Guingamour, Lanval, Tyolet, Le Bisclaveret

by Jessie Laidlay Weston (editor)

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101 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Jessie Laidlay Weston (1850–1928) was an independent scholar and folklorist, working mainly on mediaeval Arthurian texts.

Weston was the daughter of William Weston a tea merchant and member of the Salters' Company and his second wife, Sarah Burton, and named after his first wife Jessica Laidlay. Sarah, after giving birth to two more daughters died when Jessie was about seven. William remarried Clara King who gave birth to five more children. The elder siblings were born in Surrey, but youngest son Clarence was born in Kent. Jessie, her sister Frances and brother Clarence later moved to Bournemouth, where Jessie began her writing career, remaining there until around 1903. Her home at 65 Lansdowne Road still stands, as of 2010. Jessie studied in Hildesheim then Paris under Gaston Paris. She also studied at the Crystal Palace School of Art.

One of her first printed works was a lengthy sentimental verse called The Rose-Tree of Hildesheim. A narrative about "sacrifice and denial", it was modelled on the story of the Thousand-year Rose, which grows on a wall at Hildesheim Cathedral. Published in 1896, it was the title verse in an omnibus of her poems.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Stacia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Considered to be the first female French poet by scholars, Marie de France tells various romantic medieval stories related to King Arthur in this book. I read this collection specifically for Bisclaveret (the were-wolf). Though the idea of a werewolf goes back to ancient Greece, Marie de France is one of the earliest versions to be written (probably late 1100s). In this rendering, the werewolf is not a scary beast but a wronged knight. A neat and sympathetic version of a werewolf tale.

For the link to this book on Project Gutenberg, look here.

[Lukerik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, if brief, introduction and notes. Prose translation. Old-fashioned with lot’s of theeing and thouing. I only read Guingamor. The others I’ve either read before, or I have a translation available in my preferred style.

It belongs to the same story-family as Marie de France’s Lanval (also translated here) and Graalant (sadly not). It was that relationship that brought me here and I’d recommend it to anyone who’s read either or both of those others, or intends to.

I’d also recommend it to anyone who likes a damn good lay. There’s something hoary and ancient about it and it’s one of those poems that packs a vast number of possible interpretations into very few words.

The situation is one that I’m sure most of us have had to deal with at one time or another. Young Guingamor has just refused his aunt’s sexual advances and as a result he must cross the river and vanquish the fearsome white boar of the forest.

If we interpret the boar as being the avatar of the woman, we could (were we so inclined) trace the back-trail of the story to the Enuma Elish and Marduk’s slaying of Tiamat. Rather interesting that once Guingamor has crossed into the other world, he returns to this one on the third day. I can’t be bothered reaching for my Bible, but I think it might be in Luke where Jesus, after his return, has to eat to prove his identity. Here, Guingamor eats and his identity is re-established in a rather unpleasant way.

Other interpretations are available. There are a number of things that would make a scholar coo with pleasure if they wanted to do a Feminist reading. The hostility to the aunt’s sexuality and her identification with a pig being particular high points.

Personally, I couldn’t help noticing that she conceives her lust for Guingamor while he is playing chess, interrupts him, and then they play out their own tactical game for real. It’s a nice touch. As a player myself, I take the moral of the story to be that one should never listen to a woman when playing chess.

[Becky Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this little book which completely surprised me. Medieval Arthurian romances are not my genre. I had fun reading these four lais out loud so I could hear the old language and cadence. My favorite story was Were-wolf.

[Lillie Culver]

the shit i read for adv french lit is just another level of odd