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Synopsis
[edit]The king of Tars refuses the proposal from the pagan king of Damas to marry the princess of Tars, but after the king of Damas wages war on the land of Tars, slaughtering numerous Christian knights, the princess agrees to marry him to prevent further conflict. She is forced to convert to her husband's religion, during which time she pays lip service to the king's gods and secretly continues to practice her own religion. Soon they conceive, and the princess gives birth to a formless child, and each blames the other's false religion. The king and the princess agree to pray to their respective deities to restore their child to beauty and health. The king's prayers are fruitless, so the princess demands that a Christian priest be freed from the king's prison. With the priest's baptism, the child is transformed, and the king converts to Christianity and is himself physically transformed from black-skinned to white-skinned. He sends for the king of Tars to help him convert his kingdom to Christianity, and a violent conversion battle ensues. The final stanzas of the poem depict the king of Tars and the converted king of Damas fighting pagan kings side by side.[1]
Genre
[edit]"The King of Tars" defies simple classification to a single genre because it incorporates elements of many genres, namely romance and hagiography, though the text also includes accounts of politics and marvels that further complicate its categorization[2].
- ^ "The King of Tars | Robbins Library Digital Projects". Retrieved 2019-11-12.
- ^ Chandler, John H., ed. (2015-09-01). The King of Tars. Medieval Institute Publications. ISBN 9781580442381.