Examining literary narratives from the tenth through the fifteenth centuries, this book explores how writers used their craft to voice harsh criticism of the ruling class and unearths a deep distrust of kings and other authority figures during the Middle Ages.

IntroductionChapter One: The Medieval King, Monarchy, the Court, and Philosophical-Political Reflections. Unexpected Perspectives Toward a Critical Discourse: Political ReflectionsChapter Two: Waltharius: An Honest Warrior Fights Against an Evil King: Early Medieval Criticism of a RulerChapter Three: The Neglectful, Ineffectual, Pathetic, and Useless King: Heinrich der Glîchezâre’s Reinhart Fuchs and the Criticism of a Ruler. The Story of a Complete FailureChapter Four: Herzog Ernst and the Cruel Emperor: Criticism of an Unhinged RulerChapter Five: Disappointment about the Fictional King: Criticism of the Royal Ruler in Marie de France’s LaisChapter Six: A Tyrant King in the Viking World: Egil’s Saga and Other Epic PoemsChapter Seven: The Idealized King Proves to be a Miserable Creature: Political Criticism in the Old French Huon de BordeauxChapter Eight: The Public Discussion of the King in Boccaccio’s DecameronSacrosanct or Vile? The Banalization of Kingship in the Late Middle AgesChapter Nine: A Weak Husband, an Evil King, and a Miserable Character: The Downfall of Charlemagne in Late Medieval Prose Novels by Countess Elisabeth of Nassau-Saarbrücken and Others.Königin Sibille and the Anonymous Malagis With an Interlude Focused on the NibelungenliedEpilogueBibliographyAbout the Author