DOCSLIB.ORG

SUBJECTIVITY and ALTERITY in the CHANSON DE ROLAND By

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
SUBJECTIVITY and ALTERITY in the CHANSON DE ROLAND By RELIGIOUS DIFFERENCES: SUBJECTIVITY AND ALTERITY IN THE CHANSON DE ROLAND by Normand Raymond Bachelor of Arts, Laurentian University, 2001 Master of Arts, York University, 2005 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2013 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH DIETRICH SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Normand Raymond It was defended on September 20th, 2013 and approved by John Lyon, Associate Professor, German Department Giuseppina Mecchia, Associate Professor, French Department Todd Reeser, Professor, French Department Dissertation Advisor: Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski, Professor, French Department ii Copyright © by Normand Raymond 2013 iii RELIGIOUS DIFFERENCES: SUBJECTIVITY AND ALTERITY IN THE CHANSON DE ROLAND Normand Raymond, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2013 This dissertation seeks to explore how theological and philosophical traditions during the medieval period lead to the establishment of views on the nature of God, the best manner of living, as well as the best way of remaining faithful to a proper mode of religious worship. Furthermore, this study proposes that the adherence to such religious truths played a significant role in fashioning subjectivities, while simultaneously determining one religious traditions interaction with other religious communities. I argue that by identifying with a certain conception of God, the worldview presented in the “Song of Roland” comes to identify the themes of power/chivalry, subjective becoming, and fear as being inextricably linked in the Franks reaction to the Saracen world. Religious identification thus serves to establish dichotomies, worldviews, and religious differences that ultimately justify violent extremism and genocide. My work contributes and innovates upon much of the existing scholarship, yet I break new ground in the field given that the theoretical framework I have chosen to employ seeks to fully develop the philosophical, political, and theological consequences of early Christian anthropology. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 1 2. CREATION AND THE CREATION OF DIFFERENCES: MEDIEVAL CONCEPTIONS OF SIN........................................................................................................... 12 3. HARMONIOUS CREATION .......................................................................... 17 4. NON-ESSENTIAL DIFFERENCES ............................................................... 26 5. RECOGNIZING GOD AS ALPHA AND OMEGA....................................... 29 6. CRACKS IN THE IMAGE: THE CREATION OF DIFFERENCES ......... 36 7. FAITH AND ITS ENEMIES ............................................................................ 56 8. SUBJECTIVITY AND COMMUNITY IN THE CHANSON DE ROLAND: FIGHTING SUBJECTIVITIES................................................................................................ 78 9. THE OTHERNESS WITHIN........................................................................... 88 10. COMPLEX THEOLOGY IN THE CHANSON DE ROLAND ................... 114 11. COWARDICE AND MATERIALITY: A PERVERSE MIRROR FOR SARACEN PRINCES............................................................................................................... 138 12. EN GUIZE DE: THE DANGER OF APPEARANCES AND THE THREAT OF SARACEN SAMENESS AND NOBILITY…………………………………………………………………………………….181 v 13. LOST IN THE CROWD: THE PAGAN ARMY.................................................. 194 14. TERRE GASTE, THE HELL OF NOTHINGNESS, AND MONSTROSITY.... 203 15. CONCLUSION......................................................................................................... 215 BIBLIOGRAPHY..................................................................................................................... 220 vi 1. INTRODUCTION Paien unt tort e chrestïens unt dreit. It is the goal of this thesis to demonstrate that any understanding of the Chanson de Roland must begin with this fundamental statement. Such a statement concisely articulates a worldview, a theological and philosophical positioning that establishes a dichotomy in the world. A dichotomy that is characterized by very specific qualities, namely, the existence of cultural and existential distinctions (for, we are after all, dealing with the conflict and contrast between two differing cultures and the divergent modes of living, becoming, and expressing their subjectivity) that serve to establish a separation, a gap, between those subjects who view themselves as embodying the "right" side in this fight, from those that are deemed to be embodying the "wrong" side in the fight. The criteria used to determine the appropriateness of a subject's belonging and becoming in this dispute, is