The Liminality of Fairies

Examining the fairies of medieval romance as liminal beings, this book draws on anthropological and philosophical studies of liminality to combine folkloristic insights into the nature of fairies with close readings of selected romance texts. Tracing different meanings and manifestations of liminality in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight , Sir Orfeo , Sir Launfal , Thomas of Erceldoune and Robert Henryson’s Orpheus and Eurydice , the volume offers a comprehensive theory of liminality rooted in str