Durham E-Theses Suspended Endings: The Mechanics of Medieval Continuation in the Perceval Continuations TETHER, LEAH,ROSEANN How to cite: TETHER, LEAH,ROSEANN (2009) Suspended Endings: The Mechanics of Medieval Continuation in the Perceval Continuations, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/107/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 ABSTRACT LEAH TETHER SUSPENDED ENDINGS: THE MECHANICS OF MEDIEVAL CONTINUATION IN THE PERCEVAL CONTINUATIONS The notion of ‘Continuation’ in medieval literature is a familiar one – but it is one which does not know any precise definition. Despite the existence of important texts which take the form of what we nominally call ‘Continuation’, such as Le Roman de la Rose, Le Chevalier de la Charrette and of course the Perceval Continuations, to date no work exists which specifically examines the mechanics and processes involved in actually producing a ‘Continuation’. The existence and importance of ‘Continuation’ as a genre of medieval literature are undeniable, and yet we cannot begin to claim that we fully understand it. This thesis therefore seeks to make the first tentative movements in creating a working model for understanding what some call the Poetics of Continuation, and it does so by means of close and meticulous analysis of the manuscript tradition and content of the Perceval Continuations. The Perceval Continuations (composed c.1200-1230) constitute a vast body of material which incorporates four separately authored Continuations, each of which seeks to further, in some way, the unfinished Perceval of Chrétien de Troyes – though they are not merely responses to his work. Chronologically, they were composed one after the other, and the next in line picks up where the previous left off, thus they respond intertextually to each other as well as to Chrétien, and only one actually furnishes the story as a whole with an ending. As such the Continuations offer an interesting and varied patchwork from whence to begin a study of this kind. By means of a framework of careful methodological design, incorporating theories on what constitutes an ‘end’ and what is ‘unfinished’, alongside scrutiny of other, selected, medieval ‘ends’ and ‘Continuations’, this thesis examines, first, what the manuscript tradition can tell us about the medieval view of ‘Continuation’ in terms of whether the Perceval Continuations seem to have been considered as one homogenous whole, or as several separate œuvres, and second, in terms of content and construction, what kind of ‘Continuation’ each individual text proposes, and how, mechanically, it does so. This analysis culminates in the creation of an efficient working model that aims to facilitate the further study and investigation of other medieval ‘continuatory’ texts. 1 SUSPENDED ENDINGS: THE MECHANICS OF MEDIEVAL CONTINUATION IN THE PERCEVAL CONTINUATIONS LEAH TETHER PH.D. DURHAM UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF FRENCH SCHOOL OF MODERN LANGUAGES AND CULTURES 2009 2 CONTENTS Acknowledgements………………………………………………………..... 4 MSS Sigla………………………………………………………………........ 5 List of Abbreviations....................................................................................... 6 Introduction..................................................................................................... 7 Chapter 1: Visual and Mechanical Depictions of Authorial Changeovers in the Manuscripts………………………...................................... 27 Chapter 2: Towards a Model of Continuation: Distinguishing Continuations, Sequels and Ends……………………………....... 71 Chapter 3: The First Continuation and Prolongation……………………....... 132 Chapter 4: The Second Continuation and the Imitative Mode.………............ 171 Chapter 5: The Gerbert and Manessier Continuations: Interpolation vs. Conclusion…………………………………....... 198 Conclusion………………………………………………………………........ 229 Appendices I: Keys to the Tables……………………………………………........ 244 II: Table 1 – Contents of the Manuscripts…………………..…......... 245 III: Table 2 – Changeovers Shown by the Manuscripts……...…....... 247 IV: Listing of the Episodes in the Continuations................................. 249 V: Plot Summary of Le Moniage Guillaume....................................... 255 VI: Plot Summary of Le Bel Inconnu................................................... 256 VII: Plot Summary of Chrétien’s Perceval.......................................... 257 VIII: Plot Summary of Section I, Episode 1-5: First Continuation..... 258 IX: Plot Summary of the First Continuation’s Carados Section......... 259 X: Transcription of the Independent Conclusion................................. 260 Bibliography……………………………………………………………........... 262 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am very much indebted to the outstanding help and guidance of Professor Jane H. M. Taylor, without whose unceasing enthusiasm, this thesis could surely not have come to fruition. I hope this thesis marks a fitting end to her exceptional career in the supervision of postgraduate theses. Many thanks also to staff of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the British Library and the Institut de Recherche et d’Histoire des Textes for their support and advice. In addition, I would like to express my thanks to both the AHRC, without whose kind bursary the financial burden of completing a Ph.D. would have been far greater a struggle, and to the administrators of the Durham University Doctoral Fellowship scheme, whose extra financial help has enabled me to attend international conferences where contacts vital to the final outcome of this thesis were happily made. I am most grateful to the many members of the International Arthurian Society (particularly the British Branch) for their support both financially, enabling me to attend their conferences, and academically, facilitating the eventual production of a well-informed thesis. Thank you to Linda Gowans for snippets of ever-useful bibliographical advice, and my very own copy of Gerbert, and to Keith Busby for always having been on the end of an email when I had a question. Finally, thank you to David Cowling and Peter Macardle, whose regular monitoring of my progress and encouragement pushed me in ever-more fruitful and rewarding areas, and thank you to all the staff (academic and administrative) and postgraduates of Durham’s School of Modern Languages and Cultures for always having a cup of tea and a chat handy when progress was slow. There are so many others who have also contributed to my academic research that there is simply not room to mention them all here, but the unwavering support and encouragement of my family must be noted: thank you to Mum, Dad, Maria, Jamie and Nan – you have all given me the occasional kick I needed to get me moving again. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. 4 MSS SIGLA A Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 794 B Bern, Burgerbibliothek 354 C Clermont-Ferrand, Bibliothèque municipale et interuniversitaire 248 D Donaueschingen, Fürstenbergische Hofbibliothek, 97 (and Rome, Bibliotheca Casanatensis, A . I. 19 – copy) E Edinburgh, National Library of Scotland, Advocates’ 19. 1. 5 F Florence, Biblioteca Riccardiana 2943 G Black letter edition published by Galiot du Pré H London, College of Arms, Arundel XIV J London, PRO, E122/100/13B K Bern, Burgerbibliothek 113 L London, British Library, Additional 36614 M Montpellier, Bibliothèque interuniversitaire, Section Médecine H 249 P Paris, Bibliothèque de l’Université de Mons-Hainaut 331/206 (4568) Q Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 1429 R Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 1450 S Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 1453 T Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 12576 U Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 12577 V Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, n. a. fr. 6614 Fragments (no sigla) Private collection, Brussels fragments (formerly de Lannoy) Brussels, Bibliothèque royale IV 852, nos. 10-11 Private collection, Annonay fragments 5 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AFLSHN - Annales de la Faculté des Lettres et Sciences Humaines de Nice AL – Arthurian Literature BBIAS – Bibliographical Bulletin of the International Arthurian Society CCM – Cahiers de Civilisation Médiévale CFMA – Classiques français du moyen âge CRM – Cahiers de Recherches Médiévales FF – French Forum FMLS – Forum for Modern Language Studies FS – French Studies GR – Germanic Review MA – Medium Aevum MLN – Modern Language Notes MLQ – Modern Languages Quarterly MLR – Modern Languages Review NMS – Nottingham Medieval Studies PAPS – Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society PMLA – Publications of the Modern Language Association PQ – Philological Quarterly RMS – Reading Medieval Studies RR – Romanic Review VR