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The Republic of Turkey Ankara University Graduate School of Social Sciences Department of Western Languages and Literatures (English Language and Literature) THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEY ANKARA UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF WESTERN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES (ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE) TRANSCULTURALISM IN MEDIEVAL ROMANCE: ANONYMOUS THE QUEST FOR THE HOLY GRAIL, THE SONG OF ROLAND AND CHAUCER’S TROILUS AND CRISEYDE PhD Dissertation Funda HAY Ankara - 2019 THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEY ANKARA UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF WESTERN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES (ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE) TRANSCULTURALISM IN MEDIEVAL ROMANCE: ANONYMOUS THE QUEST FOR THE HOLY GRAIL, THE SONG OF ROLAND AND CHAUCER’S TROILUS AND CRISEYDE PhD Dissertation Funda HAY Supervisor Prof. Dr. Ufuk EGE UYGUR Ankara – 2019 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to thank my advisor, Prof. Dr. Ufuk Ege Uygur for introducing me to the magical and unlimited world of medieval literature. Without her unique experience and knowledge, I would not have found my way. She always encouraged me to cross my boundaries and to study abroad. Without her courage, I would not have benefited from the unlimited resources of the University of Leeds. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Prof. Emilia Jamroziak and Dr. Catherine Batt for sharing their wisdom with me, and for their guidance during my research at the Institute for Medieval Studies at the University of Leeds. I would also like to thank for their unique knowledge. I would like to thank TUBITAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey) for funding my research in the UK and for their generous support to the many who are able to pursue their studies thanks to their scholarships. I am thankful to the members of the monitoring committee of this dissertation, Prof. Dr. Gülsev Pakkan and Assist. Prof. Dr. Seda Peksen for their fruitful advice and guidance. I am deeply grateful to Prof. Dr. Nazan Tutaş, the Head of the Department, for her understanding and courage, and I cordially extend my thanks to my lifetime mentors Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sıla Şenlen Güvenç and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zeynep Zeren Atayurt-Fenge, they always supported me and listened to me whenever I needed them. I would like to thank my colleagues, Res. Assist. Candan Kızılgöl Özdemir, Res. Assist. Mustafa Uğur Tülüce and Dr Gamze Katı Gümüş for their support and making my life easier. Lastly and most durably, I would like to express my immense debt and gratitude to my parents, Fatma Hay and Mehmet Hay. They were always patient with me and wholeheartedly supported me. i TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………..….. 1 CHAPTER I: TRANSCULTURALISM AND TRANSCULTURAL MISSION OF ROMANCES ………………………………………………….…………………..………... 18 1.1 Historical Background of British Culture ………………………………………... 18 1.2 Defining Culture and Transculturalism ………………………………………...... 23 1.3 Medieval Texts as means of Transcultural Interaction …………………………... 29 1.4 Transhistorical Correlation with Transculturalism …………………………..…... 36 CHAPTER II: TRANSCULTURAL AND TRANSHISTORICAL PATTERNS IN THE SONG OF ROLAND ……………………………………………………….……………..... 50 2.1 Charlemagne Romances in Britain and the “Matter of France” …………….....… 51 2.2 Meeting the Muslims/Pagans in the Song of Roland……………………….…….. 67 2.3 Crossing the Religious Boundaries with Monotheistic and Polytheistic Gods ….. 78 2.4 Memorisation and the Song of Roland …………………………………….…..…. 84 CHAPTER III: TRANSCULTURAL ENCOUNTERS IN THE QUEST FOR THE HOLY GRAIL ……….………..…………………………………………………………………….. 97 3.1 The “Matter of Britain” and Its Celtic Origin ……………………………..…….. 104 3.2 Christian Ideals and their Transhistorical Transmission ………………………... 109 3.3 Eastern Inspiration in the Quest for the Holy Grail ……………………………... 116 3.4 Grail Story and Memory of the Past ………………………………………..….... 128 ii CHAPTER IV: GEOFFREY CHAUCER’S TROILUS AND CRISEYDE AND CROSS- CULTURAL INTERACTIONS …………………………………………………….…… 139 4.1 Intertextuality in Transcultural Process ……………………………………….... 143 4.2 Philosophy and Religion in Troilus and Criseyde ……………………….…….... 150 4.3 Transmission Coming from the East ………………………..……….…………. 161 4.4 Remembering the Past with a Troy Story and the “Matter of Rome” …..……... 173 CONCLUSION …………………………………………………………………………… 192 BIBLIOGRAPHY ………………………………………………………………..……..… 200 ÖZET ……………………………………………………………………………………… 224 ABSTRACT ………………………………………………………………………………. 226 APPENDIX ……………………………………………………………………………….. 