Not that the historic element is to be neglected; far from it. On the contrary, I would urge that greater attention be bestowed on certain historic factors than has hitherto been the case. The Arthurian romances do not, as do the Charlemagne, reflect more or less correctly certain facts, or periods of history, but the circumstances and surroundings of their origin may nevertheless have been more or less determined by historic conditions,i.e.the influence exercised by the court and policy of HenryII.
We are perfectly well aware that a feature of that monarch’s domestic policy was his desire to conciliate the Welsh by a clever use of their popular traditions. The alleged discovery of King Arthur’s tomb at Glastonbury was, as most historians now recognise, merely an ingenious move in the political game. To what extent he carried his encouragement and adoption of Arthurian tradition we have perhaps hardly yet realised. The fact that it was possible to publish in 1167 a correspondence purporting to be between the King and Arthur in Avalon shows that if Henry did not directly encourage the forgery, he at least saw no ground for discouraging it, and was willing to play into the hands of any one furthering this special line of conciliation. We know, as a matter of literary evidence, that the manuscripts of a very large section of Arthurian prose romance attribute their composition to the direct command of the king; but so far we have not attempted to ascertain the precise value to be placed on this recurring testimony. I believe myself that a careful investigation into the literary patronage exercised by Henry, and his interest in Arthurian traditions, would yield resultssomewhat disconcerting to the adherents of the Continental School.
Of the value of folk-lore and folk-tale as witnesses in the case of a group of stories based largely upon popular tradition, and in their earlier stages of evolution the property of popular story-tellers, we are only slowly becoming aware. But the study of story-transmission has in these last years made immense strides, and may now claim to be fairly based upon sound scientific principles. The extent to which such a study, accurately and carefully carried on, may reflect light upon allied subjects, such as the Arthurian cycle, has yet to be realised. It may be hoped that these pages will lend encouragement to the following up of this special line of investigation.
But there is a danger in our path. Admiration for the learning and indefatigable industry of German scholars has, I fear, caused too many of us to erect into a fetich the result of their labours, and to hold ourselves thereby absolved from the toil of first-hand investigation. This is to render no true service to the cause of scholarship; no one man, no group of men, may claim to be infallible. The result of recent investigation into the value and correctness of Dr. Sommer’sStudies on the Sources of Malory,[68]a book which for ten years past has been unhesitatingly accepted in scholarly circles as a reliable authority, should be an object lesson to all of us in the necessity of caution, and the individual responsibility which rests upon each to ascertain independently, so far as it be possible, the correctness and solidity of theground upon which we found our arguments and our conclusions.
Careful and systematic work, with, from time to time, the revision and comparison of results, only to be attained by publication, will, I believe, before very long, enable us to place the criticism of the Arthurian cycle upon a really satisfactory basis. At present it is vain to hope that any one of us can produce, in this particular line of literary investigation, amagnum opusthat shall be beyond the necessity of revision, and sealed with the stamp of permanent and enduring value.
