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Orixes Da Materia De Bretaña Santiago Gutiérrez García Orixes da Materia de Bretaña A Historia Regum Britanniae e o pensamento europeo do século XII Centro Ramón Piñeiro para a Investigación en Humanidades Santiago de Compostela 2002 Edita Xunta de Galicia Consellería de Educación e Ordenación Universitaria Dirección Xeral de Política Lingüística Centro Ramón Piñeiro para a Investigación en Humanidades Conselleiro de Educación e Ordenación Universitaria Celso Currás Fernández Director Xeral de Política Lingüística Xesús P. González Moreiras Coordinador Científico Constantino García Direcctor Técnico de Literatura Anxo Tarrío Varela ISBN: 84-453-3319-4 D.L.: C-727-2002 Realización Grafinova S.A. Cuberta Beato de Liébano, Comentario da Apocalipse. Manuscrito F 117/2E, f.117v. Catedral de Burgo de Osma e San Xerome escribindo rodeado dos monxes. Primeira metade do século XVI. Museo Lázaro Galdeano. Madrid. ÍNDICE PRESENTACIÓN ........................................................................................ 5 INTRODUCCIÓN ...................................................................................... 7 CAPÍTULO I Da chegada normanda á monarquía anxevina ........................................ 17 A resistencia celta fronte a saxóns e normandos .................................... 22 A formación da Inglaterra anglonormanda ............................................ 27 A propaganda anxevina e o retorno de Artur .......................................... 34 Historia e historiografía no século XII inglés: celtas, saxóns e normandos ................................................................................ 40 O conflicto entre saxóns e normandos na historiografía da época ........ 45 Os historiadores do século XII e a rememoración do pasado ................ 50 CAPÍTULO II Irredentismo e dignificación dos bretóns ................................................ 61 As dedicatorias da Historia e a celtofilia de Monmouth ........................ 65 O espoir breton na Historia Regum Britanniae ...................................... 76 Galeses e bretóns na crónica de Monmouth ............................................ 85 A política normanda no continente: a cuestión do Imperio .................... 96 As profecías da illa de Bretaña ............................................................ 108 A veracidade das profecías merlinianas ................................................ 114 CAPÍTULO III A irrupción do marabilloso na literatura medieval ................................ 125 Astroloxía e maxia no século XII: a noite de Tintagel e a estrela de lume ...................................................................................... 134 As pedras de Irlanda. Artes mecánicas e tecnociencia ........................ 145 Adiviñación e profecía na obra de Montmouth .................................... 160 O espírito secular da Historia Regum Britanniae: a división eclesiástica de Bretaña ........................................................ 181 CONCLUSIÓN ........................................................................................ 189 APÉNDICE .............................................................................................. 195 BIBLIOGRAFÍA .................................................................................... 203 221 PRESENTACIÓN Dende o momento da súa fundación, o Centro Ramón Piñeiro para a Investigación en Humanidades apostou por impulsar a recuperación e a dignifi- cación da cultura galega dende unha perspectiva caracterizada pola apertura de miras e horizontes que favorecese a ubicación do noso acervo cultural no amplo marco do conxunto dos pobos de Europa. Consciente da importancia desta tare- fa para o desenvolvemento humanístico de Galicia, a Consellería de Educación e Ordenación Universitaria deulle pulo, a través do devandito Centro, á investi- gación de moi variados aspectos da literatura, a lingua, as artes e outras expre- sións do espírito humano. Irrenunciable é, a este respecto, a vocación europeísta do noso país, vincula- do, dende os séculos máis temperáns da Idade Media, ás correntes ideolóxicas e artísticas que circulaban polo Occidente cristián. Foi neses anos cando este o noso finis terrae contemplou o seu primeiro grande esplendor da civilización, na época que se adoita denominar Era Compostelana. Arredor do ideal representa- do pola figura do Apóstolo Santiago, as correntes de pensamento máis avanza- das do mundo coñecido fluíron ata os confíns galaicos pola vía do camiño xaco- beo. O románico e o gótico, a nova teoloxía, as novas mutacións sociais e ideo- lóxicas foron traídas por xentes de toda Europa, que acudían ata a tumba de Santiago o Maior, aló nas terras do cabo do mundo. Entre estas innovacións do pensamento, chegaron as vellas ficcións bretonas que, dende