The Testament of Cresseid & Seven Fables

by Robert Henryson, Seamus Heaney (Translator)

The greatest of the late medieval Scots makars, Robert Henryson was influenced by their vision of the frailty and pathos of human life, and by the inherited poetic example of Geoffrey Chaucer. Henryson's finest poem, and one of the rhetorical masterpieces of Scots literature, is the narrative Testament of Cresseid. Set in the aftermath of the Trojan War, the Testament completes the story of Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde, offering a tragic account of its faithless heroine's rejection by her lover, Diomede, and of her subsequent decline into prostitution and leprosy. Written in Middle Scots, the Testament has been translated by Seamus Heaney into a confident but faithful idiom that matches the original verse form and honors the poem's unique blend of detachment and compassion.

A master of high narrative, Henryson was also a comic master of the verse fable, and his burlesques of human weakness in the guise of animal wisdom are delicately pointed with irony. Seven of the Fables are here sparklingly translated by Heaney, their freshness rendered to the last claw and feather. Together, The Testament of Cresseid and Seven Fables provide a rich and wide-ranging encounter between two poets across six centuries.

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Medieval, 15th Century, British Literature, Drama, Literature

183 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1499

About the author

Robert Henryson (1425 - 1506) was a Scottish poet who worked as a schoolmaster in the Royal Burgh of Dunfermline after studying church law at Glasgow University. His most popular works were his Scots versions of Aesop's Fables.

Counted among the Scots Makars, he was a distinctive voice in the Northern Renaissance at a time when culture was on a cusp between medieval and renaissance sensibilities.

Henryson's writing consists mainly of narrative works highly inventive in their development of story-telling techniques. He generally achieved a canny balance of humour and high seriousness which is often multi-layered in its effects. This is especially so in his Morall Fabillis, in which he expresses a consistent but complex world view that seems standard, on the surface, vis a vis the major ruling power of the church, while containing critical and questioning elements. This range is further extended in his Testament of Cresseid with its more tragic vision. Overall, his themes and tone convey an attractive impression of humanity and compassionate intellect. He was a subtle rhetorician and remains to this day one of the finest in the Scots language.

Reviews

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

A landmark of late medieval Scots literature, owing a little to Chaucer while creating a distinct voice that found its culmination in Burns and Scott centuries later.

[Illiterate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cresseid: callous gods heap misfortunes on a once fickle woman. Fables: Aesop with rather arbitrary morals added.

[Michal Simko · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Testament of Cresseid, based on Chaucer's story, was a lot more enjoyable than the seven fables (based on Aesop's fables). While the former gave the story a new perspective for readers and their reading experience appropriate to the tale told, the latter was falling short of achieving the same effect.

[Elliot Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just the titular fable

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very quick read because the facing pages are in the original Scots, which I did not read (sorry). The lead poem is a depressing postscript to Chaucer's tale of Troilus and Cressida, and the Fables are generally based on Aesop.

[Brendan McKee · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely excellent read.

Henryson’s version of these stories are brilliantly told; particularly his use of meta-narration to add both depth and moral commentary. The Testament of Cresseid is easily one of the best pieces of poetry I have ever encountered, with its story and Henryson’s comments on the unfairness of her punishment woven together to make a remarkably emotional and thoughtful moral story on the cruelty of a judgemental society. The seven fables, retellings of Aesop’s classics, are strong as well, though perhaps not to the same level as the Testament. Nonetheless, they are well told, particularly the Lion and the Mouse which is bound round with a fictional encounter between Henryson and Aesop.

All of this is added to by Heaney’s brilliant translation, which once again elevates the source material to the level of a masterpiece. As always. Heaney’s translation is not a one-to-one conversion, as the Scots text included in my version of the text makes clear, but rather a translation which seeks to capture the spirit of the text. I can’t help but think he at time even improved the prose, such as when he translates the rather direct line “the auld proverb is witnes off this lorum” to the metaphorically stepped “The Latin tag affords a proof of this” (pp. 172-173). Though certainly a good poet, I do think Heaney is at his best as a translater as he never fails to make something his own in the translation, and he certainly does not disappoint here!

