ABSTRACT
Women’s heroism, particularly in medieval epic, is generally attributed to their supposedly compassionate nature. Their heroism is linked with either the protection of their family and home, an exceptional devotion or spirituality, or with a sublime love and dedication to a husband or son. In contrast, men’s glory often lies upon their bravery at war. In order to try and re-establish gender equality in the reading of medieval epic, an examination of women’s ability to fight savagely is necessary, as well as of the possibility for them to be as praised for it as men are. Among male heroic characteristics, the furor heroicus – namely, the bloodthirsty desire for killing that seizes the warrior during a battle – would seem the least likely attribute to associate with women. This is due to the patriarchal assumption that women would be reluctant, if not unable, to show any form of extreme violence. However, despite originating from different geographical areas, the epics studied in this paper challenge this view by presenting various examples of warrior women, who share with men the killing frenzy that is part of the hyperbolic behavior allowing a character to reach epic heroism.
