Motherhood, Building, and Dynasty in the Roman de Melusine

Abstract:

This article explores the intricate connections between motherhood and construction in the fourteenth-century French Roman de Melusine. Presine can be viewed as a model for her daughter, in that she uses physical space to exert her influence on women's networks of family and dynasty. Melusine's legacy is enacted through both prolific reproduction and construction, as she gives birth to ten sons and founds multiple castles and towns. This article argues that Jean d'Arras uses the crusader queen Melisende as another model for his heroine Melusine, indicating that motherhood and construction were connected in history as well as in literature.