[Callum Morris-Horne · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite Medieval writer. Not a fan of a lot of texts I read during the term on this period but this poem packed such a poignant punch; I’m rarely moved by antique texts such as this due to the language which can seem foreign, so this is rare. However, Heaney’s translation is fantastic and captures the brogue of the tragedy well. I’d still recommend reading Henryson’s text afterwards in a Scottish accent and the Middle Scots language will come to life. Though to appreciate it proper you probably would need to read Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde or Shakespeare’s version to get a sense of the story (or at least a summary) since he carries on the plot, if you’re looking to delve into some old English texts, look no further than this. By no means a long read and there’s a handful of fun fables to wash the heartache down with.

[Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and moving. Heaney's English translation from the Scots, including the original on facing pages. I can, with much sweat, read the auld leid with only five mistakes a page, but this is a blessing.

The English rendition is less exciting and expressive, and I can hardly blame Heaney so I don't know what to blame.

[Bronte Madeleine]

the testament is one of the sexiest medieval texts i’ve ever read - i wish i could replace my study of troilus and criseyde with this bad boy
scottish dialect is incred
‘who knows if all that chaucer wrote was true?’ TOO RIGHT ROBBIE

[Molly Cooper Willis · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I’m done with this class, I am going to need at least a fifty year break from hearing the words/phrases “anthropocentric,” “ecocritical,” “human framework,” “anthropomorphic,” “more than human,” “nonhuman,” and so on.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seems like the kind of guy i'd like to drink with - and that's not just a generalisation about the Scots.

[Nicola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Challenging at first (the Scots part) but once you really get into it and understand the point of the poems they really are amazing. The testament of Cressied being a particular favourite.

[ava]

no rating

content warnings
- none noticed

review
I've gotta be honest, I have no fucking clue what I think about this. Had to read it for class. Very neutral.

[John W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was happy to read the translation of The Testament of Cresseid and Seven Fables but the translation was fairly rough and missed certain concepts included in the middle English original.

[Willow Daymond · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read testament if Cresseid

[Michael Arnold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me a while to get into this, but once I did it was really good! Will be writing a review of this, one of the fables I absolutely adored! The Preiching of the Swallow it was called - I loved it.

[Grady Ormsby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetry can be characterized by its wide array of forms, tropes, patterns, schemes and mechanics. But ultimately, the definition of poetry is elusive. Perhaps the best method of capturing the essence of poetry is definition by example. The Testament of Cresseid & Seven Fables by Robert Henryson is a perfect illustration of that essence. One could probably find an example of every entry in a dictionary of poetry terms in Seamus Heaney’s translation of Henryson’s late medieval Scots poetry. Outside of his surviving writing, almost nothing is known of Henryson, the greatest of the late medieval Scots poets. He is often considered to be an apostle of Geoffrey Chaucer. Indeed, The Testament, the first part of the volume, seems to be a completion of Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde, a tale taken not from Greek mythology but from Homer’s Iliad. The plot is a simple cautionary tale. Cressida, sent to Greece from Troy as part of a post Trojan War prisoner exchange, proves herself to be faithless and abandons her love for Troilus in favor of her Greek suitor Diomedes. Such faithlessness does not go unpunished as she is sent into a decline of prostitution and disease. The second half of the book is Heaney’s translation of seven fables taken from Henryson’s The Morall Fabillis of Esope the Phrygiana, a collection of thirteen tales, all with animal characters. Seven of the stories are expanded versions of Aesop’s tales and the other six are about Reynard, the anthropomorphic red fox and trickster figure of European Medieval literature. In these tales Henryson proves himself to be a comic master of the verse fable. The book is laid out with Henryson’s Middle Scots on the left and Heaney’s contemporary English on the right. Heaney has established a fascinating link between two poets separated by six centuries.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book for the Middle Scots language in which the poems are written. The subject matter of the poems was not so exciting. The Testament of Cresseid is a dozer that might have had some panache in the Greek, but approaches the narcotic in MS. The seven fables referred to in the title are interpretations of a selection of Aesop's fables. These are great for a 10 year old, but could easily be paraphrased in a three minute joke.

