One More Look at the Conversion of Feirefiz

In class we debated over whether or not Feirefiz's conversion was sincere. I think most of us agreed that the conversion was questionable. It seems that Feirefiz only converts for the love of Repanse de Schoye. We are given much evidence of this in the text. "'If I were baptized for your sakes, would Baptism help me to win love?' asked the infidel son of Gahmuret" (p. 404). However, before we put the subject to rest, I wanted to talk about Feirefiz after the conversion.

Feirefiz's life in India, after the conversion to Christianity, seems to prove that a true conversion did take place on his part. Wolfram tells us, "Feirefiz has letters sent throughout the land of India describing the Christian life, which had not prospered so much till then" (p.408). Although the text only provides us with this very short and very brief description of Feirefiz's life post conversion, it is evident that his conversion was valid. Thus, even though Feirefiz might not have chosen to be baptized as a way to become a Christian, he still embraced Christianity afterwards. As a true convert, he uses letters to spread Christianity in the heathen world.

On the other hand, this short passage can also be used to validate our class conclusion: the conversion of Feirefiz was for the love of Repanse de Schoye and therefore cannot be considered a true conversion to Christianity. Since Wolfram provides no indication of what is said in these letters, it could be assumed that Feirefiz is solely praising the Christian life because through it he obtained the woman he most desired. It is obvious that the marriage was a prosperous one: the couple had five children. The image created of Feirefiz's life after his conversion differs from that of the wandering playboy knight who fights many battles and has many women. It is the life of a content married man. This happiness could possibly stem more from his wife than Christianity.