SOURCE: "Sir Beues of Hamtoun" in Middle English Romances of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1967, pp. 211-20.

In the following excerpt from a work originally published in German in 1967, Mehl analyzes the episodic structure of Bevis, describing it as consciously contrived to increase suspense and keep the audience's attention focused on the title character. The critic also maintains that the poem is a popular chronicle—chiefly concerned with the origins of a noteworthy family—not a courtly romance.

… Sir Beues of Hamtoun was probably one of the best known of the Middle English romances; in popularity it was probably second only to Guy of Warwick with which it has several features in common. Its wide appeal is attested by the transmission alone: the poem is preserved in six manuscripts and a number of early prints; there are also some versions that were current on the...