Introduction

Summary

Ther saugh I pleye jugelours,

Magiciens, and tregetours,

And Phitonesses, charmeresses,

Olde wicches, sorceresses,

That use exorsisacions,

And eke these fumygacions;

And clerkes eke, which konne wel

Al this magik naturel …

(Chaucer, The House of Fame, ll. 1259–66)

Magic and the supernatural colour the romance writing of the medieval period, and play prominent, formative roles within the imaginative worlds of the Middle Ages. As Chaucer so vividly conveys in The House of Fame, magic has many faces, from playful (created by jugglers and ‘tregetours’ [illusionists]) to sinister – the black magic associated with witches, sorceresses and ‘Phitonesses’ (mediums), of whom the Witch of Endor is the archetype. The references to ‘magik naturel’ suggest more positive, learned forms of magic, especially associated with clerks. That witches and sorceresses may conjure demons, or may be themselves of otherworldly origin, and that magic is often opposed to miracle, indicates its place within a wider notion of the supernatural that spans demonic, faery and divine. In Chaucer's House of Fame, however, magicians are placed alongside musicians, associated with play, and they seem appropriate to this surreal dream vision of the fantastical house of the goddess of Fame. In the same way, it seems fitting that magic and supernatural should recur in the romance genre, associated with entertainment and fantasy. In romance, engagement with the magical or marvellous, whether fearful or wish-fulfilling, is expected in order to provide escape from the humdrum. Romance creates possible worlds that are exotic, magical and wondrous, whether in terms of adventure, love or vision. The great conventions of romance are patterns of wish-fulfilment: loss and return, separation and reunion, death and rebirth, and these are often worked out through supernatural intervention that opposes everyday reality with marvellous possibility. The most celebrated romance episodes, written and rewritten across different periods, and providing subjects for other art forms, are repeatedly linked to the wonder and strangeness of magic and the supernatural: the love of Tristan and Isolde, inspired by a magical potion; the visionary quest for the Holy Grail; the enchantments of Merlin and Morgan le Fay.