Category Archives: Recitation from Memory

Erec: Erec defeats three robbers

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About the scene and clip:
The solo performer dynamically acts out a scene where Erec defeats and drives away three robbers who had attacked him and Enide.

About the work:
Erec et Enide is the earliest of the five surviving romances by Chrétien de Troyes, who is often considered the father of Arthurian romance. This great work, in octosyllabic rhymed couplets, was composed for Marie, Countess of Champagne, around 1170. It tells how the noble knight of the Round Table, Erec, wins the beautiful Enide as his wife—but his honor is then compromised because he spends all his time with his lovely wife instead of doing his knightly duties. When Enide inadvertently reveals to him that his honor has been damaged, he rides off on adventure to restore it, taking her with him—and indeed in many of the adventures Enide plays a central role. Erec does many good deeds, recovers his honor—and finds the proper balance between love and chivalry.

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:
Erec and Enide, trans. Ruth Harwood Cline, Athens, GA, University of Georgia Press, 2000, pp. 84ff. Old French: Erec et Enide, ed./trans. Jean-Marie Fritz, Paris, Livre de Poche, 1992.

About the performer/ensemble:
Hannah McGinley is a Drama student in the CAP 21 Studio at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts (2010).

About the production:
This performance was created for “Acting Medieval Literature,” taught at New York University by Prof. Timmie (E.B.) Vitz, in spring 2010. Sam Erenberger was the videographer.

Erec: Couple’s welcome at Carnant

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About the scene and clip:
The solo performer describes Erec’s home at Carnant—a great castle—and the warm welcome King Lac prepares for newly-wedded Erec and Enide.

About the work:
Erec et Enide is the earliest of the five surviving romances by Chrétien de Troyes, who is often considered the father of Arthurian romance. This great work, in octosyllabic rhymed couplets, was composed for Marie, Countess of Champagne, around 1170. It tells how the noble knight of the Round Table, Erec, wins the beautiful Enide as his wife—but his honor is then compromised because he spends all his time with his lovely wife instead of doing his knightly duties. When Enide inadvertently reveals to him that his honor has been damaged, he rides off on adventure to restore it, taking her with him—and indeed in many of the adventures Enide plays a central role. Erec does many good deeds, recovers his honor—and finds the proper balance between love and chivalry.

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:
Erec and Enide, trans. Ruth Harwood Cline, Athens, GA, University of Georgia Press, 2000, pp. 67ff. Old French: Erec et Enide, ed./trans. Jean-Marie Fritz, Paris, Livre de Poche, 1992.

About the performer/ensemble:
Mary Lane Haskell is a Drama student in the CAP 21 Studio at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts (2010).

About the production:
This performance was created for “Acting Medieval Literature,” taught at New York University by Prof. Timmie (E.B.) Vitz, in spring 2010. Sam Erenberger was the videographer.

Erec: Wedding gifts to the church

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About the scene and clip:
The solo performer evokes the rich and beautiful gifts that the newly-weds give to the church.

About the work:
Erec et Enide is the earliest of the five surviving romances by Chrétien de Troyes, who is often considered the father of Arthurian romance. This great work, in octosyllabic rhymed couplets, was composed for Marie, Countess of Champagne, around 1170. It tells how the noble knight of the Round Table, Erec, wins the beautiful Enide as his wife—but his honor is then compromised because he spends all his time with his lovely wife instead of doing his knightly duties. When Enide inadvertently reveals to him that his honor has been damaged, he rides off on adventure to restore it, taking her with him—and indeed in many of the adventures Enide plays a central role. Erec does many good deeds, recovers his honor—and finds the proper balance between love and chivalry.

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:
Erec and Enide, trans. Ruth Harwood Cline, Athens, GA, University of Georgia Press, 2000, pp. 68ff. Old French: Erec et Enide, ed./trans. Jean-Marie Fritz, Paris, Livre de Poche, 1992.

About the performer/ensemble:
Sarah Utz is a student in the School of Arts and Science at New York University; her major is as yet undecided (2010).

