the values of the other?

Be sure to double-space your work and put your name on the top.  Underline the title Song of Roland.  There is no specific title for the Lancelot story, so you don’t need an underline or quotation marks for Lancelot.  Proofread your work carefully for clarity and for grammar and construction before you submit it.  Join us in the discussion forum (See “Discussions” at left) in order to understand these materials and in order to organize your essay.  I also encourage you to take advantage of the Writing Center on each of the Valencia campuses to get help with organizing your ideas and proofreading drafts of your work.  Alternatively, you may use the online proofreading help offered you through SmarThink, available through Atlas.