the most explicitly religious Middle English romances extant today. The similarity of the tale to the legend St. Eustace, as well as its highly charged religious character, have greatly influenced the direction of its literary criticism. Themes Many of the prevailing themes of Sir Isumbras are common to other Middle English romances. However, analysis of these themes has often been part of the larger debate surrounding its generic identity. Moral/Religious Outlook Many scholars of romance have considered an intense piety and emphasis on saintly or Christ-like heroes characteristic of Middle English and Anglo-Norman tales. In Sir Isumbras, this trend takes the form of reflection upon the sinful pride of Isumbras’ former life and the necessity for extreme penance. The Man Tested By Fate Another common theme in romantic literature, this trope is also contextualized within a pious framework. Isumbras’ penitential suffering is the focus of much of the poem's pathos, and his reaction to his fate reflects the complexity of the chivalric and hagiographic elements at play in the tale. In some ways, it could be read as a rejection of chivalric culture, as his sufferings begin with the loss of his horse, hawks, hounds, and manor—all symbols of his knightly status. However, Isumbras’ subsequent forging of new armor for himself, and his willingness to take up arms against the Saracens indicate a more nuanced break with his former identity. The focus on the redemptive nature of his suffering thus seems more in keeping with that of Geoffroi de Charny concerning the chivalric necessity of living a hard life. Historian Richard Kaeuper has explored this aspect of chivalric piety, arguing that the embrace of hardship and suffering was a core part of knightly self-justification against the harshness of clerical criticism. The motif of the "man tested by Fate" (happiness in youth or in old age) falls under ATU 938 ("Placidas", "Eustacius") in the Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index of folktale classification. The motif is also shared in Italian folktales Catherine and Her Destiny and The Slave Mother. Family Separation and Reunification The separation of a noble or royal family through calamity or misunderstanding is another common theme among Middle English romances, a feature that Felicity Riddy attributes to its “bourgeois-gentry” readership. In Sir Isumbras, the knight's entire family suffers alongside him in the beginning, and the slow and painful loss of his loved ones forms part of Isumbras’ torment in the first stage