About the production:
This performance was created for “Acting Medieval Literature,” taught at New York University by Prof. Timmie (E.B.) Vitz, in spring 2010. Sam Erenberger was the videographer.

Erec: Erec kills two evil giants

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About the scene and clip:
The solo performer dynamically recounts and acts out the scene where Erec fights with two evil giants and kills them both.

About the work:
Erec et Enide is the earliest of the five surviving romances by Chrétien de Troyes, who is often considered the father of Arthurian romance. This great work, in octosyllabic rhymed couplets, was composed for Marie, Countess of Champagne, around 1170. It tells how the noble knight of the Round Table, Erec, wins the beautiful Enide as his wife—but his honor is then compromised because he spends all his time with his lovely wife instead of doing his knightly duties. When Enide inadvertently reveals to him that his honor has been damaged, he rides off on adventure to restore it, taking her with him—and indeed in many of the adventures Enide plays a central role. Erec does many good deeds, recovers his honor—and finds the proper balance between love and chivalry.

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:
Erec and Enide, trans. Ruth Harwood Cline, Athens, GA, University of Georgia Press, 2000, pp. 130ff. Old French: Erec et Enide, ed./trans. Jean-Marie Fritz, Paris, Livre de Poche, 1992.

About the performer/ensemble:
Eric Schwartz is Dramatic Literature major with a minor in Producing at the College of Arts and Science at New York University (2010).

About the production:
This performance was created for “Acting Medieval Literature,” taught at New York University by Prof. Timmie (E.B.) Vitz, in spring 2010. Sam Erenberger was the videographer.

Nibelungenlied: Comic, abridged, group

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About the scene and clip:
Five students rapidly summarize, act out and (occasionally) sing to kazoo accompaniment the story of the Nibelungs, in a comic handling of the epic material; they provide a useful body count for this frequently gory epic.

About the work:
The Nibelungenlied, or Song of the Nibelungs, is an anonymous German epic composed around 1200, probably by a professional poet or entertainer for performance in a court in Bavaria or Austria. This violent poem draws both on Germanic legends and on historical events of the distant past; it recounts the love and marriage between Siegfried and Kriemhild, a Burgundian queen of the Nibelung dynasty; the great quarrel between Kriemhild and her copy richard mille rm 030 sister-in-law Brunhild; the treacherous murder of Siegfried; Kriemhild’s marriage to Etzel (Attila the Hun), her violent revenge for Siegfried’s death, and her death. The Niebelungenlied is composed in 4-line strophes of rhymed couplets. The long lines of somewhat irregular length have 7 accented syllables to a line for the first 3 lines of the strophe, and 8 for the last line. Over 30 manuscripts preserve this lengthy epic, in 3 main versions. It is known that the Nibelungenlied was originally sung, and a surviving melody called the “Hildebrandston” is believed to be very close to the original melody for the epic.

About the genre:
The epic is an ancient genre and is found in almost every culture. It is a long heroic narrative that tells of war and great deeds. Epics are generally composed in verse, and sung from memory or improvised in performance by professional performers with instrumental accompaniment. These narratives are created from traditional elements, commonly without recourse to writing, by poets whose names are often unknown vape Tank to us. Among the famous traditional epics are the Iliad and the Odyssey, attributed to Homer; the Anglo-Saxon Beowulf; and the Old French Song of Roland. Many known poets adopt epic forms and themes for their literary verse (such as Virgil in his Aeneid).

About the edition/translation:
Das Nibelungenlied: Song of the Nibelungs, trans. Burton Raffel, New Haven, Yale University Press, 2006. Note: characters’ names are spelled differently in this translation than they sometimes are. Original: Das Nibelungenlied, ed. Karl Bartsch & Helmut de Boor, trans. Siegfried Grosse, Stuttgart, Reclam, 2003.

About the performer/ensemble:
Julie Benko, Mary Lane Haskell, Hannah McGinley, and Samantha Morrice are Drama students in the CAP 21 Studio at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Zachary Maher is a student in Political Science in the College of Arts and Science at New York University (2010).