to be found in the terms used by Roland to distinguish one side from the other: religious affiliation and fidelity. Consequently, I will be arguing in this thesis that we must view Roland's statement (and the entire poetic edifice that surrounds and contextualizes it) as an attempt to justify, philosophically and theologically, the origin of such a distinction, of the causes the allow such a distinction to appear, as well as the consequences that follow from the emergence of this point of distinction. In other words, I will endeavour to 1 articulate the underlying philosophy and theology which is at the heart of the "Chanson de Roland". I believe such work to be necessary given its absence in the discipline. Curiously enough, although many commentators of the "Chanson de Roland" have emphasized this divide or distinction between Christian and Saracen, few have attempted to explicate the theological origins or philosophical consequences of such a division. This is true of much of the preceding scholarly tradition of the "Chanson de Roland", as well as with more recent articles. Whether it is Bédier, George Fenwick Jones, Pierre le Gentil, Ian Short or others, the dichotomy between Christians and Saracens is largely left in a conceptual terrain vague. It is either explained away as simply a religious opposition (an opposition needing no further analysis since it is assumed that the nature of the religious, as such, and of a religious opposition, to be more precise, does not need any kind of explanation or conceptual detective work), an easy means of dehumanization (one side demeans the other without any apparent conceptual framework being involved), or as a mere artifice of ideology. My thesis seeks to remedy this situation. I will seek to establish how the discovery, and recognition of a foundational Truth, on the part of the Christians, will inevitably lead to the conception/construction of Saracen difference as a hostile, and necessarily oppositional force that must be eradicated. I will therefore be theorizing against a certain academic background. The work of Sharon Kinoshita perhaps best exemplifies this hermeneutical nullification of difference1. The principal thrust of her argument contends that the apparent differences between the Christians 1 This view is best exemplified by Sharon Kinoshita in a series of seminal articles. ‘Pagans are wrong and Christians are right: Alterity, Gender, and Nation in the Chanson de Roland’, in Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies. Vol. 31, No. 1, Winter 2001; Medieval Boundaries. Rethinking Difference in Old French Literature. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 2006. 2 and the Saracens in the “Chanson de Roland” (differences in which the text revels) are neither essential, existential, or of any serious importance. The two sides appear to mirror one another, sharing the same political structures, the same speech and language, the same martial bravado. In two of her articles, she suggests that the real problem in the "Chanson de Roland" is not one of intractable differences, but rather, a menace of nondifferentiation caused by possible cultural osmosis or conversion. What Kinoshita means by this is that the Christians and the Saracens are alike in every conceivable way, except for religion, and religion, contrary to what a reader might think, is not a great barrier or divider. Religious differences can be breached. People can convert. Consequently, religious differences are not all that important. This de-emphasizing of religious difference is clearly indicated by Kinoshita’s structural use of conversion, as well as her performative description of religious difference as a “nothing more”. Kinoshita’s article seems to emphasize the point that what looks to be the same, must inevitable be the same. Hence the reason her argument moves from the appearance of similarity, on the cultural plane, to the assertion of existential similarity in her negation of difference. In other words, “(s)imilar in language and custom, the two sides arguably differ in religion and nothing more”. Such a view, I would argue, misses something crucial. It should be remembered that any two things which are virtually indistinguishable are, in fact, in actuality, distinguished from one another. The gap between them may be considered small or imperceptible. Nonetheless, a gap exists, and it is maintained. A gad the “Chanson de Roland” maintains rather vehemently. This gap is maintained regardless of any possible conversion, since conversion does not render division unstable. Conversion strengthens divisions and gaps. Conversion does not imply
Load more

Recommended publications
  • "Ja Ne M'en Turnerai Trescque L'avrai Trovez". Ricerche Attorno Al Ms