[1]Professor Foerster’s edition of the poems of Chrétien de Troyes are probably the most satisfactory critical texts we at present possess, but the value of these is greatly impaired by the controversial use made of the prefaces attached to them.[2]These and other details will be found in Mr. Ward’s article on ‘Ipomedon,’Catalogue of Romances, vol. i.[3]Ipomedonin drei englischen Bearbeitungen: Breslau 1889.[4]Supra, p. xxix.[5]The fact that, as we have pointed out, he sometimes agrees with one, sometimes with the other version, seems to indicate that he knew the common original of both.[6]Ipomedon, A. l. 5500.[7]Lanzelet, Von Zatzikhoven, ll. 2911-15.[8]Dutch Lancelot, vol. i. ll. 42,819et seq.[9]Ipomedon, p. xxviii.[10]For the various epilogues and ascriptions of authorship, cf.Die Sage vom Gral, Birch-Hirschfeld, chap. vii.[11]Cf. Birch-Hirschfeld,supra.[12]Vide De Nugis Curialium, ed. Wright, p. viii.[13]Cf.supra, p. 5.[14]Cf. P. Paris,Romans de la Table Ronde, vol. iii.[15]Cf.D. L., vol. i. ll. 19,595et seq.;Legend of Sir Lancelot, p. 235.[16]Cf.supra, p. 5.[17]The Legend of Sir Lancelot du Lac, Grimm Library, vol. xii.[18]Cf. the reference to this adventure inMorien, quotedsupra, p. 5.[19]For these three colours in this connection, cf. my translation ofParzival, vol. i. p. 317.[20]P. 5.[21]Cf.Lanzelet, ll. 9309et seq.[22]Hucher,Le Grand S. Graal, vol. i. p. 421.[23]Professor Foerster’s remark (Charrette, Introduction, p. xlvi), that Hugo would, not improbably, take with him a copy of the last romance which had created a popularfurore, is one of those gratuitous assumptions which, to the learned professor, assume the virtue of facts, but which cannot be admitted, by any serious critic, as a contribution to the argument. Professor Foerster seems to imagine a twelfth century ‘Mudie’ with a ‘run’ on the latest novel! If the source of theLanzelethad created in any sense afurore, it would scarcely have disappeared so completely. Considering the slowness of reproduction in those days, it is at least as likely that the book was an old and valued favourite; but as I said above, such hypotheses do not advance the question one way or the other.[24]Cf.Cligés, ll. 4575-4985.[25]Charrette, p. xliii.[26]P. cxxvi.[27]P. cxxxviii.[28]P. xix.[29]I believe myself that the two works of the greatest importance for determining the evolution of the Arthurian cycle are these lost French sources of theLanzeletand of theParzival. It is not, I think, impossible that fragments at least may remain entombed in some library. When their importance is more generally recognised there may perhaps be an organised attempt made at their discovery.[30]I have not seen either of these German fragments. Professor Foerster’s tendency to claim as Chrétien’s undoubted property everything that even remotely resembles the work of the French poet makes caution needful. I give the statement entirely upon his authority. With regard to the passage in theParzival, BookXII.l. 116,et seq., at first sight it seems clearly to refer to Chrétien’s poem; but, as Professor Foerster himself admits, the work clearly consists of two sections, and it seems quite possible that the first part, the story of Alexander and Soredamors, may have been known independently. As the testimony of thePercevalpoems proves, there was current a love story connected with a sister of Gawain. The weak point in thisParzivalallusion is, that the poet is recalling the torments that Gawain and his kin have suffered through ‘Minne.’ Now the love story of Cligés and Phenice is far more tragic than that of Cligés’ parents; and it is difficult to understand why, if the writer knew thewholepoem, he should refer only to the weaker illustration, as both are equally connected with Gawain. I suspect myself that the allusion was in Wolfram’s source, and refers to the source of theCligés.[31]Printed in Weber’sMetrical Romances, vol. i.[32]Cf.Legend of Sir Lancelot, p. 81.[33]Ibid.p. 5.[34]Chaps. ii and iv.[35]Vol. ii. No.XLIII.[36]Tiroler Kinder- und Haus-Märchen.[37]Contes Lorrains, vol. i. No.I.[38]Contes Lorrains, vol. i. No.XII.[39]Contes Lorrains, vol. ii. p. 96.[40]Op. cit., vol. ii. No.LV.[41]Grimm Library, vols. ii., iii., v.[42]Perseus, vol. iii. p. 4.[43]Perseus, vol. iii. p. 15.[44]Cf.The Cuchullin Saga, Grimm Library, vol. viii. p. 81.[45]Vol. i. p. 96.[46]Cf.supra, p. 23.[47]A reference toFortunio, one of the tales of our group, included in the fifteenth century collection of Straparola.[48]The additions in italics are mine.—J. L. W.