outras fisterras atlánticas, falaban do rei Artur, monarca inmortal dun reino de lendas, depositario das vellas tradicións dos países celtas. Foi, posible- mente, esta afinidade atlántica a que propiciou a aclimatación de tales historias por parte do noso pobo dende datas tan antigas, ata o punto de que remataron por constituír parte integrante do imaxinario colectivo galego e universo ficcional continuamente visitado e redefinido polos nosos escritores. O libro que hoxe teño o pracer de presentar recolle as ideas e a cosmovisión das que eran porta- doras aquelas venerables nugae bretonas, que chegaron a Galicia hai xa case oitocentos anos. O seu coñecemento supón unha pescuda na cultura do noso país; a un tempo cultura europea e universal. CELSO CURRÁS FERNÁNDEZ Conselleiro de Educación e Ordenación Universitaria INTRODUCCIÓN A pesar de que as orixes celtas da materia de Bretaña parecen hoxe en día fóra de toda dúbida, a gran difusión e posterior sona que acadou o citado ciclo literario produciuse gracias á súa expresión en lingua romance durante a segun- da metade do século XII. O fito fundamental que deu paso a esta explosión cons- titúeo a Historia Regum Britanniae de Geoffrey de Monmouth, escrita aínda en latín, pero que preparou o terreo para que o xénero historiográfico e o incipien- te roman trasladasen o universo bretón ó puxante ámbito das literaturas en lin- gua vernácula. En efecto, o inicio da literatura artúrica en vulgar márcao o Roman de Brut de Robert Wace, composto en 1155, a penas quince anos despois de que aparecese a crónica de Monmouth. Contemplado dende esta perspectiva, o éxito da Historia Regum Britanniae, con todo o inesperado que poida parecer, insírese en correntes de pensamento moito máis amplas, que superan o eido da literatura e que afectan ó do progreso, da cultura e da civilización. A crónica galfridiana componse arre- dor do ano 1138, en plena eclosión do denominado Renacemento do século XII1. En verdade, este despertar das mentalidades occidentais, que se prolonga duran- te boa parte da centuria seguinte, funde as súas raíces no século XI, ata achegarse ós anos que flanquean o cambio de milenio. Tralo colapso da organización caro- linxia, o Occidente medieval sumiuse no caos, provocado polo subseguinte baleiro de poder e por unha nova vaga de invasións de pobos bárbaros -sarrace- nos, escandinavos e maxiares-. Tras este período de violencia e escuridade, e arredor da simbólica fronteira do ano mil, comeza a que se deu en chamar Idade Media clásica ou Idade Feudal, época na que Europa sae do letargo en que esta- ba sumida e contempla un poderoso florecer do pensamento, da cultura e da eco- nomía2. O pulo abrangue tódolos aspectos da vida nun espectacular avance que interrelaciona uns factores con outros. Así, por exemplo, a pacificación que per- mite a práctica do comercio abre novos horizontes e facilita o coñecemento de culturas ata o de entón afastadas. Ó mencionar esta circunstancia xorde, inde- 1 A obra clásica a este respecto é a de Ch. H. Haskins, La rinascita del dodicesimo secolo, Il Mulino, Bolonia, 1972 (1ª ed. 1927). Unha actualización dos conceptos formulados por Haskins atópase en R. L. Benson, G. Constable e C. D. Lanham (eds.), Renaissance and Renewal in the Twelfth Century, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1985 (1ª ed. 1982). 2 Para unha perspectiva desta época, vid., fundamentalmente, M. Bloch, La sociedad feudal, Akal, Madrid, 1986, pp. 81-93; M. Crouzet, La Edad Media, en Historia General de las Civilizaciones, Destino, Barcelona, 1980, t. II, pp. 351-372. 7 fectiblemente, a influencia que sobre a Cristiandade exerceu a civilización árabe, depositaria da sabedoría aristotélica e herdeira da cultura grega. Así mesmo, o despegue económico favorece os movementos sociais, o xurdimento de novas fortunas e o aumento das desigualdades. Toda esta convulsión do antigo esque- ma tripartito do feudalismo -bellatores, oratores e laboratores- sáldase con moi variadas consecuencias, entre elas, a aparición da burguesía -primeiro artesanal, máis tarde capitalista- como nova clase social que haberá de competir coa aris- tocracia cabaleiresca pola supremacía social. Estas transformacións van acom- pañadas dunha serie de fenómenos non menos importantes, como son o xurdi- mento do individualismo e o desenvolvemento da vida interior3 ou a necesidade de profundar en experiencias relixiosas máis esixentes que o monaquismo feu- dal que representaba Cluny4. Sen embargo, e por paradoxal que poida parecer, este mesmo progreso propicia o nacemento do espírito laico, que ata o de entón quedara á marxe do monopolio espiritual dos claustros; e con el, o despegue da vida cidadá e, dentro dela, a aparición da figura do intelectual5. Este último erí- xese en paradigma dos novos tempos, fillo da
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