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14
Introduction
tizationsofideas,eveniftheybelongtotherealmofimagination.Some
oftheliteraryworksmentionedhereeveninvolveelementsofdescription
thatspecifythechild’sdeformity;henceincludingtheminastudyofrep-
resentationsbecomesjustifiableduetotherealisticqualityoftheimagery.
Evenwhentheyaresolelyproductsoffalseaccusations,themonstrous
childrenfromthosereportsfunctionsimilarlytorealmonstersinother
narratives:theysymbolizetheallegedsinfulnessofthemother,buton
adifferentleveltheyalsoprovideevidenceforherholiness.Notincidentally
aretheheroinesofthe“Constancegroup”typicallypresentedasemulat-
ingtheVirginMary,particularlyinthePiétà-likescenesthatappearin
thosestoriesatthepointwhenthewomenfloatinrudderlessboatsatsea.
Thebodyoftextsthathavebeenchosenforourdiscussionherebyno
meansexhauststhelistofpossiblesourcesoftherepresentationsinques-
tion.Thefalseaccusationofanunnaturalbirthalsoappearsin,forexam-
ple,MariedeFrance’sLeFraisneanditsMiddleEnglishversion,Layle
Fresne.Therea“levedimilde”(33)isaccusedofinfidelityduetobearing
twingirlsinsteadofonechild.15Asimilaraccusationoccursinthefour-
teenth-centuryromanceOctavian.16Nevertheless,thediscussionofmon-
strosityinthetextsabovedoesnotentailanyideologicallyladenconsid-
erationsofreligiousandethnicnature,hencetheyarenotcloseanalogues
ofthetextsthatwillbeofinterestforushere.Asforexamplesofthereal
monstersfromliterarytextsandnotthequasi-monstrousoffspring,Mélu-
sineintheromancesbyJeand’ArrasandLaCouldrettemothersatleast
twomonsters,Geoffroyàlagranddent(thelarge-toothed)andHorrible,
whichdirectlyresultsfromherownsupernaturalorigin.17Yet,againthe
issueofdeformitydoesnotappearcentralthere;neitherdoesethnicity
comeintoplayasafactorcausingmonstrosity.Theromancesthathave
beenchosenforthisanalysisseemtobefairlyrepresentativeintermsof
involvingspecifictypesofmonstrouschildren,arbitraryassuchase-
15“LayleFresne”in:MiddleEnglishVerseRomances,ed.DonaldB.Sands(Exeter:
UniversityofExeterPress,1993),pp.2331248;thenumbersofthelinesrefertothat
edition.
16See“Octavian”in:SixMiddleEnglishRomances,ed.MaldwynMills(Londonand
Rutland,Vermont:J.M.Dent&SonsandCharlesE.Tuttle,1992),pp.751124.
17SeeRomansofPartenayorofLusignen,ed.W.W.Skeat(London:TheEarlyEng-
lishTextSociety,2002).
