Category Archives: French, Old

Perceval: Getting the Red Knight’s armor

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About the scene and clip:
In this funny scene, the young Perceval tries to remove the armor from the Red Knight whom he has just killed and whose armor King Arthur has promised him—but he has no knightly experience and no idea how to get the armor off the dead body. Yvonet, one of King Arthur’s knights, witnesses the scene and laughs, then offers to show Perceval how to do it. The performer plays both parts. (Another student kindly provides the inert body, as prop.)

About the work:
The romance recounts the adventures of Perceval, a noble youth who was raised in ignorance of knighthood in the woods of Wales by his widowed mother, but who gets himself knighted by King Arthur and progressively learns about knighthood; this romance also tells of adventures of Gawain, always given as a paragon of chivalry. In this work the Grail makes its first appearance in medieval literature; there will be many more.

About the genre:
Medieval romances are typically long narratives of love and adventure in which an aristocratic hero (or occasionally a heroine) proves himself in combat and courtship. Medieval romance arose in France and Anglo-Norman England in the 12th century and spread through Western and even Eastern Europe. Many early romances tell the stories of knights and ladies at King Arthur’s court. In the 12th and 13th centuries, romances are composed in verse (typically octosyllabic rhymed couplets), and are commonly performed aloud from memory by minstrels; romances are also sometimes read aloud. In the 13th century, some romances begin to be written in prose; public and private readings become more frequent.

About the edition/translation:
Perceval, or The Story of the Grail, trans. Ruth Harwood Cline, Athens, GA, University of Georgia Press, 1985, pp 35ff. Original text: Le conte du Graal, ed./trans. Charles Méla, in Romans, eds./trans. J.M. Fritz et al., Paris, Classiques Modernes/ Livre de Poche, 1994.

About the performer/ensemble:
Kendrick Reinsch is a Drama student in the Stonestreet Studio at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts (2009).

About the production:
This performance was created for “Acting Medieval Literature,” taught by Prof. Timmie (E.B.) Vitz in spring 2009. It was videoed in the classroom by a fellow student.

Perceval: Maiden with Little Sleeves taunts her sister

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About the scene and clip:
This is one of the many comic scenes in this romance: a little girl—the Maiden with the Little Sleeves—taunts her older sister and the two get into a fight. The solo performer plays both roles.

About the work:
Alsace, Count of Flanders, around 1180. The romance recounts the adventures of Perceval, a noble youth who was raised in ignorance of knighthood in the woods of Wales by his widowed mother, but who gets himself knighted by King Arthur and progressively learns about knighthood; this romance also tells of adventures of Gawain, always given as a paragon of chivalry. In this work the Grail makes its first appearance in medieval literature; there will be many more.

About the genre:
Medieval romances are typically long narratives of love and adventure in which an aristocratic hero (or occasionally a heroine) proves himself in combat and courtship. Medieval romance arose in France and Anglo-Norman England in the 12th century and spread through Western and even Eastern Europe. Many early romances tell the stories of knights and ladies at King Arthur’s court. In the 12th and 13th centuries, romances are composed in verse (typically octosyllabic rhymed couplets), and are commonly performed aloud from memory by minstrels; romances are also sometimes read aloud. In the 13th century, some romances begin to be written in prose; public and private readings become more frequent.

About the edition/translation:
Perceval, or The Story of the Grail, trans. Ruth Harwood Cline, Athens, GA, University of Georgia Press, 1985, pp 150ff. Original text: Le conte du Graal, ed./trans. Charles Méla, in Romans, eds./trans. J.M. Fritz et al., Paris, Classiques Modernes/ Livre de Poche, 1994.

About the performer/ensemble:
Lisa Long is a Drama student in the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts (2009).

About the production:
This performance was created for “Acting Medieval Literature,” taught by Prof. Timmie (E.B.) Vitz in spring 2009. It was videoed in the classroom by a fellow student.

Greed and Envy: The ending

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About the scene and clip:
The solo performer acts out all the characters—St. Martin, the greedy man, and the envious man—as the story draws to a close.