    Ja ne m'en turnerai trescque l'avrai trovez Ricerche attorno al ms. Royal 16 E. VIII, testimone unico del Voyage de Charlemagne à Jérusalem et à Constantinople , e contributi per una nuova edizione del poema Thèse de Doctorat présentée par Carla Rossi devant la Faculté des Lettres de l’Université de Fribourg, en Suisse. Approuvé par la Faculté des Lettres sur proposition des professeurs Aldo Menichetti (premier rapporteur) et Roberto Antonelli (deuxième rapporteur, Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza"). Fribourg, le 10/01/2005 Note finale: summa cum laude Le Doyen, Richard Friedli [Copia facsimile della rubrica e dei primi versi del poema, effettuata nel 1832 da F. Michel sul Royal 16 E VIII della BL] Carla ROSSI - Thèse de doctorat - Note finale: summa cum laude 2 Ja ne m'en turnerai trescque l'avrai trovez Ricerche attorno al ms. Royal 16 E. VIII, testimone unico del Voyage de Charlemagne à Jérusalem et à Constantinople , e contributi per una nuova edizione del poema INTRODUZIONE....................................................................................................................................................... 4 PRIMA PARTE 1. Il testimone unico del VdC e Eduard Koschwitz, suo scrupoloso editore................................................... 6 1. 1. Albori degli studi sul poema: "Dieu veuille que cet éditeur soit un Français!"................................... 6 1. 2. Sabato 7 giugno 1879: il testimone unico scompare dalla Sala di Lettura del British Museum........ 11 1. 3. Eduard Koschwitz.......................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Warrior-Bishops In
    WARRIOR-BISHOPSIN LA CHANSON DE ROLAND AND POWA DE MI0 CID EARL R. ANDERSON ARCHBISHOP TURPIN, THE fighting bishop in La Chanson de Roland, is a character whose behavior and attitudes are contrary to modem assumptions about what a medieval clergyman should have been. The poet's first mention of him, it is true, represents him in a role that is consistent with conventional views about the clergy: he volunteers to travel to Marsilion's court as Charlemagne's peace ambassador (264-73)-but so do the barons Naimon, Roland, and Olivier (246-58). In each subsequent appearance in the poem, however, Brpin accompanies the Frankish rearguard not as a peaceable messenger of the Prince of Peace but more and more as one of Charlemagne's most ferocious warriors. In his "sermun" at Roncevaux, he admonishes the Franks to fight, "Chrestientet aidez a sustenir" '[to] help to sustain the Christian faith' (1129), and "Clamez vos culpes, si preiez Deumercit" 'confess your sins, and pray to God for mercy' (1132), and he promises absolution for sins in exchange for military service, and martyrdom in exchange for death on the battlefield (1134-38). He rides to battle on a horse once owned by Grossaille, a king whom he had killed in Denmark (1488-89). During the course of battle, Tbrpin kills the Berber Corsablix, the enchanter Siglorel, the African Malquiant, the infernally-named Saracen Abisme, and four hundred others, elsewhere striking a War, Literature, and the Arts thousand blows (1235-60, 1390-95, 1414, 1470-1509, 1593-1612, 2091-98). lbrpin and Roland are the last of the Franks to die in the battle.
    [Show full text]
  • Bibliography
    BIBLIOGRAPHY Published Primary Sources Anseys de Ales, ed. HerrnanJ. Green. Paris: [Les Presses modemes], 1939. Aristophanes. Lysistrata, trans. Charles T. Murphy. In Stages of Drama: Classiwl to Contemporary Theatre, eds. Carl H. Klaus, Mirian1 Gilbert, and Bradford S. Field, Jr., 5th edn. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2003, p. 121, l. 663 [pp. 114-31] Aurassin et Nirolette, ed. Jean Dufoumet. Paris: Flammarion, 1984. Batts, MichaelS. Das Nibelungenlied: Paralleldrurk der Handsrhriften A, B und C nebst Lesarten der ubr(<5en Handsrhriften. Tiibingen: Niemeyer, 1971. Baumgartner, Emmanuele and Franc;oise Vielliard. Eds., Le Roman de Troie de Benoit de Sainte-Niaure. Paris: Librairie generale franc;aise, 1998. Bergman, Sister Mary Bemardine. Trans., Hrosvithae Liber Tertius: A Text and Translation, Introduction and Commmtary. Covington, KY: The Sisters of Saint Benedict, 1943. Berry, Virginia Gingerick. Ed., Odo of Deuil, De profertione Ludoviri VII in orientem. New York: Columbia University Press, 1948. The Book of a Thousand ]udgemmts: A Sasanian Law-Book, Introduction, Transcription and Translation ofthe Pahlavi text, Notes, Glossary, and Indexes by Anahit Perikhanian; Translatedfrom the Russian by Nina Garsorian. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers in Association with Bibliotheca Persica, 1997. Camar de mio Cid, ed. Alberto Montaner. Biblioteca Clasica 1. Barcelona: Critica, 1993. Cazelles, Brigitte. The Lady as Saint: A Collection of Frmrh Hagiographir Romances of the Thirteenth Century. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1991. Chretien de Troyes. Romans. Paris: Pochotheque/Livre de Poche, 1994. Combarieu du Gres, Micheline de, and Gerard Gouiran. La chanson de Girart de Roussillon. Paris: Librairie Generale Franc;aise, 1993. Cooper, Louis, and Franklin M. Waltman.
