2019 Linköping Studies in Arts and Sciences No. 777 Studies in Language and Culture No. 34 Ellen Söderblom Saarela Her Story in Partonopeu de Blois Rereading Byzantine Relations Her Story in Her Story Partonopeu de Blois Partonopeu Ellen Söderblom Saarela Her Story in Partonopeu de Blois Rereading Byzantine Relations Ellen Söderblom Saarela Linköping Studies in Arts and Sciences No. 777 Studies in Language and Culture No. 34 Filosofiska fakulteten Linköping 2019 i Linköping Studies in Arts and Sciences No. 777 At the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Linköping University, research and doctoral studies are carried out within broad problem areas. Research is organized in interdisciplinary research environments and doctoral stud- ies mainly in graduate schools. Jointly, they publish the series Linköping Studies in Arts and Sciences. This thesis comes from The Graduate School in Language and Culture in Europe at the Department of Culture and Communication. Distributed by: Department of Culture and Communication Linköping University 581 83 Linköping Ellen Söderblom Saarela Her Story in Partonopeu de Blois Rereading Byzantine Relations Edition 1:1 ISBN: 978-91-7929-948-4 ISSN 0282-9800 ISSN 1403-2570 ©Ellen Söderblom Saarela Department of Culture and Communication 2019 Printed by: LiU-Tryck, Linköping, Sweden 2019 Cover image: Mosaic of Parthenope and Methiokos, from the Zeugma Mosaic Museum, Gazianterp, Turkey ii Abstract This thesis investigates the twelfth-century Old French anonymous ro- mance Partonopeu de Blois in relation to the Greek novel tradition and the Byzantine world. The study focuses on the erotic narrative in the ro- mance and articulations of feminine subjectivity. If we read this text in relation to Byzantine literature, and the Greek novel tradition more gen- erally, we could see new things in the courtly romance. Through the Byz- antine relations, the romance constructs room for the female character to be a desiring subject. The two main Byzantine texts that are compared to Partonopeu de Blois are, first, Eumathios Makrembolites’ novel Hysmine and Hysminias, second, the historiographical work the Alexiad, by Anna Komnene, who was a Byzantine princess and historian. Another text of importance is Apuleius’ Cupid and Psyche-tale, found in his Latin novel Metamorphoses or The Golden Ass. Other than these mentioned texts, other ones are discussed in minor scale, such as Theodore Prodromos’ Rhodanthe and Dosikles, Achilles Tatius’ Leukippe and Kleitophon, Lon- gus’ Daphnis and Chloe and Andreas Capellanus’ De Amore. The study is outlined in three analytical chapters, based on different themes: touch, gaze, and voice. In the first chapter, focus is put on erotic narratives. In the second chapter, focus is put on the inscription of a fem- inine desiring gaze into the rhetorical discourse. In the third chapter, fo- cus is put on the voice, and how speaking is connected to power and de- sire in the narratives. If we consider twelfth-century Byzantine literature and the Greek novel into our reading of Partonopeu de Blois, we could see forms of feminine agency and power that remain obscure if we do not take them into account. Through this sort of fusion of literary influences, feminine subjectivity is articulated in Partonopeu de Blois, which, I demonstrate, should be seen in relation to feminine voices discernible in the Byzantine literary context as well. iii Svensk sammanfattning Den här avhandlingen undersöker den fornfranska, anonyma elvahundra- talsromanen Partonopeu de Blois i relation till den grekiska romantradit- ionen, från antiken till elvahundratalets Bysans, samt i relation till bysan- tinsk historiografi. Studien fokuserar på den erotiska aspekten av berät- telsen och på uttryck för kvinnlig subjektivitet. Om vi läser den forn- franska texten i relation till bysantinsk litteratur, och den grekiska roman- traditionen mer generellt, så kan vi se nya saker i den höviska romanen. Genom bysantinska kopplingar skapar romanen utrymme för den kvinn- liga karaktären att vara ett begärande subjekt. De två bysantinska huvud- texter som Partonopeu de Blois jämförs med är Eumathios Makremboli- tes roman Hysmine och Hysminias samt Alexiaden av prinsessan och historikern Anna Komnena. En annan viktig text för studien är berättelsen om Amor och Psyke ur Apulejus antika, latinska roman Metamorfoser eller Den gyllene åsnan. Vidare analyseras även, i mindre skala, Theodo- ros Prodromos Rhodanthe och Dosikles, Achilles Tatius Leukippe och Kleitophon, Longus Daphnis och Chloe, samt Andreas Capellanus De Amore. Studien är disponerad i tre analyskapitel, baserade på olika teman: beröring (Touch), blick (Gaze) och röst (Voice). I det första kapitlet ligger fokus på att jämföra de erotiska berättelsestrukturerna i Partonopeu de Blois och Hysmine och Hysminias. I det andra kapitlet ligger fokus på hur texterna skriver in en kvinnlig, begärande blick i den retoriska diskursen och i berättelserna. I det tredje kapitlet ligger fokus på rösten och hur talet är kopplat till makt i berättelserna. Om vi beaktar den bysantinska litteraturen och den grekiska roman- traditionen i läsningen av Partonopeu de Blois, och således troligen även andra höviska verk, så kan vi se uttryck för kvinnlig agens och makt som annars förblir i dunkel. Genom att använda sig av litterära influenser på olika sätt kan verk artikulera kvinnlig subjektivitet, något som avhand- lingen menar gäller i både den fornfranska och bysantinska elvahundra- talslitteraturen. iv To a voice of infinite influence, Anna, my mother μνάσεςθαί τινά φαιμι † καὶ ἕτερον † ἀμμέων.1 Someone will remember us I say even in another time2 1 Sappho, fr. 147, quoted from Campbell (1982) 1990. 