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Le roman de Mélusine
L'histoire de Mélusine appartient au folklore universel et s'inscrit dans la lignée des récits qui mettent en contact le monde des humains et le monde surnaturel à travers l'union d'un mortel et d'une fée.Après avoir longtemps appartenu à la tradition orale, c'est au XIIe siècle que la légende fait son entrée en littérature, tandis que la fée devient l'ancêtre mythique des Lusignan au début du XIVe siècle, sous la plume de Pierre de Bressuire.Seul manque dès lors à notre légende le nom de la fée, apparu un siècle plus tard dans les deux romans français, le récit en prose de Jean d'Aras (1393) et le texte en vers de Coudrette (début du XVe siècle) : deux histoires écrites à la gloire du lignage des Lusignan autrefois prestigieux, sur fond de guerre franco-anglaise et de reconquête du Poitou par le duc de Berry, et imprégnées du mythe de la croisade, deux contes de fées voués, de siècle en siècle, à un succès ininterrompu.
194 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1500
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October 28, 2024to nie jest ta wersja kompletnie, ale przeczytalam meluzyne na studia to sie liczy ok
to by bylo w sumie dobre wspolczesne fantasy
pozdrawiam
(moje oczy czerwone, moje oczy zmęczone)
to by bylo w sumie dobre wspolczesne fantasy
pozdrawiam
(moje oczy czerwone, moje oczy zmęczone)
June 2, 2024
Diss baby
March 31, 2015
There was much to like about this book, and also much to dislike. Before I get into that, I should probably describe what it is - it's a Middle English translation of a French original, about Melusine the Fairy and her family. The author claims to have translated it as faithfully as possible, and, according to the editor's introduction, he seems to have done a good job of that.
For the negatives, the translation itself is not very engaging for the most part. It lacks the poetic style of, say, the Gawain poet. The editor himself says as much - that the language isn't as good as the French original, and it probably could never have been assumed to be pleasant to hear read. It's not horrible, if you like Middle English (which I do), but it's not great either.
There are some plot problems too - like a convenient number of orphaned princesses just waiting for four, count 'em, four of Melusine's sons to rescue from invaders. With nary a contender from their own country in sight. Additionally, the first episode is basically recounted twice, as two brothers accomplish this, then a second set do the same. I don't fault the English author for this one, though, since he was just translating.
All that being said, there is a lot that is good about the story, especially when they get to Geoffrey "of the Great Tooth." He takes on giants, burns down a monastery, and breaks enchantments. As you can see from the list, he's not a cardboard saint, and caused quite a lot of problems for the whole family with the monastery. But that scene also makes the story take on a depth that goes beyond the actual written text. His brother insisted on being a monk there, and Geoffrey was enraged that he wouldn't take knighthood instead. It is this that leads him to burn it down, killing his brother and 100 monks. But just when you think he's evil, Melusine says (via fairy lore) that he was destined to burn it down because the monks there were so depraved. And this is where I think it shines - reading between the lines, his brother was probably mouthing pious cliches to justify being there, when he really picked this particular place to avoid family responsibility and revel in debauchery. Geoffrey sees through this, and, with his unrestrained rage, does something (terrible) about it. There's a whole psychological aspect that isn't described but pretty obvious, when the story is spelled out.
Another thing that is good is that the story totally pulls the rug out from the genre, especially considering when it was written (nowadays the anti-hero or anti-epic would be common, but not then, I imagine). In one place, Melusine says her son Horrible (actually his name) should be put to death, or he will cause the ruin of the entire family. In any other story, this would be foreshadowing because they won't do it, or they try and fail, which sets the tragedy up to happen. But not in this story - their men just say "Right away, ma'am" and go off to do it then and there. Not particularly nice, of course, but a complete surprise in this kind of story.
There's also a dragon-slaying story that involves an Arthurian knight, who gets farther into the dragon's lair than anyone ever had - and is promptly swallowed whole. Then the episode is related to Geoffrey, who decides to take on the adventure. Again, I expect that it was there to show the House of Melusine is greater than Arthur, as Geoffrey alone could slay the beast, but I was wrong. Instead, before he can leave, he takes ill and dies. The dragon remains unconquered. All of this came as a surprise.
I also liked the order of the story. Melusine comes in early, with her specific restrictions, but with no explanation. Much, much later, Geoffrey comes upon the reason and his family's whole backstory. The editor thought it was out of order, but I disagree - it was a great way to tell the story without ham-handed exposition up front.
A final good thing was that the book went on to tell about Melusine's two sisters - I knew she had two, but didn't know they got short tales of their own as well.
