Copyright by Elizabeth Ann Florea 2017 The Dissertation Committee for Elizabeth Ann Florea Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Turning the Tables on Romance: Rustichello da Pisa Invents a New Chivalric Table in his Arthurian Compilation Committee: Guy Raffa, Co-Supervisor Hannah Wojciehowski, Co-Supervisor Douglas Biow Daniel Birkholz F. Regina Psaki Turning the Tables on Romance: Rustichello da Pisa Invents a New Chivalric Table in his Arthurian Compilation by Elizabeth Ann Florea Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of French and Italian The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin August 2017 Dedication: To Mario, Mom, Paul, Jebb, Jasmin, and Nico. Acknowledgements : This dissertation could not have been completed without the support of my professors, collaborators, family, and friends. I am especially grateful for the constant encouragement, direction, and insight of Professors Guy Raffa and Hannah Wojciehowski. I send my profound thanks to Prof. F. Regina Psaki who offered invaluable suggestions on translation and brought to my attention many nuances of language and argumentation that I would not have discovered without her help. I would like to express my special thanks to Professor Fabrizio Cigni who took time out of his busy schedule teaching at the Scuola Normale di Pisa to discuss various aspects of Rustichello and his work in Summer 2015. This dissertation is greatly indebted to the previous work done by Prof. Cigni on Rustichello and also the phenomenal work of Amanda Luyster on the fresco cycle at St. Floret. Furthermore, I wish to convey my heartfelt appreciation to Professors Douglas Biow and Daniel Birkholz, both of whom offered great suggestions to improve upon this dissertation. I owe a great depth of gratitude to Prof. Michael Johnson who gave me the initial inspiration to write on Rustichello‘s Arthurian Compilation, and who was also extremely helpful with my Anglo Norman translations. Moreover, thanks to Prof. Geraldine Heng for the lively conversations on Marco Polo, Prof. Jean Holladay for queries about the art and images in the manuscripts, and Prof. Norris Lacy for providing insight on the placement of Rustichello in the Arthurian tradition. I would also like to thank the office and staff of the Department of French and Italian who attempted to keep me on track and motivated. I am especially indebted to the Graduate Coordinator(s) Michael Schmidt and his predecessor, Katherine Jaroschy for their excellent organizational skills. Additionally, I send a humble thanks to the University of Texas Graduate School, Department of French and Italian at v the University of Texas, Texas Language Center, and the Department of Medieval Studies at the University of Texas (especially Prof. Liz Scala), all of which provided the necessary funding for research and the completion of this dissertation. Likewise, I wish to thank the Mellon Summer Institute in Italian Paleography at the Getty Research Institute for their financial support, and particularly Dr. Maddalena Signorini who taught me the rudiments of paleography, Summer 2014. Similarly, many thanks to Mme Frédérique Havette who opened up the château at St. Floret and answered my many question about the fresco cycle there on my research trip in the Auvergne, in Summer 2015. Lastly, thank you for the continuous support of my dearest friends: Wendy, Mirka, Paolo, Alessio, Marie and Luciano, Chiara, and Claude. vi Turning the Tables on Romance: Rustichello da Pisa Invents a New Chivalric Table in his Arthurian Compilation by Elizabeth Ann Florea, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2017 Co-Supervisors: Guy Raffa and Hannah Wojciehowski Abstract Rustichello da Pisa, the thirteenth century Italian compiler of Arthurian romance and later the co-author of Marco Polo’s Milione (1296-1299), is usually only a footnote in the anthologies of Italian Literature. Yet his Arthurian Compilation was still being reproduced over four hundred years after his death. In 1272-73 Rustichello wrote his Arthurian Compilation from a book (dou livre) in the collection of King Edward I of England. This work is the first known Arthurian prose romance written by an Italian in the literary language known as Franco-Italian. The Compilation begins with Rustichello’s original episodes of Branor le Brun and then proceeds to extrapolate sections of other French romance texts. Yet it is the Branor le Brun episodes, the original story invented by Rustichello, that has pride of place at the beginning of the Compilation. Thus, although Rustichello copied much of his Compilation from other works, he was also an original and innovative author and should be remembered as such. Hence, this dissertation will offer a topical reading of the original episodes of Branor le Brun found in Rustichello da Pisa’s Arthurian Compilation. Furthermore, I will draw out the influence of these original episodes— political, literary, and, in one case, visual—in and beyond Italy. vii Table of Contents: Abstract ................................................................................................................. vii List of Tables: ..........................................................................................................x List of Figures: ....................................................................................................... xi Introduction ..............................................................................................................1 Chapter 1 -- Argument for BnF MS fr. 1463 .........................................................29 Publication and Criticism of the Compilation ..............................................31 Narrative Voice and Role-playing in the Compilation .................................37 Physical description of BnF MS fr.1463.......................................................51 Chapter 2 -- Edward I: Rustichello’s Reborn King Arthur ....................................60 Edward’s Literary Tastes ..............................................................................64 Becoming a Knight: Edward I and Tournaments .........................................67 Edward and the Second Barons’ War ...........................................................69 Edward, the Crusades, and Literature during the Crusades ..........................70 Edward I and Rustichello da Pisa .................................................................75 The Lance and the Quintain ..........................................................................79 The Quasi-giants: Branor le Brun and Edward I ..........................................83 Purity, Piety, and Poetry ...............................................................................86 The Art of Chivalry according to Branor le Brun and Edward .....................89 The Missing Manuscript ...............................................................................94 Edward’s Utilization of King Arthur: Building Legacy ...............................95 Conclusion ..................................................................................................101 Chapter 3 – Ghibelline Knights? Branor le Brun and Rustichello da Pisa ..........104 Thirteenth-century Pisa: A Brief Historical Overview ...............................105 Ugolino, Nino, and Ruggieri .......................................................................111 Branor le Brun and the political allegory in the Compilation .....................123 Rustichello's Political Afterlife: The Greek poem ......................................146 viii Literary Afterlives of Rustichello's Branor le Brun: Tristano Panciatichiano, Cantare di Lansancis, La Tavola Ritonda, Tristano Veneto, Boairdo, and Ariosto................................................................................................151 Conclusion ..................................................................................................155 Chapter 4 – The Writing on the Wall (Rustichello Goes to St. Floret) ...............158 Discovery of the Fresco Cycle at St. Floret ................................................159 Approaching St. Floret ................................................................................161 Dating of the Fresco Cycle at St. Floret ......................................................165 Troubled times in the Auvergne .................................................................168 The Château at St. Floret ............................................................................174 Physical Description of the Château and Fresco at St. Floret .....................179 Fresco and Rubric Description....................................................................188 Interpretation of Lower Register (Branor le Brun Cycle ............................196 Interpretation of Upper Register (Tristan Cycle) ........................................200 The Importance of Words (Rubrics) and Image (Art) at St. Floret ............205 Conclusion ..................................................................................................210 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................220 Appendix 1: Translation of the Branor le Brun episodes 1-39 of the Compilation of Rustichello da Pisa ......................................................................................228