'Fierabras' in Ireland : the Transmission and Cultural Setting of a French

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'FIERABRAS' IN IRELAND - THE TRANSMISSION AND CULTURAL SETTING OF A FRENCH EPIC IN THE MEDIEVAL IRISH LITERARY TRADITION Michael Howard Davies PhD The University of Edinburgh 1995 ABSTRACT Thirteenth-century France saw the construction of the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris to house the Crown of Thorns and other Relics of the Passion which had been purchased by King Louis IX. As a result, a fictitious history that explained how Charlemagne had rescued these Relics from the Saracens and brought them to Paris gained widespread popularity in later medieval France. This history was in the form of an epic poem entitled the Chanson de Fierabras, of which English translations were also made. The history was, in addition, taken to Ireland, where the Irish translation, Sdair Fortibrais developed a wide circulation. However, the Irish text had as its source a Latin translation of the French epic poem. This Latin text is preserved only partially in a unique Irish manuscript of the fifteenth century. It is assumed to be the work of an Irish cleric due to the non-appearance of this version of the story outside Ireland. Hitherto unedited, the principal aim of this project is to provide an edition of the Latin text that lies between the French epic and the Irish text, and then to discuss the position of the story in the Irish literary tradition. The first part of this thesis is entitled 'The Irish Fierabras- the Historical and Literary Framework', divided into five chapters. The first chapter asks why a certain selection of literary texts were translated into Irish during the later Middle Ages, and how they were representing the literary tastes of contemporary France. A comparison is then made with the translation literature of English, Welsh and Old Norse, leading to the conclusion that the history of the Relics of the Passion was the major reason for the interest in the Fierabras story in Ireland as in England. The second chapter outlines the spread of the Fierabras story in France, England and Ireland from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century, noting any political reasons as to why the story may have been popular at any one time. The third chapter considers how the subjects of the Fierabras story were used elsewhere in the Irish tradition in order to see if any political interpretations may be applied. The results are inconclusive. The fourth chapter demonstrates that the Irish text is a close translation of the Latin, which is itself an economical translation of the French poem. The final chapter notes how the Latin text can be considered a scholastic text of the early fourteenth century, and asks if it was the work of one particular author, by comparison with another datable text. The second part, 'Manuscript, Text and Translation', is centred upon the edition of the Latin text. The edition presents the text as it is written in the manuscript, with appropriate emendations - an 'editio princeps'. The title of the text in the manuscript, Gesta Karoli Magni, is preserved. The edition is prefaced by a description of the manuscript, along with the editorial principles. It is noted how the text is preserved on one quire that would probably have been followed by a similar quire, now lost. The edition is followed by a textual apparatus, in which the editorial corrections are explained, and some further notes. A reasonably literal translation lies at the end, in which the difficulties in the Latin text are clarified as far as possible. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I wish to acknowledge the efforts of my supervisor, Professor William Gillies of the Celtic Department of the University of Edinburgh. Throughout the preparation of this thesis, his assistance and direction in all areas have been invaluable. I would especially like to thank him for the benefit of his Latin learning during the preparation of the edition of the text Gesta Karoli Magni, and also for his illuminating comments made during the preparation of the introductory chapters. I would also like to acknowledge Professor Donald Meek, now of the Celtic Department of the University of Aberdeen, for his guidance during the preparatory stages of the work. Additionally, I should like to thank the following members of the Celtic Department of the University of Edinburgh for their help with the Celtic languages, the presentation of editions, and general thesis structure: Mr. Ronald Black, Dr. Thomas Clancy, Dr. Nerys Ann Jones and Mr. Robbie Mullally. Finally, I wish to acknowledge the following scholars for the benefit of their knowledge: Professor Marvin Calker of the Classics Department of the University of Virginia for his information about T.C.D. MS. 667; Professor Kenneth Fowler, formerly of the History Department of the University of Edinburgh, for his overviews of later medieval history; and Mr. Allan Hood of the Classics Department of the University of Edinburgh for his insight into the history of later medieval Latin. CONTENTS Introduction 1 Part One The Irish Fierabras - The Historical 11 and Literary Framework Chaoter One The Insular Representation of the 12 'Matters' of Old French Literature Section One Irish 'Matter' Translations and the 12 Literature of Medieval France Section Two The 'Matter' Translations in 47 English, Welsh and Old Norse Chapter Two The Fierabras Story in the Literature 75 of France, England and Ireland Section One The Chanson de Fierabras and the Relics 75 of the Passion in Later Medieval France Section Two The Later Medieval Derivatives of the Chanson 100 de Fierabras in France, England and Ireland ChaQter Three France, The Saracens and the Relics in 130 the Writings of Later Medieval Ireland ChaQter Four Gesta Karoli Magni- The French 186 Source and Irish Derivative Section One Sdair Fortibrais- An Irish Translation 186 of Gesta Karoli Magni Section Two Identifying a Chanson de Geste 204 Source for Gesta Karoli Magni Section Three Gesta Karoli Magni - A Translation 218 from the Chanson de Fierabras Chapter Five Gesta Karoli Magni- A Specimen of 245 Fourteenth-Century Hiberno-Latin Section One The Latinity of the Author 245 of Gesta Karoli Magni Section Two Gesta Karoli Magni and the 264 Latinity of Simon Semeonis Con cl us ion to Part One 275 Part Two Manuscript, Text and Translation 279 Section One Previous Scholarship on T.C.D. MS. 667 280 and Gesta Karoli Magni Section Two T.C.D. MS. 667 - Notes on the Codex and the Script 285 Section Three The Quire Containing Gesta Karoli Magni 293 Gesta Karoli Magni Comments on the Manuscript Text 299 Gesta Karoli Magni Editorial Principles 302 Hie Incipiunt Gesta Karoli Magni et cetera. 304 Gesta Karoli Magni Textual Apparatus 368 Gesta Karoli Magni Translation 384 Appendices 429 Appendix One Manuscripts Containing the Chanson de 430 Fierabras and its Derivative Versions Appendix Two The Names of Gesta Karoli Magni and 440 Sdair Fortibrais, and their Equivalents in French and English Fierabras Texts Bibliography 469 1 INTRODUCTION The overall aim of this thesis is to make a contribution to the study of how the literary developments in France from the twelfth to the early sixteenth century influenced the literature of Ireland during the same period. In Northern Europe, these centuries approximate to the later Middle Ages historically and the Gothic Age artistically. Gothic Art was propagated in France during the twelfth century, and led to the development of more innovative architectural practises, and to the flourishing of vernacular literature in French. The Gothic styles matured in France and were developed further in the neighbouring countries of Western Europe until the arrival in the North during the sixteenth century of the classically-derived Renaissance ideals. Gothic art was to beC<..ime particularly influential in the places where French culture predominated among the aristocracy, notably England. From the twelfth century, Ireland fell increasingly under the influence of this French based culture. The primary causes were the conquest and settlement of Ireland and the Gaelic Irish by a French-speaking aristocracy from England, and the establishment in Ireland of monastic houses of the continental orders. These factors added impetus to the spread of the Gothic ideals over Ireland. During the course of the later Middle Ages, this influence was particularly profound upon the realm of literature. Foremost among the literary testimonies to this influence is a series of translations concerning some of the most important subjects of the literature of later medieval France. This thesis takes its focus from this group of texts that were translated and copied between the twelfth and early sixteenth centuries, a period at the end of which the Reformation of the English church and subsequent revolts in Ireland led to a new era in Irish history. The means for making this contribution include the proximate aim of presenting an 'editio princeps' of a Latin prose translation of the late twelfth-century chanson de 2 geste, the Chanson de Fierabras, and discussing it.

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