The Portrayal of Romans in Medieval Arthurian Literature and the Matter of Britain

Course Code: EN5610 Candidate Number: 1802747 The Portrayal of Romans in Medieval Arthurian Literature and the Matter of Britain Course Title: Dissertation in Medieval Studies Course Code: EN5610 Candidate Number: 1802747 Supervisor: Dr Catherine Nall 1 Course Code: EN5610 Candidate Number: 1802747 Table of Contents Introduction 3 Chapter 1: The Romans in Context 4 Brutus and Troy 4 Roman Rule 7 Roman Relations and Blood 8 Constantine and Christianity 10 The Harmful Influence of Rome 11 Belinus and Brennius 13 Chapter 2: The Demonization of the Romans 17 Roman Behaviour 17 Roman Troops 18 The Influence of the Crusades 19 British and Roman Christianity 21 Chanson Pagans 22 Lucius Hiberius 24 Pagan Gods 25 Foreign Lands 26 Giants 28 Romans in La Mort le Roi Artu 29 Chapter 3: Legalistic Reasons for the Roman War 31 The Use of ‘Historical’ Framework and Precedent 31 Cador’s Argument and the Importance of Warfare 35 The Duty of Good Rule 37 The Questioning of Right in the Alliterative Morte Arthure 39 Conclusion 43 Bibliography 45 Primary sources 45 Secondary sources 45 Cover illustration: Arthur fights a Roman general, from The book of the treasure of histories, written and illuminated about 1415. (Bibliotheque nationale, Paris, MS Arsenal 5077, f.298) 2 Course Code: EN5610 Candidate Number: 1802747 Introduction The Matter of Britain is among the main bodies of medieval literature, the Arthurian aspect being the most prominent part. Romans play a significant role in this body of work. Sometimes Britain is linked to them, in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia regum Britanniae (c.1136), perhaps the defining piece of the Matter of Britain, the British are depicted as sharing with the Romans a common descent from Troy.1 Yet, especially in Arthurian literature, where Arthur fights a war against Rome, the Romans are depicted in a very negative light. In this dissertation, I will examine the different ways in which Rome is portrayed in the Matter of Britain, with a particular emphasis on the Romans in Arthurian literature. The first chapter will examine the Romans in the context of the Matter of Britain, excluding their appearances in the Arthur mythos. This will examine the alterations to history in Britain-Rome interactions. The second chapter will explore how the Romans are demonized, particularly in their war with Arthur. In nearly all versions, the Romans are depicted in an oriental and pagan sense, with forces consisting of people from lands which western Christendom associated with paganism. The third chapter will analyse Arthur’s conflict with Rome on a legal level. Arthur rejects the Romans’ claim that he should pay them tribute, arguing that Britain should rule Rome. The legal justifications for this involve the examination of different reasons for war. However, I will also examine changing ideas of conflict and the way in which they are used to criticize Arthur’s actions in the Roman campaign, the Alliterative Morte Arthure (c.1400) eventually criticizing Arthur for his violent actions where he then, eventually, loses his rightful cause for war.2 Through examining the depictions of Romans throughout this material, it is clear that Matter of Britain writers try to enhance Britain’s prestige through a distortion of historical events: the writers’ priorities shift over time, justifying war by demonising their foes and discussing good rule. 1 Geoffrey of Monmouth, The History of the Kings of Britain, trans. by Lewis Thorpe (London: Penguin Books, 1988). All subsequent references are to this edition and are given parenthetically in the text. 2 Anon., 'Alliterative Morte Arthure', in King Arthur's Death: The Middle English Stanzaic Morte Arthur and Alliterative Morte Arthure, ed. by Larry D. Benson (Kalamazoo: Medieval Institute Publications, 1994), pp.126- 284. All subsequent references are to this edition and are given parenthetically in the text. 3 Course Code: EN5610 Candidate Number: 1802747 Chapter 1: The Romans in Context In the Matter of Britain the Romans play a significant part, not just in Arthurian literature but throughout the genre. British interactions with Rome run through the Matter of Britain, Briton-Roman interactions being a major thread of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia regum Britanniae. The two peoples are connected from their very beginnings, sharing ancestry from Troy. Geoffrey, however, portrays the British as superior to the Romans. This is significant as medieval culture viewed Rome as the pinnacle of civilisation, thereby surpassing Rome makes Britain the world’s foremost civilisation. In battles between these peoples, the British are usually victorious; British losses only occurring in the presence of internal problems. The events in Historia regum Britanniae demonstrate how Geoffrey reinterpreted the history of Rome and Britain. He even extends Britain’s influence into Roman history before the peoples historically interacted, the fourth-century sack of