A Comparative‑Mythological Reading of the Motif of Retrieving the Woman from the Foreign Realm (with a Case Study of the Story of Giv and Farangis in the Shahnameh and the Poem Sir Orfeo)

Bozorg Bigdali, Saeed; Khosravi, Zeinab; Jamali Halabad, Amir Hossein

A Comparative‑Mythological Reading of the Motif of Retrieving the Woman from the Foreign Realm (with a Case Study of the Story of Giv and Farangis in the Shahnameh and the Poem Sir Orfeo)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Saeed Bozorg Bigdali ¹

Zeinab Khosravi ²

Amir Hossein Jamali Halabad ³

¹ Associate Professor of Persian Language and Literature, Tarbiat Modares University

² Graduated from Allameh Tabatabaei University, Master's Degree in Persian Language and Literature

³ PhD student in Persian Language and Literature, Tarbiat Modares University

Abstract

This research undertakes a comparative‑mythological reading of the motif of retrieving the woman from the foreign realm, as seen in the story of Giv and Farangis in the Shahnameh and the Middle English poem Sir Orfeo. The central question of the study is how two texts belonging to different literary traditions—namely, the Persian epic and the Middle English romance—represent a shared pattern in distinct forms. In the Shahnameh, after the death of Siavash, Farangis remains in Turan, and Giv is tasked with bringing her and Kay Khosrow back to Iran. In Sir Orfeo, Herodis is abducted by the King of Fairy, and after years of wandering, Orfeo retrieves her from the fairy world through the power of music and cunning. Using a descriptive‑analytical method grounded in mythological criticism, this research shows that the estranged woman in both narratives is not merely an object of rescue, but rather a sign of a rupture in the primordial order. Her retrieval leads to the restoration of a broader order: in the Shahnameh, through the continuation of Siavash's bloodline and the revival of the Kayanian kingship; in Sir Orfeo, through the recovery of the marital bond and the return of the kingdom.

Keywords

Shahnameh

Sir Orfeo

Giv and Farangis

Herodis

Subjects