[49]To this our present investigation enables us to add that while M. Cosquin’s shepherd lad unites the pastoral features with the courtly tournament, the Greek variant retains the flying steeds and gives us the tournament to boot.[50]The number is of course far greater, but Mr. Campbell unfortunately did not live to know theContes Lorrainsor thePerseus.[51]Popular Tales of the West Highlands, vol. iv. pp. 277, 278.[52]‘The Black Horse,’More Celtic Fairy Tales, p. 226.[53]Mr. Hartland also draws attention to the parallel between the three disguises of the hero and the three dresses of the heroine in certain variants of theCinderellastory. In theAschenbrödelthe robes are woven of sun, moon, and stars.[54]Berlin, 1881.[55]Harvard Studies and Notes, vol. v. pp. 94, 95.[56]John Rous,Life of Richard, Earl of Warwick.[57]I should like to draw the attention of readers to the fact that these two ‘triplets’ of colours are also to be met with elsewhere. Thus black, white, and red are found, as we have seen, in a famous incident of thePerceval; and that curious book,Durandus on Symbolism, gives them as the colours of the three veils covering the altar at Passiontide. White, green, and red are found in the legend of the Tree of Life, and Solomon’s Ship, preserved in theQuesteandGrand Saint Graal. A friend, learned in such matters, has informed me that these sets of colours represent certain alchemical processes, and in that connection were well known in mediæval times. It seems possible that there may have been some hidden and mystical significance attached to their earliest use; we have not fathomed all the secrets of folk-lore.[58]P. 25.[59]For details of Map’s life, cf.Dictionary of National Biography, and the Introduction to Wright’s edition ofDe Nugis Curialium.[60]I would draw the attention of students of theLaisof Marie de France to the fact that Map gives several versions of the wedding of a knight with a fairy, or Otherworld, mistress. Also a version of a visit to the Otherworld kingdom with an ending closely corresponding with that of theVoyage of Bran, andGuingamor, and in each case he locates the story in Wales. It is perfectly clear that tales, such as we find in theLais, were at least as well known in these islands as on the Continent.[61]Legend of Sir Lancelot, p. 83.[62]Legend of Sir Lancelot, p. 11. The folk-lore allusions in theLanzeletare worth following up.[63]I am indebted to Mr. W. B. Blaikie for kindly verifying the quotation for me.[64]Cf.Charrette, p. lxxvii.[65]Legend of Sir Lancelot, p. 46et seq.[66]The theory which I advanced in chap. vii. of theLegend of Sir Lancelotwith regard to the temporary disappearance of the tradition of Guinevere’s infidelity is, I think, strengthened by the evidence of the various ‘chastity-test’Lais, Horn, Mantle, Glove. We might reasonably expect Guinevere to come but poorly out of such an ordeal; as a rule, however, she escapes very easily, far more easily, indeed, than the majority of the ladies of the court. In one case we are clearly given to understand that her sole error, a trivial one, has been one of thought. Now thelaisrepresent, as is generally admitted, an early stage of romantic evolution, and taken into consideration with the evidence of the earlier poems, they certainly appear to strengthen the argument tentatively put forward in myLancelot,e.g.that the tradition of the queen’s faithlessness to her husband belonged to thehistoriclegend and was, as such, preserved in the pseudo-chronicles; it had no existence in theromanticlegend till introduced under the influence of a special social condition, and in this its later form, it is not to be regarded as a survival of the historic Modred story, but as a later and independent development.[67]Cf.Popular Studies, No. 10 (Nutt),The Romance Cycle of Charlemagne and his Peers, where I have pointed out the fundamental differences between the cycles.[68]On this point, cf. Mr. Greg’s review of myLancelotstudies,Folk-Lore, December 1901.
[1]Professor Foerster’s edition of the poems of Chrétien de Troyes are probably the most satisfactory critical texts we at present possess, but the value of these is greatly impaired by the controversial use made of the prefaces attached to them.
[2]These and other details will be found in Mr. Ward’s article on ‘Ipomedon,’Catalogue of Romances, vol. i.
[3]Ipomedonin drei englischen Bearbeitungen: Breslau 1889.
[4]Supra, p. xxix.
[5]The fact that, as we have pointed out, he sometimes agrees with one, sometimes with the other version, seems to indicate that he knew the common original of both.
[6]Ipomedon, A. l. 5500.
