“¿Mollis or fortis femina?”: the ambiguity of Briseida's character in the Historia Troyana Polimétrica

Abstract

This work examines the representation of Briseida in the Historia troyana polimétrica (HTP), considering the differences with its source, the Roman de Troie, and the interpretations that they could have aroused in their circulation contexts, the XII^th century Angevin court in one case, and the XIV^th century Castillian court in the other. The main topics of these texts are Militia and Amor, synthesized in Briseida’s character, the war prisoner who falls in love with Troylus, but then forgets him for the Greek Diomedes. Even though the relationships are developed according to the rules of courtly love, Briseida’s change of heart is severely rejected by the narrator in a passage with a notable influence from the medieval misogynous speech. There, the voluble and frail woman (mollis femina) is contrasted with the stable and strong-willed fortis femina, identified with a “riche dame de riche rei”. This reference can be interpreted, according to the different texts and contexts of reception, as a dedicatory either to a woman of the court, or to the Virgin Mary, the most perfect model of female virtue.