Sir Orfeo is a Middle English narrative lay written by an anonymous author in the late 13th or early 14th century. It is a retelling of the story of the ancient Greek Prophet, Orpheus, and his brave quest to rescue his wife from the Fairy King.
The lay revolves around Sir Orfeo, King of England, in despair of the loss of his wife, Heurodis, after she disappears from a trip in their orchard garden. He realizes that the Fairy King, lord of the Underworld, was responsible for her kidnap. As such, Sir Orfeo, so in despair, leaves his court in search of his wife. Along the way, he encounters the mystical present of the Fairy Kingdom and engages with the Fairy King in order to win his Queen back.
The exact dating of the text is still in debate but three preserved manuscripts Auchinleck MS., Harley 3810, and Ashmole 61 have been preserved and date from the 13th to 15th century. The tale is based around the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, which details the presence of the Land of the Dead, interpreted as the Fairy Kingdom in this text. It is still considered to be one of the best of the English romances.