About the work:
This short fabliau, by the important poet and storyteller Jean Bodel, tells how a greedy (or covetous) man and an envious man meet up with St. Martin of Tours, who offers them a boon: the first one to make a wish will get whatever he asks for; the other will get double that amount. The two sinful men are in a terrible quandary since both are selfish and grasping. Finally, the envious man makes his wish: that he may lose one of his eyes—that way, the greedy man will lose both of his eyes! Done! Of their four eyes, only one is left. (This is what Greed and Envy do to human beings.)

About the genre:
Fabliaux are short comic tales. This narrative genre was extremely popular in the 13th and 14th centuries in France and elsewhere in Europe (Chaucer’s Miller’s Tale is a sophisticated fabliau). Fabliaux almost invariably deal with the passions of lust, gluttony, avarice–and with attempts to trick or deceive others. Characters are typically bourgeois, clerks and monks, or peasants–and often women. The treatment is comic or satirical. But fabliaux vary considerably. Some are extremely vulgar in language and treatment, inviting crude gestures in performance. Other fabliaux are based on puns or wordplay. Many have a moral at the end and some have ethical overtones throughout. A few fabliaux are refined and courtly in language and themes. Many fabliaux are anonymous, but a few are by known poets. Performance styles and strategies for the fabliaux probably varied considerably in the Middle Ages, according to the subject matter and characters, the poet, the performer(s), the occasion, and the kind of audience present.

About the edition/translation:
“Greed and Envy,” in Fabliaux Fair and Foul, trans. John Duval, Pegasus/ Medieval & Renaissance Texts, Binghamton, NY, 1992. French: “Du convoiteux et de l’envieux,” in Jean Bodel, Fabliaux, in Le Nouveau recueil complet des fabliaux, eds. Willem Noomen & Nico van den Boogaard, Assen, Van Gorcum.

About the performer/ensemble:
Anna Chazelle is a student in Dramatic Literature in the College of Arts and Science at New York University (2009).

About the production:
This performance was created for “Acting Medieval Literature,” taught by Prof. Timmie (E.B.) Vitz in spring 2009. It was videoed in the classroom by a fellow student.

Tristan by Béroul: Iseut as melodrama

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About the scene and clip:
In this clip the performer plays Iseut’s “confession” to Mark (in which Iseut “confesses” she has just seen Tristan even though Iseut already knows Mark saw the two of them together) in the melodramatic style of early films, with recorded music.

About the work:
Béroul’s mid-12th-century story of Tristan and Iseut is one of the earliest surviving versions of the love story. He is completely on the lovers’ side, though their love is illicit. Béroul’s narrative is full of dialogues and dramatic scenes, some of them strongly comic, some highly physical.

About the genre:
This work is probably best understood as a tale that is close to a romance, or an early romance.

The tale, like the epic, is an ancient genre and one found everywhere in the world. Many tales are firmly rooted in oral tradition and are recited or told by amateur and professional storytellers and performers. Other tales are the work of literarily sophisticated authors and are often intended to be read aloud or silently from written texts. Some tales circulate separately, while others are part of collections, which may be set in complex frames (as in the case of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Boccaccio’s Decameron and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales). There are many sub-groups of tales with specific characteristics; see for example the “lai” and the “fabliau.”

Medieval romances are typically long narratives of love and adventure in which an aristocratic hero (or occasionally a heroine) proves himself in combat and courtship. Medieval romance arose in France and Anglo-Norman England in the 12th century and spread through Western and even Eastern Europe. Many early romances tell the stories of knights and ladies at King Arthur’s court. In the 12th and 13th centuries, romances are composed in verse (typically octosyllabic rhymed couplets), and are commonly performed aloud from memory by minstrels; romances are also sometimes read aloud. In the 13th century, some romances begin to be written in prose; public and private readings become more frequent.

About the edition/translation:
Béroul, The Romance of Tristan, ed. and trans. Norris J. Lacy, New York, Garland, 1989, pp. 21ff.

About the performer/ensemble:
Kat Keating is studying English, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, and Music at the College of Arts and Science at New York University (2008).

