the word "it" (line 776) and appears to lack human-like features (lines 575-585). Immediately following the conversion, the child is identified according to its male gender (using the word "he") and is transformed into a functional human being with defined characteristics (line 780). Thus, it is only through baptism that the child is given identity, life and form. While the Sultan's gods did not have the ability to provide the child with form, Christianity had the power to do so. Baptism is also the mechanism through which the sultan transitions from "blac and lothely" (line 922) to "Al white bicom thurth Godes gras" (line 923). Modern scholarly works interpret the role of baptism in the text as a device through which to understand attitudes towards Christian superiority. Hagiography Hagiography is the posthumous narration of events from the lives of saints and martyrs. According to The Online Reference Book for Medieval Christianity, this genre generally focuses on male saints as females were believed to be less likely to practice the saintly virtues; however, in this poem we see the princess unusually portrayed as a saint and the protagonist when she protects the knights and subjects from a brutal slaughter at the hands of a non Christian sultan. Critical reception Sierra Lomuto calls attention to the complicated role the princess's gender plays in The King of Tars. She must call upon the priest to perform religious acts of baptism, but because of her knowledge and faithfulness she is still credited with the conversion of both her family and the kingdom, and is therefore seen as a powerful figure in the text. Manuscripts The King of Tars exists in three manuscripts: Auchinleck: Edinburgh, National Library of Scotland, Advocates’ 19.2.1, fols. 7ra–13vb. Vernon: Oxford, Bodleian Library, Eng.poet.a.1, fols. 304vb–307ra. Simeon: London, British Library, Additional 22283, fols. 126rc–128va. The earliest of these three manuscripts, the Auchinleck manuscript, was composed in the 1330s. Scholars have concluded that this manuscript was likely created only a short time after the original version of The King of Tars. Although mostly complete, the Auchinleck manuscript is missing the final lines of the text; some editors choose to fill in these gaps with lines from the Vernon manuscript. The Vernon manuscript was most likely only worked on by two scribes as opposed to the six believed to have been involved with the Auchinleck manuscript. The Vernon and Simeon manuscripts share many