Erl of Toulouse
TheErl of Toulouse(also known asThe Romance of Dyoclicyane) is aMiddle Englishchivalric romancecentered on an innocent persecuted wife.[1]It claims to be a translation of aFrench lai,but the original lai is lost.[2]It is thought to date from the late 14th century, and survives in four manuscripts of the 15th and 16th centuries. TheErl of Toulouseis written in anorth-east Midlands dialectof Middle English.[3]
Synopsis
[edit]The Queen of Almayne is left in the care of two knights, who woo her. When she rejects them, they introduce a youth into her room, kill him in the presence of witnesses, and accuse her of adultery. A champion saves her from death; then her husband learns that he is his old enemy, the earl of Toulouse.
Sources
[edit]Historically,Bernard I,Count of Toulouse,son of theGuillaume d'Orangeof theCarolingian romances,and the empressJudith,second wife ofLouis the Pious,were indeed charged with adultery and purged themselves by an oath and an offer for trial by combat; the historical situation has been embellished with romantic incident, in that the motives, which were changed from (probably) ambition to thwarted love, and the offer for combat was taken up.[4]
Variants
[edit]The oldest group of romances is the Catalan group, with three Catalan chronicles recording it, along with a Spanish romance, and two French chronicles.[1]Later, there are the English variants, includingThe Erl of Toulouseand Parisian ones, which contain many miraculous elements; still latter, many Danish variants, apparently based on the English ones, are found.[5]The poem is also found in theLincoln Thornton Manuscript,under the titleThe Romance of Dyoclicyane.[6][7]
In theChild balladSir Aldingar,a clearly miraculous champion, a tiny figure of supernatural origins comes to her aid.[8]The Scandinavian ballads include a small but not supernatural champion.[9]
Motifs
[edit]The accusation by the knights, and the defense by a disinterested champion, represent a distinct group of romances, using motifs found only in romances, in contrast to those making use of suchfairy talemotifs as the mother-in-law persecutor, and the champion being the heroine's own children; this is a distinctly medieval addition.[10]
References
[edit]- ^abLaura A. Hibbard,Medieval Romance in Englandp35 New York Burt Franklin,1963
- ^Early English Romances: Done Into Modern English by Edith Rickert: Romances of Love,Chatto and Windus: London, Duffield & Co.: London, 1908
- ^Anne Laskaya and Eve Salisbury."Erle of Toulous: Introduction".TEAMS Middle English Texts Series.University of Rochester.Retrieved25 July2014.
- ^Laura A. Hibbard,Medieval Romance in Englandp39 New York Burt Franklin,1963
- ^Laura A. Hibbard,Medieval Romance in Englandp36 New York Burt Franklin,1963
- ^Brewer, Derek S.;Owen, A.E.B. (1977).The Thornton Manuscript (Lincoln Cathedral MS.91).London: The Scolar Press. p. xvii.ISBN0-85967-352-9.
- ^"Jesu Christ in Trinity / Only God and persons three".Index of Middle English Verse.Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.Archived fromthe originalon 17 March 2012.Retrieved14 April2011.
- ^Laura A. Hibbard,Medieval Romance in Englandp37 New York Burt Franklin,1963
- ^Laura A. Hibbard,Medieval Romance in Englandp38 New York Burt Franklin,1963
- ^Margaret Schlauch,Chaucer's Constance and Accused Queens,New York: Gordian Press 1969 p. 98–9
External links
[edit]- Modern English rendition (1908)
- Erle of Toloustranslated and retold in modern English prose (2016), the story from Cambridge University Library MS Ff.2.38 (translated and retold from University of Rochester, Middle English Text Series – Texts Online: fromThe Middle English Breton Lays,edited by Anne Laskaya and Eve Salisbury, 1995, Medieval Institute Publications for TEAMS).