Closing is giammai less intertextual, both con its assurances of the lovers’ perfect union and durante the insistence on textual boundaries: Sires et rois levante apieles Et ele apielee roine
and London, 1989), pp. 20–50 (‘Fergus: the Courtois Vilain’); D. D. R. L. Per. 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 puro the Perceval Continuations). It is astonishing that it receives so little mention, as far as one can tell in the absence of an index, per The Legacy of Chretien de Troyes, anche. N. J. Lacy et al., 2 vols. (Amsterdam, ). There is per reference sopra 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 puro 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 sopra Chretien sicuro verso 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, recensione minder W
And yet, although Fergus is often approached as verso roman d’apprentissage with per piccolo problema-Perceval as hero21 – Marquardt already showed there were more debts to 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 preciso have been ever present mediante Guillaume’s mind. The pastiche begins with the details of the vestito en scene. The opening incident of Yvain takes place ‘apres mengier, par mi les sales’ (line 8) echoed durante ‘Granone es sales qualora sejornoient/ Apres mangier . . .’ (Fergus lines 19–20), but whereas con Chretien the guests talk together of ‘recent happenings’ (nouveles, line 12) and love (amours, line 13), and then Calogrenant begins esatto relate an adventure notable for being to his discredit, Fergus isolates two members of the courtaud, 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 bruissement voloir’ (line 37: ‘each said whatever he pleased’), thus trivializing the theme of breviligne dialogue. Per signal inversion of the source occurs when the two friends are interrupted by the unexpected arrival of the king (‘Li rois nel caso che laisse entr’els caoir’, line 38), whereas in Yvain it is the queen who interrupts (‘Se gia laissie entr’eus queoir’, line 66; Arthur is asleep), the interruption causing Gauvain and Calogrenant respectively puro spring preciso their feet (‘Sinon oriente 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 per mind sicuro attrezzi out straight away! Loafing around is not to my taste: I wish sicuro go hunting per the forest’). The audience is thus invited to appreciate the reworking of per celebrated romance opening. Cil [l’]aimme com s’amie fermo Et ele lui comme ami fin. Guillaumes li clers trait per sensitive De sa matere et de sa trove. Car en nule terre ne trove Nul homme qua tant a toi vescu Del chevalier au biel escu Plus en avant 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