228 iii INTRODUCTION Transculturalism, as one of the new disciplines, studies cultural interaction without any time and nation limitation, because it is known that every nation holds diverse cultural patterns as a result of the process of their social and historical development. In transculturalism, cultures are intermingled by breaking down all the boundaries; for that reason, in general, transcultural studies is often identified with postcolonial studies. However, the cultural transaction is unavoidable even before the occurrence of the communities living as a nation under one flag in a particular land. In other words, transculturalism regards culture as a free field in which various races, languages, or communities are mixed in an eclectic or autonomous way with congruence. The main objective of this dissertation is to explore how transcultural studies dates back to the early periods, and to deduce how the cross-cultural interactions are reflected in the literary works of the time. Through this research, it is claimed in the study that a transcultural approach is applicable to the medieval period because the cultural interactions have managed to cross all the boundaries since the beginning of humanity. As a product of culture, medieval literature also conveys cultural shifts while contributing to those changes. As transculturalism has been applied to few medieval epics, this dissertation aims to put a new output on medieval studies by studying the romance genre. It focuses on the extent to which medieval societies interacted with each other and how history full of wars, and intertextuality, translations and local memory took part in this interaction. By dealing with three matters of the romance genre, namely “matter of France,” “matter of Britain” and “matter of Rome,” the dissertation demonstrates how the European cultures and religious beliefs were influenced by previous and contemporary cultures and religious attitudes. The study will analyse two anonymous works, the Song of Roland, and the Quest for Holy Grail, together with Geoffrey Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde, in the light of transcultural patterns. Within this context, medieval culture, social and 1 historical background, the factors which paved the way for cultural interactions are explored. The dissertation focuses on one of the matters of romance in each chapter, and through each matter, the historical and cultural background of Britain are discussed. Another aim of the dissertation is to show how Eastern culture and Islam had an impact on Christian Europe, by tracing the origin of every cultural shift. For this reason, in each chapter, the cultural exchanges between the East and West are discussed in the light of the given works. The relationship between East and West dates back to the old times, and they have fed each other for centuries. Mutual cultural development has taken place in every phase of the historical process, and it is observed that cultural transactions have been transferred in different ways, at different times. While Edward Said elaborates the interaction between the Orient and the Occident, he especially emphasises the events in the Middle Ages; the rise of Christianity, travels, commercial exchange and the militant pilgrimages like the Crusades (1095-1492)1 are the major medieval affairs that lead cultures to be related to each other. Said states that literature belongs to these experiences and a restricted number of typical encapsulations such as the journey, the history, the fable, the stereotype, the polemical confrontation appear. In a way they are “the lenses through which the Orient is experienced, and they shape the language, perception, and form of the encounter between East and West” (Said, Orientalism 58). Today, the dominance of Western culture and Christianity is irrefutable, and colonial expansion has a significant role in the Western world’s establishing such great supremacy. However, Western culture was not created by the contributions of cultures in a specific area; it has also benefited from the East. A single culture either in the West or in the East is the accumulation of various traditions, languages, religions or works of literature from 1 In this study, the important historic events and wars will be discussed in light of the certain literary works; for the dates and timetable, see Appendix. 2 different regions. Thus, this study puts forward these interactions and reinterprets the relation between Eastern and Western cultures. Apart from the above-mentioned factors that affect the transculturality of a piece of work, the educational background of a writer is also pertinent to shape transcultural and transhistorical transmissions. A poet/author applies what he has read/studied while composing his work and every new work bearing traces of its author’s educational background contributes to the current literary tradition that will be a heritage for the next generations. Jeffrey Cohen explains the importance of the social background of the author by referring to Chaucer: He did not grow up reading classic English literature, for the simple reason that there wasn’t any. For the educated class to which he belonged
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