Huon of Bordeaux

Huon of Bordeaux

Huon of Bordeaux is the title character of a 13th century French epic (chanson de geste) with romance elements. He is a knight who, after unwittingly killing Charlot, the son of Emperor Charlemagne, is given a reprieve from death on condition that he fulfill a number of seemingly impossible tasks: he must travel to the court of the Amir in Babylon and return with a handful of the amir's hair and teeth, kill the Amir's mightiest knight, and three times kiss the Amir's daughter, Esclarmonde. All these Huon eventually achieves with the assistance of the fairy king Oberon.

Editions and continuations

The chanson de geste that has come down to us (in 3 more or less complete manuscripts and 2 short fragments) comprises 10,553 decasyllable verses grouped in 91 assonanced laisses. Presumed dates for its composition vary, but 1216-1268 are generally give as terminus post quem and terminus ante quem.[1]

The chanson was very successful and incited 6 continuations and 1 prologue which triple its length:

  • Roman d'Aubéron - the Turin manuscript of the romance (the only manuscript to contain all of the continuations) contains the only version of this 14th century prologue in the shape of a separate romance of Auberon. No prose version exists.[2]
  • Huon Roi de Féérie
  • Chanson d'Esclarmonde
  • Chanson de Clarisse et Florent
  • Chanson d'Yde et d'Olive
  • Chanson de Godin - the Turin manuscript of the romance contains the only version of this 13th-14th century continuation. No prose version exists.[3]
  • Roman de Croissant.

The Turin manuscript also contains the romance of Les Lorrains a summary in seventeen lines of another version of the story, according to which Huon's exile is due to his having slain a count in the emperor's palace.

The poem and several of its continuations were converted to a rhymed version in alexandrines in the 15th century (only one manuscript exists).[4]

The poem and most of its continuations were put into a prose version in 1454. While no manuscripts exists from the 15th century prose version, this version served as the base text for 16th century printed editions (eleven exist), the earliest extant being the edition printed by Michel le Noir in 1513.[5] The work was reprinted 10 times in the 17th century, 8 times in the 18th and 4 times in the 19th (notably in a beautifully printed and illustrated adaptation (1898) in modern French by Gaston Paris).

The romance had a great vogue in England through the translation (c. 1540) of John Bourchier, Lord Berners, as Huon of Burdeuxe,[6] through which Shakespeare heard of the French epic. In Philip Henslowe's diary there is a note of a performance of a play, Hewen of Burdocize, on December 28, 1593.

The tale was dramatized and produced in Paris by the Confrérie de la Passion in 1557.

Andre Norton retold the tale in quasi-modern English prose as Huon of the Horn in 1951.

Historical sources

The Charlot of the story has been identified by Auguste Longnon (Romania vol. viii) with Charles l'Enfant, one of the sons of Charles the Bald and Ermentrude, who died in 866 in consequence of wounds inflicted by a certain Aubouin in precisely similar circumstances to those related in the romance. The godfather of Huon may safely be identified with Seguin, who was count of Bordeaux under Louis the Pious in 839, and died fighting against the Normans six years later.

References

  1. ^ Raby, ix-xvii.
  2. ^ Raby, xviii.
  3. ^ Raby, xx-xxi.
  4. ^ Raby, xxi-xxii.
  5. ^ Raby, xxiv.
  6. ^ C. S. Lewis English Literature in the Sixteenth Century, Excluding Drama, p152 Oxford History of English Literature (Oxford: Oxford UP, 1954)

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Huon De Bordeaux — est une chanson de geste anonyme datant de la fin du XIIIe siècle ou du début du XIVe. Bien que l œuvre fasse partie du Cycle de Charlemagne, le thème a une grande influence fantastique : le monde féerique envahit le poème. Argument Charlot …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Huon de bordeaux — est une chanson de geste anonyme datant de la fin du XIIIe siècle ou du début du XIVe. Bien que l œuvre fasse partie du Cycle de Charlemagne, le thème a une grande influence fantastique : le monde féerique envahit le poème. Argument Charlot …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Huon de Bordeaux — (Hugo von B.), alte französische Romanze, prosaisch bearbeitet als Des progesses et faits merveilleux du noble H. de B., wovon Tressan seine Abkürzung in der Biblio. thèque universelle des Romans gemacht hat. Lord Berner hat es im 16. Jahrh. ins… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Hüon von Bordeaux — Hüon von Bordeaux, s. Oberon …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Huon de Bordeaux — chanson de geste française en laisses de décasyllabes assonancés (déb. du XIIIe s.) …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Huon de Bordeaux —   [yɔ̃dbɔr do], anonymes altfranzösisches Versepos, zwischen 1216 und 1229 in der Picardie verfasst; die Erzählung um H. de B., der unfreiwillig Charlot, den Sohn Karls des Großen, tötet und daraufhin verbannt wird, ist mit der Sage um den… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Huon de Bordeaux — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Huon (homonymie). Huon de Bordeaux est une chanson de geste anonyme datant de la fin du XIIIe siècle ou du début du XIVe. Bien que l œuvre fasse partie du Cycle de Charlemagne, le thème a une grande influence… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Huon de Bordeaux — ▪ French poem       Old French poem, written in epic metre, dating from the first half of the 13th century. Charlot, son of the emperor Charlemagne, lays an ambush for Huon, son of Séguin of Bordeaux; but Huon kills Charlot without being aware of …   Universalium

  • Huon — may refer to: * Jean Michel Huon de Kermadec, French explorer. * Named after him: ** Huon Gulf, large gulf in Papua New Guinea ** Huon Island, Tasmania ** Huon Peninsula, large peninsula in Papua New Guinea ** Huon Pine, species of conifer native …   Wikipedia

  • Huon de Burdeos — (en francés Huon de Bordeaux) es una canción de gesta anónima de finales del siglo XIII. Forma parte del ciclo de Carlomagno. El elemento fantástico o mágico es muy importante. Charlot, hijo mayor de Carlomagno, ataca al joven Huon. Éste, que… …   Wikipedia Español

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”