Guy of Warwick, the hero of one of the most ancient and popular of our early English metrical romances. It is a purely English story of the 13th century, related to the Dano-Saxon romance of Havelok by its allusions to Danish wars in England, and to the French King Horn by its adoption of some of the more striking incidents in that story. Its authorship may be due to Walter of Exeter, a 13th-century Franciscan monk, but it has undoubtedly been improved by some French or Norman minstrel. The story has close affinity with that of Guido Tyrius in the Gesta Romanorum. The hero, Sir Guy of Warwick, is son of Segard, steward of Rohand, Earl of Warwick; his instructor in the exercises of chivalry, the famous Héraud of Ardenne. Having fallen deeply in love with Felice, the fair and accomplished daughter of the earl, he fell into a grievous sickness, but was recalled to life by a promise of her hand when he had earned it by knightly deeds. Immediately he crossed to Normandy, at the great tournament of Rouen vanquished every competitor, and at once set out into far lands, travelling through Spain, Almayne, and Lombardy, and gaining the prize in every tournament. He then returned to England, and overcame the famous Dun Cow on Dunsmore Heath, near Warwick. But his haughty mistress was still unsatisfied. Once more he left his country to traverse Flanders and Italy, and here he well-nigh lost his life through the treachery of Otho, the 'felon duke' of Pavia. He next went to Constantinople to save the Emperor
Ernis from the Saracens, slew the mighty Coldran, cousin of the soudan, and scattered his huge army. The grateful emperor pressed on him the hand of his lovely daughter and heiress Loret, but, faithful to Felice, Sir Guy tore himself away, and returned, with many adventures by the way, to his native country. No sooner had he reached its shores than tidings were brought of a most portentous dragon then ravaging Northumberland. He hastened to meet the monster, slew him, and carried his head to King Athelstan, at Lincoln. The fair Felice had now no scruple to marry the hero. But remorse for all the slaughter he had done merely for a woman's love began to seize him, and after forty brief days of wedded happiness he left his home in the dress of a palmer to visit the Holy Land. Here he rescued Earl Jonas from his dungeon, and slew the ferocious giant Amir-aunt, after which he returned to England to find Athelstan besieged in Winchester by the Danish Anlaf, of whose army the mainstay was the terrible Colbrand. Sir Guy, still in his disguise, after a prolonged and awful struggle, succeeded in striking off the champion's head. He now visited his wife all unknown in his palmer's weeds, and then retired to a hermitage at the place still called Guy's Cliff, near Warwick. Before his death he sent her parting ring as a token to Felice, and she arrived in time to close his eyes, survived him for but fifteen days, and was buried in the same grave.
An edition in French prose was printed at Paris in 1525; the earliest English edition is undated, but most probably appeared about 1550. The earliest English MS., that of Auchinleck, was printed for the Abbot's Club in 1840; and again, together with the Caisus MS., by Professor Zupitza for the Early English Text Society (1883-87). A 15th-century version had already been edited for the same society by Zupitza (1875-76). All these MSS. have most probably been translated from the Anglo-French version. See J. Zupitza, Zur Literaturgeschichte des Guy von Warwick (Vienna, 1873); A. Tanner, Die Sage von Guy von Warwick (1877).