    [Show full text]
  • © in This Web Service Cambridge University
    Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-04278-0 - Romance And History: Imagining Time from the Medieval to the Early Modern Period Edited by Jon Whitman Index More information Index A note is normally indexed only if the topic for which it is cited is not specified in the corresponding discussion in the body of the text. Abelard, Peter, 64 193–4, 196, 200–2, 204–5, 211, 249, Achilles Tatius, 200 281 (n34), 293 (n11), 294 (n21), Adémar de Chabannes, 143 302 (n18) Aeneas, 9–10, 26, 29–30, 44, 80–1, 130, 140, Aristotle, 165, 171, 176, 181, 195, 198, 201–2, 225 154–5, 188, 199, 202–3, 209, 219, Poetics, 17, 151, 183, 190–4, 204 296 (n27) Armida, 18, 198, 204 see also Eneas; Roman d’Eneas; Virgil artfulness, 9, 26–31, 34–8, 55, 67, 226, 252 Alamanni, Luigi, Girone il Cortese, 291 (n12) see also ingenium/engin/ingenuity Albanactus, 154 Arthur, 10, 13, 56–73, 75–9, 83, 105–33, 141, Alexander the Great, 9–10, 23–7, 32–8, 44, 101, 150, 156, 158, 160, 166, 197, 220, 225, 103, 222–3 247–9 Alfonso I d’Este, 152 see also Arthurian romance; “matters” of Alfred the Great, 107 narrative, Britain allegory, 18, 31, 206–8, 217–18, 221, 225, 234, Arthur, son of Henry VII (Arthur Tudor), 109, 295 (n22) 123 Alliterative Morte Arthure, 13, 105, 107, 110–19, Arthurian romance, 3, 5–6, 11, 14–17, 47, 90–104, 248 145, 149–50, 158–62, 169–78, 181, 188, 197, Amadis de Gaula/Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo, 224, 229, 247–9 16, 124, 169, 175–9, 228–30 see also Arthur; “matters” of narrative, Britain Ami et Amile, 279 (n2) Ascham, Roger, 123 Amyot, Jacques, 191–2 Aspremont,
    [Show full text]
  • 14 Pierrepont at a Crossroads of Literatures
    14 Pierrepont at a crossroads of literatures An instructive parallel between the first branch of the Karlamagnús Saga, the Dutch Renout and the Dutch Flovent Abstract: In the French original of the first branch of the Karlamagnús Saga [= fKMSI], in the Dutch Renout and in the Dutch Flovent – three early 13th century texts from present-day Bel- gium – a toponym Pierrepont plays a conspicous part (absent, however, from the French models of Renout and Flovent); fKMSI and Renout even have in common a triangle ‘Aimon, vassal of Charlemagne – Aie, his wife – Pierrepont, their residence’. The toponym is shown to mean Pierrepont (Aisne) near Laon in all three texts. In fKMSI, it is due almost certainly to the intervention of one of two Bishops of Liège (1200−1238) from the Pierrepont family, and in the other two texts to a similar cause. Consequently, for fKMSI a date ‘before 1240’ is proposed. According to van den Berg,1 the Middle Dutch Flovent, of which only two frag- ments are preserved,2 was probably written by a Fleming (through copied by a Brabantian) and can very roughly be dated ‘around 1200’ on the basis of its verse technique and syntax. In this text, Pierrepont plays a conspicuous part without appearing in the French original.3 In the first fragment, we learn that King Clovis is being besieged in Laon by a huge pagan army (vv. 190 ss.). To protect their rear, the pagans build a castle at a distance of four [presumably French] miles [~18 km] from Laon. Its name will be Pierlepont (vv.
