
GRACE BAYER
A Knight to Remember

My senior thesis follows Olive, a woman who competes in a jousting tournament, disguised as a male, and Euphemie, the spectating princess who falls in love with this masked knight. After they humiliate the reigning champion, Euphemie's despised soon-to-be husband in an arranged marriage. This is designed to be part of a larger story following the relationship of these two characters as they hide their connection from the public eye.

Thesis Statement
There is some sort of overwhelming sentiment that the queer community is a modern trend. This way of thinking not only inherently limits the types of stories artists can tell but also invalidates the existence of many people throughout our history as a species. I wanted to raise the question, “Are the stories of historical minorities not worth preserving if they contradict the overwhelming sentiment of the time?” I believe that it is worth keeping the mere idea of these individuals alive, so we can cherish the memory of them in a time period that is more accepting. The premise of A Knight to Remember is simple; it is a queer romance set in the medieval period. It follows Olive, a woman who competes in a jousting tournament disguised as a male in order to win the prize money. Along the way, she unknowingly wins the affection of a spectating princess, Euphemie. Both connect over their mutual goal to keep living a double life in the public eye and eventually start to grow closer in private. My research on queer history had a deep impact on the creation of my project and inspired deliberate choices I made. I was captivated by pieces of existing queer medieval literature, like the 13th-century French tales of “Yde et Olive” and “Le Roman de Silence.” As homage to each story, I referenced each respectively by naming the main characters “Olive” and “Euphemie.” This project revolves around the appreciation of the lives and stories of medieval queer individuals. I made sure that it was present from all the echoes of plot points and names. My thesis is intended to be a love letter to bridge the time gap between these stories and a modern audience.