About the production:
This performance was created for “Acting Medieval Literature,” taught by Prof. Timmie (E.B.) Vitz in spring 2008; it was videoed in the classroom.

Tristan by Béroul: Iseut arrives at the swamp; villains fall in the mud

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About the scene and clip:
Iseut arrives at the swamp where Tristan is disguised as a leper; he makes the villains fall into the mud. The solo storyteller performs all the parts.

About the work:
Béroul’s mid-12th-century story of Tristan and Iseut is one of the earliest surviving versions of the love story. He is completely on the lovers’ side, though their love is illicit. Béroul’s narrative is full of dialogues and dramatic scenes, some of them strongly comic, some highly physical.

About the genre:
This work is probably best understood as a tale that is close to a romance, or an early romance.

The tale, like the epic, is an ancient genre and one found everywhere in the world. Many tales are firmly rooted in oral tradition and are recited or told by amateur and professional storytellers and performers. Other tales are the work of literarily sophisticated authors and are often intended to be read aloud or silently from written texts. Some tales circulate separately, while others are part of collections, which may be set in complex frames (as in the case of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Boccaccio’s Decameron and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales). There are many sub-groups of tales with specific characteristics; see for example the “lai” and the “fabliau.”

Medieval romances are typically long narratives of love and adventure in which an aristocratic hero (or occasionally a heroine) proves himself in combat and courtship. Medieval romance arose in France and Anglo-Norman England in the 12th century and spread through Western and even Eastern Europe. Many early romances tell the stories of knights and ladies at King Arthur’s court. In the 12th and 13th centuries, romances are composed in verse (typically octosyllabic rhymed couplets), and are commonly performed aloud from memory by minstrels; romances are also sometimes read aloud. In the 13th century, some romances begin to be written in prose; public and private readings become more frequent.

About the edition/translation:
Béroul, The Romance of Tristan, ed. and trans. Norris J. Lacy, New York, Garland, 1989, pp. 181ff.

About the performer/ensemble:
Jessica Carei is a student in Journalism and in Medieval and Renaissance Studies at the College of Arts and Science at New York University (2008).

About the production:
This performance was created for “Acting Medieval Literature,” taught by Prof. Timmie (E.B.) Vitz in spring 2008; it was videoed in the classroom.

Lancelot: Queen Guinevere is delighted with Lancelot

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About the scene and clip:
Lancelot tells Queen Guinevere’s young lady messenger that he is willing to do his best or his worst in combat—whatever the queen asks of him. The queen is delighted.

About the work:
Lancelot is one of the five surviving romances by the great narrative poet Chrétien de Troyes; it is centrally concerned with the love affair between Guinevere, wife of King Arthur, and Lancelot, one of the knights of the Round Table. This unfinished romance contains many adventures of Lancelot and Gawain as they attempt to rescue Guinevere, who has been carried off by the evil Meleagant.

About the genre:
Medieval romances are typically long narratives of love and adventure in which an aristocratic hero (or occasionally a heroine) proves himself in combat and courtship. Medieval romance arose in France and Anglo-Norman England in the 12th century and spread through Western and even Eastern Europe. Many early romances tell the stories of knights and ladies at King Arthur’s court. In the 12th and 13th centuries, romances are composed in verse (typically octosyllabic rhymed couplets), and are commonly performed aloud from memory by minstrels; romances are also sometimes read aloud. In the 13th century, some romances begin to be written in prose; public and private readings become more frequent.

About the edition/translation:
Lancelot or the Knight of the Cart, trans. Ruth Harwood Cline, Athens, GA, University of Georgia Press, 1990, pp. 162ff. French: Le Chevalier de la charrette, ed. Charles Méla, in Romans de Chrétien de Troyes, eds./trans. J.M. Fritz et al, Paris, Classiques Modernes/Livre de Poche, 1994.

About the performer/ensemble:
Brittany Holtsclaw is a Drama student in the Stonestreet Studio at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts (2008).

