The lion in Yvain helps mark the transition of the knight Yvain from his mad self to his return into true knighthood. The scene where Yvain decides to help the lion …show more content…
The lion may not represent the various honorable virtues that Yvain’s lion does, but it does exemplify the powerful influence of the Cid. When the lion left his cage, “terror spread through the palace,” and most notably, one witnesses the extreme cowardice of the sons-in-law. However, the Cid simply walks toward the lion, causing fear in the lion to the point that he “stopped and bent his head” (Raffel, 159). Throughout the book, the Cid was not only famed for his great generosity, but his fighting prowess. The people are willing to listen and follow him because they either love or fear the Warrior. Therefore, the lion’s response to Cid has some similarities to Yvain’s lion in terms of the bending of the head for submission but the former happens due to fear and power while the latter occurs out of thankfulness and deference. While the lion does serve to advance the story, his presence merely aids in emphasizing the mightiness that is the