About the production:
This scene was created for the final public performance of the course “Acting Medieval Literature,” taught at New York University by Prof. Timmie (E.B.) Vitz, in April 2010 at New York University. It was filmed by Nitzan Rotschild.

Tam Lin: Sung

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About the scene and clip:
In this clip, the Scottish singer Geordie McIntyre sings the ballad of Tam Lin.

About the work:
Tam Lin is number 39 of 305 English and Scottish ballads collected by Francis James Child in the late 19th century. Child collected 14 variations of the Tam Lin ballad; 39A he considered to be the oldest variation, although the inherent oral tradition of the ballad makes it impossible to date it with accuracy. The earliest printed reference to the ballad comes from an anonymous 1549 tract titled The Complaynt of Scotlande: vyth ane Exortatione to the Thre Estaits to be vigilante in the Deffens of their Public veil. The ballad is referred to as one of the “ancient” tales told in Scotland.

There are clues to the age of the ballad in the language used. For example, Janet is described as wearing a “kirtle,” a garment that was popularly worn in Scotland from the 14th through 16th centuries. The expression “syne,” meaning “directly after,” fell out of use in the mid 15th century, as did the term “aboon” for “above.” This version of the ballad is commonly dated to the late 14th century, as the majority of the colloquial terminology used in the ballad was at its peak popularity at that time.

The musical notation of this ballad, by James Johnson in the 18th century, was part of a large compilation he collected on popular Scottish songs.

The ballad tells the story of Janet, a young woman who is the daughter of a nobleman. She enters the woods of Carterhaugh (an area near modern-day Selkirk, Scotland), where she meets Tam Lin, a fairy knight who guards the well there. Tam Lin requires a tribute of all who pass the well, and Janet pays the tribute of her virginity. She becomes pregnant and returns to her father’s hall, where her pregnancy is discovered. Although her father wants her to marry one of his knights, Janet refuses, claiming that only Tam Lin – the true father of her child – will be her husband. She returns to the well, where Tam Lin tells her that he was once a mortal knight. He then explains that on Halloween, she can win him back from the fairies if she can pull him down off a white horse and hold him in her arms while he turns into various dangerous animals and objects. Janet accomplishes this, and Tam Lin is transformed from a fairy knight back into a naked mortal man. The Queen of Fairies curses the pair as she acknowledges that Tam Lin belongs to Janet now.

About the genre:
A ballad is a song that tells a story; ballads are often fairly long, composed of a dozen or more stanzas. Although many other songs, both long and short, also tell stories, the term “ballad” used in this particular sense dates from the late Middle Ages. Some late-medieval ballads and a great many early-modern ballads survive, some of them in multiple versions, and throughout the world. Documentation for ballad melodies is in general substantially later than for the texts.

About the edition/translation:
The classic edition for traditional ballad texts, with many variants, is The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, ed. Francis James Child, New York, Dover, 1965, 5 vols (orig. 1888). “Tam Lin” is Vol. I, No. 39. Geordie McIntyre and Helen Fullerton collected this melody in 1967: see The Singing Tradition of Child’s Popular Ballads, ed. Bertrand Harris Bronson, Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press, 1976, p. 101.

About the performer/ensemble:
Geordie McIntyre is a professional singer from Scotland who sings a wide range of traditional ballads and other songs, often with Alison McMorland. They have co-produced numerous recordings. This song is recorded on their CD “The Ballad Tree,” with full text and notes. Their website is http://alisonmcmorland.com.

About the production:
This clip was filmed for this website at the Eisteddfod Folk Music gathering in upstate New York, sponsored by the New York Folk Music Society, in October 2009. We thank Helen Hart for doing the filming.

King Orfeo: Sung

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About the scene and clip:
Scottish singer Alison McMorland sings this traditional ballad.