About the production:
This performance was created for “Acting Medieval Literature,” taught by Prof. Timmie (E.B.) Vitz in spring 2008; it was videoed in the classroom.

Lancelot: Queen Guinevere repents of her cruelty; Lancelot attempts suicide

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About the scene and clip:
The Queen, thinking that Lancelot has died, repents of her cruelty toward him. Then Lancelot, thinking that the Queen is dead, tries to kill himself in despair. The storyteller performs all the roles, in Old French.

About the work:
Lancelot is one of the five surviving romances by the great narrative poet Chrétien de Troyes; it is centrally concerned with the love affair between Guinevere, wife of King Arthur, and Lancelot, one of the knights of the Round Table. This unfinished romance contains many adventures of Lancelot and Gawain as they attempt to rescue Guinevere, who has been carried off by the evil Meleagant.

About the genre:
Medieval romances are typically long narratives of love and adventure in which an aristocratic hero (or occasionally a heroine) proves himself in combat and courtship. Medieval romance arose in France and Anglo-Norman England in the 12th century and spread through Western and even Eastern Europe. Many early romances tell the stories of knights and ladies at King Arthur’s court. In the 12th and 13th centuries, romances are composed in verse (typically octosyllabic rhymed couplets), and are commonly performed aloud from memory by minstrels; romances are also sometimes read aloud. In the 13th century, some romances begin to be written in prose; public and private readings become more frequent.

About the edition/translation:
Abridged from Le Chevalier de la charrette, ed. Charles Méla, in Romans de Chrétien de Troyes, eds./trans. J.M. Fritz et al, Paris, Classiques Modernes/Livre de Poche, 1994, pp. 624ff. English translation: Lancelot or the Knight of the Cart, trans. Ruth Harwood Cline, Athens, GA, University of Georgia Press, 1990.

About the performer/ensemble:
Michael Abourizk is a student in Dramatic Literature and Theatre History, with a minor in French, in the College of Arts and Science at New York University (2008).

About the production:
This performance was created for “Acting Medieval Literature,” taught by Prof. Timmie (E.B.) Vitz in spring 2008; it was videoed in the classroom.

Lancelot cuts off Proud Knight’s head at maiden’s request

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About the scene and clip:
A maiden requests that Lancelot cut off the head of the Proud Knight, whom he has defeated in combat. Lancelot does as she asks—and the head goes flying.

About the work:
Lancelot is one of the five surviving romances by the great narrative poet Chrétien de Troyes; it is centrally concerned with the love affair between Guinevere, wife of King Arthur, and Lancelot, one of the knights of the Round Table. This unfinished romance contains many adventures of Lancelot and Gawain as they attempt to rescue Guinevere, who has been carried off by the evil Meleagant.

About the genre:
Medieval romances are typically long narratives of love and adventure in which an aristocratic hero (or occasionally a heroine) proves himself in combat and courtship. Medieval romance arose in France and Anglo-Norman England in the 12th century and spread through Western and even Eastern Europe. Many early romances tell the stories of knights and ladies at King Arthur’s court. In the 12th and 13th centuries, romances are composed in verse (typically octosyllabic rhymed couplets), and are commonly performed aloud from memory by minstrels; romances are also sometimes read aloud. In the 13th century, some romances begin to be written in prose; public and private readings become more frequent.

About the edition/translation:
Lancelot or the Knight of the Cart, trans. Ruth Harwood Cline, Athens, GA, University of Georgia Press, 1990, pp. 80ff. French: Le Chevalier de la charrette, ed. Charles Méla, in Romans de Chrétien de Troyes, eds./trans. J.M. Fritz et al, Paris, Classiques Modernes/Livre de Poche, 1994.

About the performer/ensemble:
Ruby Joy is a Drama student in the Playwrights Horizons Theater School at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts (2008).

About the production:
This performance was created for “Acting Medieval Literature,” taught by Prof. Timmie (E.B.) Vitz in spring 2008; it was videoed in the classroom.