So overall, it was a slog to get through, but if you can, there are some truly great moments tucked in there. It's scattered, but it's definitely there.
For the negatives, the translation itself is not very engaging for the most part. It lacks the poetic style of, say, the Gawain poet. The editor himself says as much - that the language isn't as good as the French original, and it probably could never have been assumed to be pleasant to hear read. It's not horrible, if you like Middle English (which I do), but it's not great either.
There are some plot problems too - like a convenient number of orphaned princesses just waiting for four, count 'em, four of Melusine's sons to rescue from invaders. With nary a contender from their own country in sight. Additionally, the first episode is basically recounted twice, as two brothers accomplish this, then a second set do the same. I don't fault the English author for this one, though, since he was just translating.
All that being said, there is a lot that is good about the story, especially when they get to Geoffrey "of the Great Tooth." He takes on giants, burns down a monastery, and breaks enchantments. As you can see from the list, he's not a cardboard saint, and caused quite a lot of problems for the whole family with the monastery. But that scene also makes the story take on a depth that goes beyond the actual written text. His brother insisted on being a monk there, and Geoffrey was enraged that he wouldn't take knighthood instead. It is this that leads him to burn it down, killing his brother and 100 monks. But just when you think he's evil, Melusine says (via fairy lore) that he was destined to burn it down because the monks there were so depraved. And this is where I think it shines - reading between the lines, his brother was probably mouthing pious cliches to justify being there, when he really picked this particular place to avoid family responsibility and revel in debauchery. Geoffrey sees through this, and, with his unrestrained rage, does something (terrible) about it. There's a whole psychological aspect that isn't described but pretty obvious, when the story is spelled out.
Another thing that is good is that the story totally pulls the rug out from the genre, especially considering when it was written (nowadays the anti-hero or anti-epic would be common, but not then, I imagine). In one place, Melusine says her son Horrible (actually his name) should be put to death, or he will cause the ruin of the entire family. In any other story, this would be foreshadowing because they won't do it, or they try and fail, which sets the tragedy up to happen. But not in this story - their men just say "Right away, ma'am" and go off to do it then and there. Not particularly nice, of course, but a complete surprise in this kind of story.
There's also a dragon-slaying story that involves an Arthurian knight, who gets farther into the dragon's lair than anyone ever had - and is promptly swallowed whole. Then the episode is related to Geoffrey, who decides to take on the adventure. Again, I expect that it was there to show the House of Melusine is greater than Arthur, as Geoffrey alone could slay the beast, but I was wrong. Instead, before he can leave, he takes ill and dies. The dragon remains unconquered. All of this came as a surprise.
I also liked the order of the story. Melusine comes in early, with her specific restrictions, but with no explanation. Much, much later, Geoffrey comes upon the reason and his family's whole backstory. The editor thought it was out of order, but I disagree - it was a great way to tell the story without ham-handed exposition up front.
A final good thing was that the book went on to tell about Melusine's two sisters - I knew she had two, but didn't know they got short tales of their own as well.
So overall, it was a slog to get through, but if you can, there are some truly great moments tucked in there. It's scattered, but it's definitely there.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 27, 2017
Il y eut aux alentours de 1400 deux romans de Mélusine : l'un en prose, l'autre en vers, dont cet ouvrage est la traduction. Mélusine est cette fée-serpente qui est l'ancêtre mythique de la noble famille de Lusignan. Le roman dit comment le premier des Lusignan, Raymondin, la rencontra dans une forêt de Poitou après s'être rendu responsable de la mort accidentelle de son seigneur ; comment Mélusine l'aima et fit de lui un favori de la Fortune ; quels furent les exploits de leurs enfants ; mais aussi comment Raymondin perdit, en brisant un voeu, la personne de Mélusine, mais non pas son amour.
Vers 1400 la famille de Lusignan était abattue ; les romans semblent avoir été écrits à la demande des seigneurs qui se revendiquaient de leur parenté et prétendaient à leur territoire poitevin. Coudrette, auteur du roman en vers, se trouve donc face à une tâche assez lourde : fonder en féérie les prétentions territoriales et protocolaires de la famille de Lusignan, tout en suggérant les raisons de sa chute.
