Ami and Amile: A Medieval Tale of Friendship, Translated from the Old French

by Unknown, Samuel N. Rosenberg (Translator), Samuel Danon (Translator)

This prose translation of the medieval French verse narrative Ami and Amile recounts the legendary friendship of two valiant knights who are as indistinguishable as twin brothers. Ami and Amile serve Charlemagne together, face together the hatred of an archetypal villain, confront the daunting challenges of women and love, and accept extraordinary sacrifices for each other's sake. Miracles mark the end of their lives, and their shared tomb becomes a pilgrims' shrine.

The compelling translation by Samuel N. Rosenberg and Samuel Danon is accompanied by an introduction on the background, genre, and general sense of the tale. The volume also includes an afterword by David Konstan, which examines the medieval work's concept of friendship within a perspective extending back to classical antiquity.
This translation will reveal Ami and Amile as a major work of the French Middle Ages. In elegant and forceful prose, it weaves together the themes of friendship and love and the status of women, of sin and punishment, the moral problem of doing wrong for the right reason, and the mythic affliction of leprosy. The work will foster lively literary and philosophical discussion.
Ami and Amile is of interest to a wide range of readers, including students of history, comparative literature, and gender studies. Medievalists will find it a welcome addition to their libraries and a captivating experience for their students.
The volume is published in the series Stylus: Studies in Medieval Culture, edited by Eugene Vance, University of Washington. Samuel N. Rosenberg is Professor of French and Italian at Indiana University; Samuel Danon is Professor of French at Reed College.

Genres: France

168 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1090

About the author

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Reviews

[Belle Kalil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Displays the bridge between platonic and romantic and the secrets that lie in the unspoken. To the naked eye, with no foul play visible, there is only the display of true, pure friendship in its loveliest form between two friends who are not afraid to express it even if it goes against societal norms during their time. They are caught in pining for each other like any other 19th century British novel, except for its Medieval roots. I should model letters to both my closest friends and my muses after thier dialogue.

[Maggie]

~read for my medieval literature class~

[Lulu]

Old French Version c. 1200? ( exist in 13th manuscript but written 12th?)
Anglo norman https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Middle English https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


? Older latin hagiographical version vita amici et amilii 12th century

? The oldest(?) version of ami and amile is a Latin poem composed around 1090 (c. 1090-1100) by Radulphus Tortarius, a monk of Fleury. The opening lines suggests that the poet was retelling a popular tale: (The Gaul knows the tale, which I am briefly telling...). More distant origins are rooted in folklore.

[Genevieve Andersen · Rating 2 out of 5]

pas originale de tout mais amusante quand même