Closing is per niente less intertextual, both in its assurances of the lovers’ perfect union and mediante the insistence on textual boundaries: Sires et rois oriente apieles Et ele apielee roine
and London, 1989), pp. 20–50 (‘Fergus: the Courtois Vilain’); D. D. R. L. A. Arrathoon (Rochester, MI, 1984), pp. 47–81, and ‘The Craft of Fergus: Supplementary Notes’, French Studies Bulletin 25 (1987–88), 1–5 (on Guillaume’s debt preciso the Perceval Continuations). It is astonishing that it receives so little mention, as far as one can tell mediante the absence of an index, con The Legacy of Chretien de Troyes, anche. N. J. Lacy et al., 2 vols. (Amsterdam, ). There is a reference in I, 145. Marquardt, Der Einfluss Kristians von Troyes auf den Roman ‘Fergus’ des Guillaume Le Clerc (Gottingen, 1906). The nearest parallel is Huon de Mery’s Tournoiement Antechrist. Here too the essential borrowings from Chretien had been recognized mediante an early German dissertation (by Max Grebel, Leipzig, 1883), but have only quite recently been examined for the artistry with which they have been recycled: see K. Busby, ‘Plagiarism and Poetry con the Tournoiement Antechrist of Huon de Mery’, Neuphilologische Mitteilungen 84 (1983), 505–21. For the distinction of the terms parody, pastiche and burlesque, which Owen tends onesto use interchangeably, see T. Hunt, ‘La Parodie medievale: le cas d’Aucassin et Nicolette’, Romania 100 (1979), 341–81 (pp. 347–50). There are references per Chretien to a Scottish king Aguisel (Erec line 1966), Carduel (Erec line 5724, Yvain line 7, Perceval lines 330 and 797), Cototatre (Perceval line 3613 ? Firth of Forth), Danebroc (Erec lines 2127 and 2133 ? Edinburgh), Scotland (Erec lines 1966, 5223 and 6638; Cliges lines 1473 and 2386), Galloway (Perceval lines 6522, 8301 and 8560; Erec lines 6089 and 6821), Orcanie (Perceval lines 8741, 8941, 8995 and 9023). See R. L. Graeme Ritchie, Chretien de Troyes and Scotland, The Zaharoff Lecture for 1952 (Oxford, 1952).
This was illustrated, albeit rather atomistically, by one of the first modern publications on Fergus, W
And yet, although Fergus is often approached as per roman d’apprentissage with verso lieve imperfezione-Perceval as hero21 – Marquardt already showed there were more debts puro the Perceval than onesto any other of Chretien’s romances – the context of the whole work is unmistakably inscribed durante the cadre of Yvain, the paradigm of medieval romance which seems esatto have been ever present con Guillaume’s mind. The pastiche begins with the details of the mise en scene. The opening incident of Yvain takes place ‘apres mengier, par mi les sales’ (line 8) echoed sopra ‘Frumentone es sales se sejornoient/ Apres mangier . . .’ (Fergus lines 19–20), but whereas mediante Chretien the guests talk together of ‘recent happenings’ (nouveles, line 12) and love (amours, line 13), and then Calogrenant begins preciso relate an adventure notable for being onesto his discredit, Fergus isolates two members of the capable, Gauvain and Yvain, compares them loftily with Achilles and Patroclus, and then with calculated bathos reveals that they talk merely ‘d’unes et d’autres’ (line 33: ‘of this and that’) and ‘disoit cascuns bourdonnement voloir’ (line 37: ‘each said whatever he pleased’), thus trivializing the theme of courtaud conversation. Verso signal inversion of the source occurs when the two friends are interrupted by the unexpected arrival of the king (‘Li rois nell’eventualita che laisse entr’els caoir’, line 38), whereas con Yvain it is the queen who interrupts (‘Se ex laissie entr’eus queoir’, line 66; Arthur is asleep), the interruption causing Gauvain and Calogrenant respectively sicuro spring preciso their feet (‘Si est errant sailli en pies’, Fergus line 41; ‘Sali en pies contre li sus’, Yvain line 68). Arthur is far from drowsy, but bored and bent on action: ‘je vel orendroit errer./ Li sejorners pas ne me plest:/ Je vel cachier en la forest’ (Fergus lines 46–48: ‘I’ve a mind puro servizio out straight away! Loafing around is not sicuro my taste: I wish puro go hunting sopra the forest’). The audience is thus invited esatto appreciate the reworking of verso celebrated romance opening. Cil [l’]aimme com s’amie stop Et ele quello comme ami delicate. Guillaumes li clers trait verso fine De sa matere et de sa clover app gratuita trove. Car en nule terre ne trove Nul homme in questo luogo tant a toi vescu Del chevalier au biel escu Plus en auparavant conter l’en sace. Ici met la bonne et l’estace; Ici oriente la fins del roumans. Grans joie viegne as escoutans. (lines 7000–12)22