Tristan by Béroul: Tristan rescues Iseut from lepers

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About the scene and clip:
King Mark has handed the beautiful Iseut over to an evil, lecherous leper as punishment for her adultery; Tristan comes to her rescue. The solo storyteller plays all the parts, making a modest use of prop and costume.

About the work:
Béroul’s mid-12th-century story of Tristan and Iseut is one of the earliest surviving versions of the love story. He is completely on the lovers’ side, though their love is illicit. Béroul’s narrative is full of dialogues and dramatic scenes, some of them strongly comic, some highly physical.

About the genre:
This work is probably best understood as a tale that is close to a romance, or an early romance.

The tale, like the epic, is an ancient genre and one found everywhere in the world. Many tales are firmly rooted in oral tradition and are recited or told by amateur and professional storytellers and performers. Other tales are the work of literarily sophisticated authors and are often intended to be read aloud or silently from written texts. Some tales circulate separately, while others are part of collections, which may be set in complex frames (as in the case of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Boccaccio’s Decameron and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales). There are many sub-groups of tales with specific characteristics; see for example the “lai” and the “fabliau.”

Medieval romances are typically long narratives of love and adventure in which an aristocratic hero (or occasionally a heroine) proves himself in combat and courtship. Medieval romance arose in France and Anglo-Norman England in the 12th century and spread through Western and even Eastern Europe. Many early romances tell the stories of knights and ladies at King Arthur’s court. In the 12th and 13th centuries, romances are composed in verse (typically octosyllabic rhymed couplets), and are commonly performed aloud from memory by minstrels; romances are also sometimes read aloud. In the 13th century, some romances begin to be written in prose; public and private readings become more frequent.

About the edition/translation:
Béroul, The Romance of Tristan, ed. and trans. Norris J. Lacy, New York, Garland, 1989, pp. 59ff.

About the performer/ensemble:
Jacob Richard is a Drama student in the CAP 21 Studio at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts (2008).

About the production:
This performance was created for “Acting Medieval Literature,” taught by Prof. Timmie (E.B.) Vitz in spring 2008; it was videoed in the classroom.

Tristan by Béroul: Lovers take revenge

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About the scene and clip:
Tristan comes in secret to see Iseut; she spots one of their enemies spying on them, and Tristan kills him with an arrow. The solo storyteller plays all the parts.

About the work:
Béroul’s mid-12th-century story of Tristan and Iseut is one of the earliest surviving versions of the love story. He is completely on the lovers’ side, though their love is illicit. Béroul’s narrative is full of dialogues and dramatic scenes, some of them strongly comic, some highly physical.

About the genre:
This work is probably best understood as a tale that is close to a romance, or an early romance.

The tale, like the epic, is an ancient genre and one found everywhere in the world. Many tales are firmly rooted in oral tradition and are recited or told by amateur and professional storytellers and performers. Other tales are the work of literarily sophisticated authors and are often intended to be read aloud or silently from written texts. Some tales circulate separately, while others are part of collections, which may be set in complex frames (as in the case of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Boccaccio’s Decameron and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales). There are many sub-groups of tales with specific characteristics; see for example the “lai” and the “fabliau.”

Medieval romances are typically long narratives of love and adventure in which an aristocratic hero (or occasionally a heroine) proves himself in combat and courtship. Medieval romance arose in France and Anglo-Norman England in the 12th century and spread through Western and even Eastern Europe. Many early romances tell the stories of knights and ladies at King Arthur’s court. In the 12th and 13th centuries, romances are composed in verse (typically octosyllabic rhymed couplets), and are commonly performed aloud from memory by minstrels; romances are also sometimes read aloud. In the 13th century, some romances begin to be written in prose; public and private readings become more frequent.

About the edition/translation:
Béroul, The Romance of Tristan, ed. and trans. Norris J. Lacy, New York, Garland, 1989, pp. 207ff.

About the performer/ensemble:
Brittany Holtsclaw is a Drama student in the Stonestreet Studio at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts (2008).

About the production:
This performance was created for “Acting Medieval Literature,” taught by Prof. Timmie (E.B.) Vitz in spring 2008; it was videoed in the classroom.