2 Translation quoted from Carson 2002. v vi Acknowledgements There are so many people whom I want to thank for helping me through- out these years. I would never have been able to achieve this study alone. Carin Franzén, you have been invaluable to me during my doctoral training. I am so grateful that you believed in my project from the very beginning. Thank you for having read an endless number of writing sam- ples of all kinds, to which you have always provided me with sharp com- ments, pushing me further in my thought process and ability to hone my arguments. I feel truly fortunate to have been able to discuss all kinds of subjects with you over the years, from medieval literature to modern the- ory – and beyond. I will cherish this time as an endless conversation, from which I will draw knowledge always. Ingela Nilsson, ever since my first semester of Ancient Greek many years ago, you have been an immensely important person to me in the academic world. Thanks to your encouragement, I went abroad for con- ferences and doctoral courses while still an MA student. Behind the layers of nerves and insecurity, you discerned my curiosity; calmly pushing me forward through my expressions of doubt. I thank you for all your com- ments on my texts through the years – from student papers and theses, to this final dissertation. You are a true mentor to me. Anna Watz, your meticulous readings of my thesis during the final few years of the process have helped me to improve my text immensely. I thank you for your encouragement and support, combined with thought- provoking critique. Anna Cullhed, thank you for your readings of my work at an early stage, which helped me sharpen my ideas and structure. Lars-Göran Sundell, thank you for not only teaching me the joys of French syntax, but most importantly for introducing me to the world of philology, as my teacher of Old French as well as supervisor of my BA and MA theses (thank you also, Ingela, for co-supervising my MA thesis). I am forever grateful to you for helping me discover the richness of courtly romances, and for encouraging my interest. vii Sigrid Schottenius Cullhed and Christian Høgel, thank you both for being critical readers of my manuscript and for acting as opponents; Sigrid at my 60% seminar, and Christian at my 90% seminar. Your com- ments and our respective discussions have been an invaluable help in im- proving my text. I want to thank the Graduate School of Language and Culture in Europe, which has provided me with the best doctoral education possible. Agnese Grisle, thank you for always being there to help when I needed it. Veerle Bergqvist, thank you for all the help through the years, answer- ing all my different inquiries. Thank you also Eva Carlestål and Ida van der Woude, for providing me with assistance with any difficulty. Thank you, Karin Mårdsjö Blume, Maritha Johansson and Lars Jämterud, for making me feel like a genuinely supported employee. My doctoral col- leagues Ragnild Lome, Anna Lindström, Jakob Lien, Maziar Yazhdan Pana, Agnes Löfgren, Lene Asp and Hannah Pelikan, as well as former doctoral colleagues Johanna Vernqvist, Solveig Daugaard, Lars Liljegren, Nazli Avdan and Elin Käck – thank you all for creating a lovely atmosphere, both as critical readers at our seminars, and as fun friends everywhere else. I would also like to thank my senior colleagues for your support and friendliness. This thesis is the result of our graduate school’s dialogical environment. I thank the Byzantinists at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), especially Paolo Odorico and Charis Messis, for wel- coming me into your research environment during the spring of 2016, and for giving me the opportunity to present my work at your seminar. I also thank Föreningen Svenska Atheninstitutets Vänner, for awarding me a grant to conduct research in Greece. Thank you also to the Swedish Research Institute in Athens for hosting me during this period, which took place during the spring of 2019. I am also grateful to the Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul for awarding me one travel grant to do research at the institute during a pe- riod of time in the autumn of 2018, and then for awarding me a grant to do research there again for a period during the spring of 2019.