    [Show full text]
  • Jonesexcerpt.Pdf
    2 The Texts—An Overview N’ot que trois gestes en France la garnie; ne cuit que ja nus de ce me desdie. Des rois de France est la plus seignorie, et l’autre aprés, bien est droiz que jeu die, fu de Doon a la barbe florie, cil de Maience qui molt ot baronnie. De ce lingnaje, ou tant ot de boidie, fu Ganelon, qui, par sa tricherie, en grant dolor mist France la garnie. La tierce geste, qui molt fist a prisier, fu de Garin de Monglenne au vis fier. Einz roi de France ne vodrent jor boisier; lor droit seignor se penerent d’aidier, . Crestïenté firent molt essaucier. [There were only threegestes in wealthy France; I don’t think any- one would ever contradict me on this. The most illustrious is the geste of the kings of France; and the next, it is right for me to say, was the geste of white-beardedPROOF Doon de Mayence. To this lineage, which was full of disloyalty, belonged Ganelon, who, by his duplic- ity, plunged France into great distress. The thirdgeste , remarkably worthy, was of the fierce Garin de Monglane. Those of his lineage never once sought to deceive the king of France; they strove to help their rightful lord, . and they advanced Christianity.] Bertrand de Bar-sur-Aube, Girart de Vienne Since the Middle Ages, the corpus of chansons de geste has been di- vided into groups based on various criteria. In the above prologue to the thirteenth-century Girart de Vienne, Bertrand de Bar-sur-Aube classifies An Introduction to the Chansons de Geste by Catherine M.
    [Show full text]
  • ENG 251 Roland Study Guide
    ENG 251 Roland Study Guide WORLD LITERATURE I (ENG 251) Roland Study Guide Dr. Diane Thompson, NVCC, ELI Charlemagne and Chansons de Arabs in Spain Crusading Soldiers of Christ Feudalism Roncevaux Geste The Story of Kings and Chansons as Poetry Paratactic Structure Chanson de Roland Roland Heroes Pagans, Demons and Notes on the Song of Roland by Charles Responsibility Works Cited Foreigners Evans CHARLEMAGNE AND RONCEVAUX Pope Leo crowned Charlemagne in Rome in Christmas Day, 800, making him the first Western Roman emperor in more than 300 years. As head of the Holy Roman Empire, Charlemagne became a figure of legend and stories for hundreds of years. Note: Charles = Charlemagne; Franks = French August 15 778 Battle of Roncevaux What really happened according to French and Arab Chroniclers of the time: Charlemagne went into Spain "at the request of the ...Saracen governor of Saragossa...who was in revolt against his master, the...emir of Cordova. ...Charlemagne appeared at Saragossa, where he thought the gates would open [but]...The city resisted, the siege dragged on; bad news from Saxony necessitated a hasty return.... On the way they encountered a city that refused them passage although it was Christian: Pamplona. The emperor razed it without mercy, then fell into the fatal ambush in which he came to know the "treachery of the Basques." But it is possible that the Basques were given considerable assistance by the Arabs." (Le Gentil, 14-15) Top ARABS IN SPAIN To twelfth century Europeans, "The Arab world was...a civilization apparently superior to their own in most if not all aspects of daily living, one whose trade goods were coveted and depended on [and] whose luxury was astounding...