[7]Lanzelet, Von Zatzikhoven, ll. 2911-15.
[8]Dutch Lancelot, vol. i. ll. 42,819et seq.
[9]Ipomedon, p. xxviii.
[10]For the various epilogues and ascriptions of authorship, cf.Die Sage vom Gral, Birch-Hirschfeld, chap. vii.
[11]Cf. Birch-Hirschfeld,supra.
[12]Vide De Nugis Curialium, ed. Wright, p. viii.
[13]Cf.supra, p. 5.
[14]Cf. P. Paris,Romans de la Table Ronde, vol. iii.
[15]Cf.D. L., vol. i. ll. 19,595et seq.;Legend of Sir Lancelot, p. 235.
[16]Cf.supra, p. 5.
[17]The Legend of Sir Lancelot du Lac, Grimm Library, vol. xii.
[18]Cf. the reference to this adventure inMorien, quotedsupra, p. 5.
[19]For these three colours in this connection, cf. my translation ofParzival, vol. i. p. 317.
[20]P. 5.
[21]Cf.Lanzelet, ll. 9309et seq.
[22]Hucher,Le Grand S. Graal, vol. i. p. 421.
[23]Professor Foerster’s remark (Charrette, Introduction, p. xlvi), that Hugo would, not improbably, take with him a copy of the last romance which had created a popularfurore, is one of those gratuitous assumptions which, to the learned professor, assume the virtue of facts, but which cannot be admitted, by any serious critic, as a contribution to the argument. Professor Foerster seems to imagine a twelfth century ‘Mudie’ with a ‘run’ on the latest novel! If the source of theLanzelethad created in any sense afurore, it would scarcely have disappeared so completely. Considering the slowness of reproduction in those days, it is at least as likely that the book was an old and valued favourite; but as I said above, such hypotheses do not advance the question one way or the other.
[24]Cf.Cligés, ll. 4575-4985.
[25]Charrette, p. xliii.
[26]P. cxxvi.
[27]P. cxxxviii.
[28]P. xix.
[29]I believe myself that the two works of the greatest importance for determining the evolution of the Arthurian cycle are these lost French sources of theLanzeletand of theParzival. It is not, I think, impossible that fragments at least may remain entombed in some library. When their importance is more generally recognised there may perhaps be an organised attempt made at their discovery.
[30]I have not seen either of these German fragments. Professor Foerster’s tendency to claim as Chrétien’s undoubted property everything that even remotely resembles the work of the French poet makes caution needful. I give the statement entirely upon his authority. With regard to the passage in theParzival, BookXII.l. 116,et seq., at first sight it seems clearly to refer to Chrétien’s poem; but, as Professor Foerster himself admits, the work clearly consists of two sections, and it seems quite possible that the first part, the story of Alexander and Soredamors, may have been known independently. As the testimony of thePercevalpoems proves, there was current a love story connected with a sister of Gawain. The weak point in thisParzivalallusion is, that the poet is recalling the torments that Gawain and his kin have suffered through ‘Minne.’ Now the love story of Cligés and Phenice is far more tragic than that of Cligés’ parents; and it is difficult to understand why, if the writer knew thewholepoem, he should refer only to the weaker illustration, as both are equally connected with Gawain. I suspect myself that the allusion was in Wolfram’s source, and refers to the source of theCligés.
[31]Printed in Weber’sMetrical Romances, vol. i.
[32]Cf.Legend of Sir Lancelot, p. 81.
[33]Ibid.p. 5.
[34]Chaps. ii and iv.
[35]Vol. ii. No.XLIII.
[36]Tiroler Kinder- und Haus-Märchen.
[37]Contes Lorrains, vol. i. No.I.
[38]Contes Lorrains, vol. i. No.XII.
[39]Contes Lorrains, vol. ii. p. 96.
[40]Op. cit., vol. ii. No.LV.
[41]Grimm Library, vols. ii., iii., v.
[42]Perseus, vol. iii. p. 4.
[43]Perseus, vol. iii. p. 15.
[44]Cf.The Cuchullin Saga, Grimm Library, vol. viii. p. 81.
