L'exemple Du Lancelot Prore
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University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 2014 Des Fictions De L'identite Au Xiiieme Siecle : L'exemple Du Lancelot Prore Charlotte Ritzmann University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, and the Medieval Studies Commons Recommended Citation Ritzmann, Charlotte, "Des Fictions De L'identite Au Xiiieme Siecle : L'exemple Du Lancelot Prore" (2014). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 1419. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1419 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1419 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Des Fictions De L'identite Au Xiiieme Siecle : L'exemple Du Lancelot Prore Abstract The Lancelot proper, a vast fictional cycle written in French in the 13th century, is a prime example of how representations of identity are developed in fiction before the modern era. What determines identity, how the subject is conceived of and represented, if at all, in medieval literature, and how the limits of the subject are reflected in the limits of the courtly romance genre are the driving questions of this study. In order to answer them, the text has been divided into four spaces, each space unveiling identity in a different manner. Using several markers of identity as analytical tools allows for a detailed study of the constructions and destructions of fictional identity. Psychological markers such as voice and memory, physical markers such as appearance and disguise, and finally social markers such as name, title and reputation all come into play in the establishment of the literary subject in the prose cycle. From this textual evidence, the analysis develops to encompass questions of gender roles, agency, and authority. The Lancelot proper is then situated in its historical literary context, by using other earlier or later texts of the Arthurian tradition, in French and in one instance in German, underlining the unique nature of the Lancelot proper within this tradition. The complexity of the depictions of identity and their boundaries in the romance ultimately brings about an irreconcilable conflict, leading ot the shift in values and ideology exemplified by the text immediately following the end of the Lancelot proper: The Quest of the Holy Grail. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Romance Languages First Advisor Kevin Brownlee Subject Categories Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies | Medieval Studies This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1419 DES FICTIONS DE L'IDENTITÉ AU XIIIÈME SIÈCLE : L'EXEMPLE DU LANCELOT PROPRE Charlotte Ritzmann A DISSERTATION in French For the Graduate Group in Romance Languages Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2014 Supervisor of Dissertation __________________________ Kevin Brownlee, Professor of Romance Languages Graduate Group Chairperson ___________________________ Kevin Brownlee, Professor of Romance Languages Dissertation Committee Gerald Prince, Professor of Romance Languages Scott Francis, Assistant Professor of Romance Languages ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank Professor Kevin Brownlee for his unwavering and invaluable guidance, help and support throughout the entire process of writing the dissertation, from the first tentative drafts to the final version. My gratitude also goes to the members of my committee, Professors Gerald Prince and Scott Francis, for taking the time to be a part of this project and sharing their insights with me; their advice allowed me to move from a vaguely defined idea to a completed study. I would also like to thank Professor Lance Donaldson-Evans, whose guidance in the early stages of the project helped make this dissertation possible. Finally, special thanks go to my family and to Caroline Grubbs, Lucas Hollister Matthew Pagett and Anne Bornschein for their time, support, friendship and proofreading skills. ii ABSTRACT DES FICTIONS DE L'IDENTITE AU XIIIEME SIECLE : L'EXEMPLE DU LANCELOT PROPRE Charlotte Ritzmann Kevin Brownlee The Lancelot proper, a vast fictional cycle written in French in the 13th century, is a prime example of how representations of identity are developed in fiction before the modern era. What determines identity, how the subject is conceived of and represented, if at all, in medieval literature, and how the limits of the subject are reflected in the limits of the courtly romance genre are the driving questions of this study. In order to answer them, the text has been divided into four spaces, each space unveiling identity in a different manner. Using several markers of identity as analytical tools allows for a detailed study of the constructions and destructions of fictional identity. Psychological markers such as voice and memory, physical markers such as appearance and disguise, and finally social markers such as name, title and reputation all come into play in the establishment of the literary subject in the prose cycle. From this textual evidence, the analysis develops to encompass questions of gender roles, agency, and authority. The Lancelot proper is then situated in its historical literary context, by using other earlier or later texts of the Arthurian tradition, in French and in one instance in German, underlining the unique nature of the Lancelot proper within this tradition. The complexity of the depictions of identity and their boundaries in the romance ultimately brings about an irreconcilable conflict, leading to the shift in values and ideology exemplified by the text immediately following the end of the Lancelot proper: The Quest of the Holy Grail. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...........................................................................................................ii ABSTRACT............................................................................................................................iii INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................1 I. Problématiques.................................................................................................................1 II. Le choix du Lancelot propre...........................................................................................8 III. La division par lieux : plan général..............................................................................15 CHAPITRE I : LA COUR DU ROI ARTHUR...........................................................................22 I. La cour comme lieu de départ : plusieurs textes............................................................26 II. Un cas particulier : L'arrivée de Lancelot chez Arthur..................................................39 III. La cour comme lieu de l'identité secrète......................................................................45 IV. La cour comme lieu de l'identité officielle : la reconnaissance....................................51 V. Entre la cour et la nature : un espace liminal : l'aveu amoureux...................................59 VI. La cour comme lieu de l'identité officielle : la méconnaissance................................73 Conclusion.........................................................................................................................83 CHAPITRE II : LE CHAMP DE BATAILLE............................................................................88 I. Les affrontements singuliers : le tournoi, le hasard, la folie...........................................93 II. La prouesse militaire, la politique : la guerre..............................................................112 III. Implications des batailles : la place du féminin.........................................................131 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................136 iv CHAPITRE III : ESPACES ENCHANTÉS, ESPACES CARCÉRAUX............................................139 I. Différents espaces liminaux soumis aux enchantements..............................................141 II. L'espace carcéral, récurrences et significations..........................................................148 III. Prison merveilleuse (et amoureuse)...........................................................................160 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................184 CHAPITRE IV : LE CIMETIÈRE, LA TOMBE......................................................................187 I. La tombe comme lieu, la tombe comme monument....................................................190 II. Mort de Ban, départ de Lancelot.................................................................................196 III. Le Cimetière Merveilleux..........................................................................................205 IV. La tombe de Symeu, la tombe de Lancelot................................................................215 V. La mort de Galehaut et celle de Lancelot, la mort d'Arthur........................................228 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................235