    [Show full text]
  • The Gendered World of the Chanson De Guillaume
    The Gendered World of the Chanson de Guillaume Patricia Black California State University, Chico The Chanson de Guillaume remains a problematic epic when viewed against the influential Oxford Roland, not to mention other chansons de geste. Though it is one of the earliest epics extant, it nevertheless fails to conform to the "early epic" criteria. Doubly double, it not only repeats the same events already narrated, it has a sequel qua repeat known as Aliscans. In the doubled narration of the Chanson de Guillaume itself, the repeated material emphasizes the scenes between William and Guibourc as well as the battles. The prominent role she plays may or may not define the epic norm, according to which critic one follows.1 At any rate, Guibourc has no counterpart in the Oxford Roland. However, in the Chanson de Guillaume, Guibourc is not alone: Blancheflor, the kings wife, also plays a brief but important part in the action. Though Guibourc and Blancheflor never meet, they nevertheless have a relationship which bears on the problematic nature of this epic. A convert to Chris- tianity, Guibourc helps turn the tide against the Saracens and save the city of Orange. Their strategies include William's journeying to King Louis' court for the express purpose of enlisting aid; unfortunately, Guibourc and William will finally not be able to de- pend on their sovereign for more than a token gesture. Louis is influenced by Blancheflor, his wife and 21, 3-4 42 Patricia Black Williams sister. She resists giving help to William out of animosity toward Guibourc. The clash between these two incarnations of medieval women ends by revealing fundamental attitudes toward women in an epic context and makes the Chanson de Guillaume an important work in specifically tracing attitudes to- ward gender in the medieval period.
    [Show full text]
  • Recent Dissertations Copies of the Complete Text of These Theses Can
    Recent Dissertations Copies of the complete text of these theses can be obtained from Uni- versity Microfilms (Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan) in any of three for- mats: hardbound paper, softcover paper, and microfilm positive. We wish to thank the Xerox Corporation for giving Olifant permission to repro- duce these abstracts from Dissertation Abstracts International. A LINGUISTIC: DATING OF THE OXFORD CHANSON DE ROLAND. Susan Elizabeth Farrier, Ph.D. Cornell University, 1985. ANY SCHOLARS state as a truism that the Oxford Chanson de Roland M was written sometime around 1100. This date is misleading not only because it is artificially precise, but also because it suggests that the whole poem was composed all at the same time. Linguistic dating, however, re- veals vestiges of a tenth-century poem, as well as significant portions of eleventh- and twelfth-century redactions. These three linguistic strata are fairly evenly distributed throughout the poem — even in the so-called "Baligant episode." Linguistic dating essentially consists of two steps: (1) identifying the Latin forms of the Old French words found at the assonance and (2) de- termining the stage of development which the stressed vowel in each Old French word must have reached in order to assonate properly with all other verse-final words in the laisse. When the various strata are analyzed for stylistic consistency, the re- sults are surprisingly convincing. The tenth-century poet's work remains only in fragmentary version, so little can be said of his style — except in re- lation to his use of the topos of the prophetic dream.
    [Show full text]
  • Anthropoetics XX, No. 2 Spring 2015
    Anthropoetics XX, 2 Anthropoetics XX, no. 2 Spring 2015 Peter Goldman - Originary Iconoclasm: The Logic of Sparagmos Adam Katz - An Introduction to Disciplinarity Benjamin Matthews - Victimary Thinking, Celebrity and the CCTV Building Robert Rois - Shared Guilt for the Ambush at Roncevaux Samuel Sackeroff - The Ends of Deferral Matthew Schneider - Oscar Wilde on Learning Outcomes Assessment Kieran Stewart - Origins of the Sacred: A Conversation between Eric Gans and Mircea Eliade Benchmarks Download Issue PDF Subscribe to Anthropoetics by email Anthropoetics Home Anthropoetics Journal Anthropoetics on Twitter Subscribe to Anthropoetics RSS Home Return to Anthropoetics home page Eric Gans / [email protected] Last updated: 11/24/47310 12:58:33 index.htm[5/5/2015 3:09:12 AM] Goldman - Originary Iconoclasm Anthropoetics 20, no. 2 (Spring 2015) Originary Iconoclasm: The Logic of Sparagmos Peter Goldman Department of English Westminster College Salt Lake City, Utah 84105 www.westminstercollege.edu [email protected] The prohibition of "graven images" in the Jewish scriptures seems to have no precedent in the ancient world. Surrounded by polytheistic religions populated with a multitude of religious images, the ancient Hebrews somehow divined that the one true God could not be figured, and that images were antithetical to his worship. It's true, of course, and significant, that every known culture has taboos regarding representations qua representations, often but not exclusively iconic figures.(1) But only the Hebrews derived a prohibition on images from the recognition that God is both singular and essentially spiritual, hence resistant to material representation.(2) In the ancient world, images were connected to the divine, either as the privileged route to god's presence, both dangerous and desirable; or as forbidden temptations to idolatry, the worship of "false gods," however defined.