[45]Vol. i. p. 96.
[46]Cf.supra, p. 23.
[47]A reference toFortunio, one of the tales of our group, included in the fifteenth century collection of Straparola.
[48]The additions in italics are mine.—J. L. W.
[49]To this our present investigation enables us to add that while M. Cosquin’s shepherd lad unites the pastoral features with the courtly tournament, the Greek variant retains the flying steeds and gives us the tournament to boot.
[50]The number is of course far greater, but Mr. Campbell unfortunately did not live to know theContes Lorrainsor thePerseus.
[51]Popular Tales of the West Highlands, vol. iv. pp. 277, 278.
[52]‘The Black Horse,’More Celtic Fairy Tales, p. 226.
[53]Mr. Hartland also draws attention to the parallel between the three disguises of the hero and the three dresses of the heroine in certain variants of theCinderellastory. In theAschenbrödelthe robes are woven of sun, moon, and stars.
[54]Berlin, 1881.
[55]Harvard Studies and Notes, vol. v. pp. 94, 95.
[56]John Rous,Life of Richard, Earl of Warwick.
[57]I should like to draw the attention of readers to the fact that these two ‘triplets’ of colours are also to be met with elsewhere. Thus black, white, and red are found, as we have seen, in a famous incident of thePerceval; and that curious book,Durandus on Symbolism, gives them as the colours of the three veils covering the altar at Passiontide. White, green, and red are found in the legend of the Tree of Life, and Solomon’s Ship, preserved in theQuesteandGrand Saint Graal. A friend, learned in such matters, has informed me that these sets of colours represent certain alchemical processes, and in that connection were well known in mediæval times. It seems possible that there may have been some hidden and mystical significance attached to their earliest use; we have not fathomed all the secrets of folk-lore.
[58]P. 25.
[59]For details of Map’s life, cf.Dictionary of National Biography, and the Introduction to Wright’s edition ofDe Nugis Curialium.
[60]I would draw the attention of students of theLaisof Marie de France to the fact that Map gives several versions of the wedding of a knight with a fairy, or Otherworld, mistress. Also a version of a visit to the Otherworld kingdom with an ending closely corresponding with that of theVoyage of Bran, andGuingamor, and in each case he locates the story in Wales. It is perfectly clear that tales, such as we find in theLais, were at least as well known in these islands as on the Continent.
[61]Legend of Sir Lancelot, p. 83.
[62]Legend of Sir Lancelot, p. 11. The folk-lore allusions in theLanzeletare worth following up.
[63]I am indebted to Mr. W. B. Blaikie for kindly verifying the quotation for me.
[64]Cf.Charrette, p. lxxvii.
[65]Legend of Sir Lancelot, p. 46et seq.
[66]The theory which I advanced in chap. vii. of theLegend of Sir Lancelotwith regard to the temporary disappearance of the tradition of Guinevere’s infidelity is, I think, strengthened by the evidence of the various ‘chastity-test’Lais, Horn, Mantle, Glove. We might reasonably expect Guinevere to come but poorly out of such an ordeal; as a rule, however, she escapes very easily, far more easily, indeed, than the majority of the ladies of the court. In one case we are clearly given to understand that her sole error, a trivial one, has been one of thought. Now thelaisrepresent, as is generally admitted, an early stage of romantic evolution, and taken into consideration with the evidence of the earlier poems, they certainly appear to strengthen the argument tentatively put forward in myLancelot,e.g.that the tradition of the queen’s faithlessness to her husband belonged to thehistoriclegend and was, as such, preserved in the pseudo-chronicles; it had no existence in theromanticlegend till introduced under the influence of a special social condition, and in this its later form, it is not to be regarded as a survival of the historic Modred story, but as a later and independent development.
[67]Cf.Popular Studies, No. 10 (Nutt),The Romance Cycle of Charlemagne and his Peers, where I have pointed out the fundamental differences between the cycles.
[68]On this point, cf. Mr. Greg’s review of myLancelotstudies,Folk-Lore, December 1901.
Edinburgh: Printed by T. and A.Constable