[1] In addition, The King of Tars exhibits attributes of other genres typical of the medieval period, including hagiography, political drama, and miracle tale.
Afraid to push any of them away for fear of being bitten, the princess attempts to flee, only to approach three devils, each “brent as a drake” (burnt as a dragon).
[3] Just as it seems all hope is lost, one of the black hounds transforms before her eyes into Jesus Christ, dressed in a white surcoat, and promises her that she need not dread anything of Ternagaunt (Saracen trinity's version of the Father) or Mahoun (Muhammad).
After being taken to the Sultan's temple—a room strewn with idols ranging from that of the Islamic prophet Muhammad to Jove, Jupiter, and Apollo (from Greco-Roman mythology)—the princess is forced to convert to her husband's pagan religion, during which time she pays lip service to the king's gods and secretly continues to practise her own religion.
[5] This romance appears to have influenced Le Bone Florence of Rome, where the heroine's kingdom is also attacked by a rebuffed suitor.
Siobhain Bly Calkin argues that race and racial change in The King of Tars point to a desire for bodily determination of biological, social, and religious identity.
[16] The King of Tars also tries to point out the similar characteristics of Christians and Saracens, such as when the Sultan desires the princess to convert to his laws before they can be wed, which is a process that also becomes confusing, as the Princess visually converts and becomes a Saracen, but spiritually does not, which further complicates the dilemma of being able to tell a person's religion based on their physical actions and traits.
[16] It is also important to note that the conversion of the Sultan, as previously mentioned, also changed his skin color, which is a further complication of the association of biological traits and religion.
[16] It is important also to note that this work was composed during a time of crusading, and also a time in which non-Christians were often systematically targeted, and also it is important to note how relations between Christians and non-Christians were incredibly tense,[18] which can be seen in the story when the offspring of the Sultan and Princess is born as a formless blob, showing what the author thought would occur when Christians and Saracens had relationships[16] Baptism Baptism in The King of Tars has transformative powers.
[4] 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).
[19][20] Modern scholarly works interpret the role of baptism in the text as a device through which to understand attitudes towards Christian superiority.
[22] 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,[23] and is therefore seen as a powerful figure in the text.