    [Show full text]
  • Post-Chrétien Verse Romance the Manuscript Context
    Cahiers de recherches médiévales et humanistes Journal of medieval and humanistic studies 14 | 2007 L’héritage de Chrétien de Troyes Post-Chrétien Verse Romance The Manuscript Context Keith Busby Electronic version URL: http://journals.openedition.org/crm/2646 DOI: 10.4000/crm.2646 ISSN: 2273-0893 Publisher Classiques Garnier Printed version Date of publication: 15 December 2007 Number of pages: 11-24 ISSN: 2115-6360 Electronic reference Keith Busby, « Post-Chrétien Verse Romance », Cahiers de recherches médiévales [Online], 14 | 2007, Online since 15 December 2010, connection on 13 October 2020. URL : http:// journals.openedition.org/crm/2646 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/crm.2646 © Cahiers de recherches médiévales et humanistes Post-Chrétien Verse Romance : The Manuscript Context1 The manuscripts in which the post-Chrétien (« epigonal ») verse romances are preserved can speak volumes about their transmission and reception. In some cases, these are intimately bound up with the works of the master, although the intertextuality of the whole corpus of verse romance transcends the codicological context. I shall review here selected manuscripts in which some epigonal romances have been transmitted and what they can tell us about ways in which these texts were read in the Middle Ages. The romances in question are : Renaut de Bâgé (Beaujeu), Le bel inconnu Paien de Maisières, La mule sans frein Le chevalier à l’épée Raoul de Houdenc, Meraugis de Portlesguez Raoul (de Houdenc ?), La vengeance Raguidel L’âtre périlleux Guillaume le Clerc, Fergus Hunbaut Yder Floriant et Florete Le chevalier aux deux épées Girard d’Amiens, Escanor Claris et Laris Jehan, Les merveilles de Rigomer Compared with Chrétien’s romances, themselves only preserved in half-a- dozen copies on average (but fifteen plus fragments of Perceval), these works are mainly codicological unica, with only Meraugis de Portlesguez, La vengeance Raguidel, L’âtre périlleux, and Fergus surviving in more than one complete exemplar.
    [Show full text]
  • The Role of Images in Medieval Depictions of Muslims
    Suzanne Akbari IMAGINING ISLAM: The Role of Images in Medieval Depictions of Muslims On the edges of medieval Europe, there was real contact between Chris­ tians and Muslims. Multicultural, multi-religious societies existed in al-Andalus and Sicily, while cultural contact of a more contentious sort took place in the Near East. In most parts of medieval Europe, how­ ever, Muslims were seen rarely or not at all, and Islam was known only at second - or third-hand. Western European accounts written during the Middle Ages invariably misrepresent Islam; they vary only to the degree with which they parody the religion and its adherents. One might imagine that such misrepresentation is simply due to the limited information available to the medieval European curious about Islam and the Prophet. If such were the case, one would expect to find a linear progression in medieval accounts of Islam, moving from extremely fanci­ ful depictions to more straightforward, factual chronicles. Instead, one finds accurate, even rather compassionate accounts of Islamic theology side by side with bizarre, antagonistic, and even hateful depictions of Muslims and their belief. During the twelfth century, the French abbot of Cluny, Peter the Venerable, engaged several translators and went to Muslim Spain to produce a translation of the Qur'an and to learn about Islam in order to effect the conversion of Muslims to Christianity by means of rational persuasion, approaching them, as Peter himself put it, "not in hatred, but in love."1 During the same century, however, the chanson de geste tradition flourished in France and began to be exported into the literatures of England and Germany.2 In these twelfth-century epics glorifying war and chivalric heroism, Muslims are depicted as basically similar to Christians: the structure of their armies, their kings, and their martial techniques are essentially the same.
    [Show full text]