About the work:
This song dates from the 14th century. It retells the story of Orpheus and Eurydice—but in the medieval song, Orfeo is a great piper (in some versions, he is a harper) as well as a king, and he succeeds in rescuing his beloved wife. This version of the song is in the Shetland dialect of English, blended with Lowland Scots. The two refrain lines (the second and fourth lines in each stanza) are in Norn, a dialect of Old Norse, found in Shetland; the first line apparently means “The wood is green early”; the second, “Where the hart runs yearly.”

A related clip on this website is “Orfeo: Opening scenes,” taken from another medieval English version of the story of Orpheus.

About the genre:
A ballad is a song that tells a story; ballads are often fairly long, composed of a dozen or more stanzas. Although many other songs, both long and short, also tell stories, the term “ballad” used in this particular sense dates from the late Middle Ages. Some late-medieval ballads and a great many early-modern ballads survive, some of them in multiple versions, and throughout the world. Documentation for ballad melodies is in general substantially later than for the texts.

About the edition/translation:
The classic edition for traditional ballad texts, often with many variants, is The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, ed. Francis James Child, New York, Dover, 1965, 5 vols (orig. 1888). This song is Vol. I, No. 19. This melody was collected by Pat Schuldham-Shaw in 1947 from a singer named John Stickle of Unst: see The Singing Tradition of Child’s Popular Ballads, ed. Bertrand Harris Bronson, Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press, 1976, p. 75.

About the performer/ensemble:
Alison McMorland is a professional singer from Scotland who sings a wide range of traditional ballads and other songs, often with Geordie McIntyre. They have co-produced numerous recordings. This song is recorded on their CD “The Ballad Tree,” with full text and notes. Their website is http://alisonmcmorland.com.

About the production:
This clip was filmed for this website at the Eisteddfod Folk Music gathering in upstate New York, sponsored by the New York Folk Music Society, in October 2009. We thank Helen Hart for doing the filming.

Parzival: Wolfram speaks about himself and women

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About the scene and clip:
The performer reads aloud this very personal (and quite funny) passage, in which Wolfram von Eschenbach interrupts his narrative to speak about himself and about women. (This is sometimes called “Wolfram’s apology.”) Wolfram is angry at the woman who he says has mistreated him—but he offers his tale of adventure to the ladies (if they want it).

About the work:
Parzival is an early-13th-century German retelling of the romance about the great (and rather goofy) knight Perceval and about the Grail that was composed by Chrétien de Troyes: Perceval ou le conte du grail (see Perceval). Wolfram follows Chrétien’s storyline quite closely on the whole, and works within the rhymed couplet form, but he has a very distinctive voice: he can be quite pompous and is often very funny, and he makes a good many interesting changes and additions to the French version of the story.

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:
Parzival, trans. A.T. Hatto, London, Penguin, 1980. Original: Der Parzival des Wolfram von Eschenbach, ed. Dieter Kuhn, Frankfurt am Main, Insel Verlag, 1986, Vol.2.

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 Washington Square Park by Nitzan Rotschild.

Perceval: Perceval takes knights for devils, then angels

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About the scene and clip:
At the start of the romance, Perceval, who has been raised in the forest by his mother, sees knights for the first time, riding along. First he thinks they are devils (they make such a racket), but then he decides he is wrong: they must be angels, because they are so shiny and beautiful! The solo performer plays Perceval and various knights.

About the work:
Perceval is the last of the five surviving romances by Chrétien de Troyes who is often considered the father of Arthurian romance. This unfinished work, in octosyllabic rhymed couplets, was composed for Philippe of 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 7ff. 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:
Emily Leonard is a student of Dramatic Literature and Journalism 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.

Perceval: Perceval meets charcoal burner

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About the scene and clip:
Perceval, pretty clueless but eager to find King Arthur’s court, meets a charcoal burner in the forest who tells him how to get there—and tells him a bit about King Arthur. The performer makes a strongly comic use of accents.

About the work:
Perceval is the last of the five surviving romances by Chrétien de Troyes who is often considered the father of Arthurian romance. This unfinished work, in octosyllabic rhymed couplets, was composed for Philippe of 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 27ff. 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:
Emily Cramer is a Drama student in the CAP 21 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.