It's sad to consider that the English-speaking poets of old had no original material to structure their meter around.

The Middle Scots is consistent enough to read straight without Heaney's quasi-enlightened renderings. It is actually easier to follow than Modern Scots Dialect because the vocabulary is limited. I'm not sure if that is a general statement for Middle Scots, but it certainly applies to this collection.

I don't care much for Mr. Heaney. Why he would feel compelled to honor Robert Henryson 600 years after his career by translating (adulterating) his self-sufficient work is beyond me. Perhaps he wanted to get his name beyond the introduction. You certainly don't need Heaney's spin on the story to follow it. The MS is easy enough to follow to show that Heaney is changing the poetry significantly.

I gave this three stars because it is the only work in MS that I have found in my pickings. In restrospect it is depressing reading a translation of a translation. Heaney should get a job in Hollywood.

[Karen Ravn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only read 'The Testament of Cresseid' (coursework) - but still going to count it - I'm unsure if there's a version with only that text in it.

Of course, being translated by Heaney, it's very pretty - and the Scots version is a good window into the writing of Henryson's time.
But it's definitely not lacking in misogyny - and there's (literally) n0t much else to it other than what the title suggests.

But, yeah, interesting linguistically, I guess?

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm reading this book for my Scottish literature class because I find the old Scots language so hard to understand. Heaney takes the work of Henryson and with it weaves modern words into a beautiful translation of the original text. My respect for Heaney as a poet has increased tenfold. Stunning verse, which has been very helpful to my understanding of Henryson.

[Lulu]

The testament c. 1475/80-1490


Other trans http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/web...

Original https://b-ok.asia/book/1679880/4f6f41




Cosmology, sexuality and music in Robert Henryson's "Orpheus and Eurydice" / Jennifer N. Brown --
Cresseid's dignity: cosmology and sexuality in Henryson's "Testament" / Holly Crocker. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

[Jeffrey Greggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed in The New Criterion: http://www.newcriterion.com/articles.....

[S P · Rating 2 out of 5]

Super meh.

[Nick Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fine, but not really best vehicle for Heaney's talents, certainly not as good as his Beowulf

[MadOnReading · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please note that this review is only of the seven fables in this book, and not The Testament of Cresseid', as the seven fables were part of my university reading list, whereas The Testament of Cresseid was not.

Firstly, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved these fables. These seven fables are all retellings of Aesop's fables, or are based on these; each uses animal characters to teach its readers moral messages.

My favourite fables were The Lion and the Mouse, and The Two Mice. I thought both of these, especially, had an almost fairy-tale like quality to them, and were 'cute'.

I also liked The Toad and The Mouse due to the reference of physiognomy, yet this is perhaps the saddest and most poignant of all the tales in this book. Yet its moral message is just as applicable in today's society, as are any of the other fables' messages.

Most of the fables are split into sections: the actual tale, and then a 'Morality' section. However, a couple also include a prologue-like beginning as well. This made them easy to read, and the morality section often tells the reader what the different animals could be symbolic of in the human world.

The majority of the fables look at the negative aspects of mankind, making this a powerful read with a hugely moral purpose.

Written in poem form, these fables have a nice rhythm, however, as Henryson's original writing is on the left hand page and Heaney's translation on the right, I can see that in several places Seamus Heaney has added in extra syllables, and, in some cases, changed the meaning of particular lines--whether this is an improvement on Henryson's original text, I am still undecided.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading these fables and I read them in one sitting. Would highly recommend that you read them, particularly of you're studying English Literature.