Rome becoming a British victory. Later writers, such as Wace and Layamon, change this by increasing the tensions between the two peoples, turning history far more into a continual struggle between Britain and Rome. However, the overall narrative thread in their versions of British history is the same, demonstrating the heroic British and the inferior Romans. Brutus and Troy The Trojan Prince Brutus is the first major figure discussed in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia regum Britanniae. Geoffrey details the way in which Brutus, Aeneas’ great-grandson, leads the Trojans from Greece to Britain, which is named after him, and becomes its first King. This story was not original to the Historia regum Britanniae, having been written in the eighth-century Historia Brittonum. However, this version gave multiple British origins. Though Brutus’ descent from Aeneas is similar to Geoffrey’s version, there are accounts where Britain is named after its conqueror, the Roman Governor Brutus, and another where Brutus is traced back to Noah’s sons.3 Geoffrey decides to use the account in which 3 See, for instance, Nennius’ eighth-century Historia Brittonum in J. A. Giles, Six Old English Chronicles (London: Henry G. Bohn, 1848). 4 Course Code: EN5610 Candidate Number: 1802747 Trojans colonise Britain. This simultaneously depicts a clear link between Rome and Britain, alongside a clear break between the Trojans who became Romans, and those who became Britons. In the Middle Ages Rome was considered the pinnacle of western civilisation. The Romans claimed descent from Troy, stating that the Trojan Prince Aeneas had escaped Troy and settled in Italy, his descendants founding Rome. Due to Rome claiming Trojan descent, numerous western societies tried to trace themselves back to Troy. Francis Ingledew states that ‘[g]enealogical textuality in family, regnal, and national histories’ held further significance over the twelfth-century, as aristocratic culture began using details such as Trojan descent.4 For example, the Sir Gawain and the Green Knight-poet opens the poem by referring to Troy’s destruction and descendants, stating ‘[f]ro riche romulus to rome ricchis hym swyþe / [w]ith gret bobbaunce þat bur3e he biges vpon first’, and then refers to Tuscany and Lombardy’s founding, before narrating ‘[a]nd fer ouer þe french flod felix brutus / [o]n mony bonkkes ful brode bretayn he settez’. 5 This passage summarises medieval views on Troy; civilisation came from Troy and Christendom’s different societies wanted to trace their descent back to the classical world. Geoffrey’s emphasis on Britain’s Trojan descent, different to other versions of Britain’s origins, was partially what made this legend of Trojan founders so popular to medieval culture. Geoffrey heavily emphasises Britain and Rome’s shared genealogy. When Julius Caesar hears of Britain’s origins, he states ‘[t]hose Britons come from the same race as we do… we must not shed the blood of our kinsmen’ (p.107). This recognition from such an eminent Roman, who loomed large in medieval consciousness as one of the Nine Worthies, elevates the Britons to a similar rank. Layamon’s Brut creates an impression of more authority for this apparent shared descent, Caesar stating of the Britons ‘we are all descended from the same stock, so the books inform us’ (p.189).6 In Geoffrey, when Caesar orders Britain’s submission, King Cassivelaunus states that ‘a common 4 Francis Ingledew, ‘The Book of Troy and the Genealogical Construction of History: The Case of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae’, Speculum, 69.3 (1994), 665–704 (pp.668-69). 5 Anon., Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, ed. by J. J. Anderson (London: Everyman, 1996), ll. 8-9; 13-14. 6 Layamon, Brut, or, Hystoria Brutonum, trans. by W. R. J. Barron and S. C. Weinberg (New York: Longman, 1995). All subsequent references are to this edition and are given parenthetically in the text. 5 Course Code: EN5610 Candidate Number: 1802747 inheritance of noble blood comes down from Aeneas to Briton and to Roman alike’ (p.108), this kinship meaning that the two races should be joined. The Norman-poet, Wace, expands on this in his Roman de Brut, where Cassivelaunus states to Caesar ‘[s]ince we descend from the same lineage, we should be equal to the Romans’ (p.101).7 Geoffrey’s Historia ends with the last British King, Cadwallader, going to Rome to die on the advice of a divine voice, after the Saxons drive him from Britain. The story of the Kings of Britain begins and ends in Italy, demonstrating the Britons’ ancestral links to Rome. Geoffrey’s depiction of British history illustrates the shared ancestry of the Romans and British; ending with British kingship returning to the place of common descent. The difference between Geoffrey and other writers who attempt to link their society to Rome through Troy, is that Geoffrey wishes to do more than have the Britons linked to the Romans; he intends to have the Britons surpass the Romans.

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