La première partie du roman est entièrement consacrée à Raymondin et à ses amours avec Mélusine ; la suite est plus complexe. Tantôt le narrateur leur revient, tantôt il suit les aventures variées de leur descendance, d'abord immédiate puis lointaine. Or les descendants de la fée sont exactement des êtres monstrueux : exceptionnels, notamment par leurs prouesses, mais potentiellement inquiétants ; leur physique marque diversement cette monstruosité, de la parfaite conformation des uns aux aberrations des autres, dont Geoffroy la Grand Dent (inutile de gloser son nom), qui s'impose comme le protagoniste de la deuxième moitié du roman, et dont la vaillance exceptionnelle se double d'un caractère explosif et colérique qui lui fait accomplir des actes de violence dont il se repent ensuite, mais trop tard. Cette ambivalence caractérise les solutions romanesques que Coudrette, dans un ouvrage pétri de folklore, trouve aux problèmes que lui cause sa commande. De même on s'aperçoit que c'est Mélusine, la créature suspecte, qui donne toujours les conseils les plus avisés au brave mortel Raymondin, jusqu'au moment de leur séparation où elle se hausse jusqu'à une vraie sagesse chrétienne. Ce brouillage de cartes est le meilleur du roman, qui n'hésite pas à clore son intrigue sur une déception : il s'agit après tout de préfigurer la grandeur et la chute du lignage.
Les frères de Geoffroy, aux aventures étonnamment stéréotypées, ne sont pas toujours aussi intéressants que lui. À vrai dire le roman est inégal, parfois d'une sécheresse proche du résumé aux moments précis où l'attention se disperse, parfois savoureux dans sa manière de créer les atmosphères, et lyrique à l'occasion, dans les adieux de Raymondin et Mélusine, ou dans une remarquable conclusion en forme de litanie des saints augmentée. L'ensemble n'en demeure pas moins fort attachant.
Vers 1400 la famille de Lusignan était abattue ; les romans semblent avoir été écrits à la demande des seigneurs qui se revendiquaient de leur parenté et prétendaient à leur territoire poitevin. Coudrette, auteur du roman en vers, se trouve donc face à une tâche assez lourde : fonder en féérie les prétentions territoriales et protocolaires de la famille de Lusignan, tout en suggérant les raisons de sa chute.
La première partie du roman est entièrement consacrée à Raymondin et à ses amours avec Mélusine ; la suite est plus complexe. Tantôt le narrateur leur revient, tantôt il suit les aventures variées de leur descendance, d'abord immédiate puis lointaine. Or les descendants de la fée sont exactement des êtres monstrueux : exceptionnels, notamment par leurs prouesses, mais potentiellement inquiétants ; leur physique marque diversement cette monstruosité, de la parfaite conformation des uns aux aberrations des autres, dont Geoffroy la Grand Dent (inutile de gloser son nom), qui s'impose comme le protagoniste de la deuxième moitié du roman, et dont la vaillance exceptionnelle se double d'un caractère explosif et colérique qui lui fait accomplir des actes de violence dont il se repent ensuite, mais trop tard. Cette ambivalence caractérise les solutions romanesques que Coudrette, dans un ouvrage pétri de folklore, trouve aux problèmes que lui cause sa commande. De même on s'aperçoit que c'est Mélusine, la créature suspecte, qui donne toujours les conseils les plus avisés au brave mortel Raymondin, jusqu'au moment de leur séparation où elle se hausse jusqu'à une vraie sagesse chrétienne. Ce brouillage de cartes est le meilleur du roman, qui n'hésite pas à clore son intrigue sur une déception : il s'agit après tout de préfigurer la grandeur et la chute du lignage.
Les frères de Geoffroy, aux aventures étonnamment stéréotypées, ne sont pas toujours aussi intéressants que lui. À vrai dire le roman est inégal, parfois d'une sécheresse proche du résumé aux moments précis où l'attention se disperse, parfois savoureux dans sa manière de créer les atmosphères, et lyrique à l'occasion, dans les adieux de Raymondin et Mélusine, ou dans une remarquable conclusion en forme de litanie des saints augmentée. L'ensemble n'en demeure pas moins fort attachant.
August 1, 2019
λατρεύω τη μεσαιωνική λογοτεχνία
περισσότερο από το καθετί είναι οι ρίζες του σύγχρονου φάντασι
αυτή η ιστορία, ναι, είχε όλα τα κλασικά τρόουπς, μα αν σκεφτούμε πότε γράφτηκε είναι λογικό να έχει διεισδύσει ύπουλα στο ζαϊτγκάιστ
γλυκόπικρο και στοιχειωτικό με τον τρόπο του
υπέροχο
περισσότερο από το καθετί είναι οι ρίζες του σύγχρονου φάντασι
αυτή η ιστορία, ναι, είχε όλα τα κλασικά τρόουπς, μα αν σκεφτούμε πότε γράφτηκε είναι λογικό να έχει διεισδύσει ύπουλα στο ζαϊτγκάιστ
γλυκόπικρο και στοιχειωτικό με τον τρόπο του
υπέροχο
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