The British poet argues that Carthage doesn’t refer to the Tunisian city, but to Cartagena (a port in South-East Spain), Valence is not the city situated on the Rhône river, but Valencia, and the fictional name Torelore – the place where Aucassin and Nicolette shipwrecked – could be Torello. The translator speculates that the plot is not original, because the particular form of this tale pre-exists in the Arabian or Moorish culture. Thus, Bourdillon suggests that the story probably comes from Spain, the place where two religions and mentalities met. To be more exact, the plot doesn’t seem to take place in Provence, where Old French literature flourished, but in Spain. 10) He compares Aucassin and Nicolette with Romeo and Juliet, Cupid and Psyche and other classic romances, but the things that make this Old French chantefable stand out are the “ perpetual touches of actual life, and words that raise pictures (…)” (Loc.12). However, in this review I will quote and use some of Bourdillon’s explanations from the preface of his edition and a few critical ideas from the Dictionary of the Middle Ages.īourdillon thinks that sometimes we need to leave behind modern complicated novels and turn to old and simple tales, which we may find “ more moving, more tender, even more real, than all the laboured realism of these photographic days.” (Loc. I read both translations and I found them very good and similar, but I prefer Lang’s version, because it’s more melodious and it sounds a little more old-fashioned than the other one. The story fascinated authors such as Andrew Lang and Francis William Bourdillon, who translated the tale in English. Its only remaining source is a manuscript kept in the National Library of France, in Paris. Thus, I want to share with you some information and interpretations regarding this French medieval story most of you probably haven’t heard of.Īucassin and Nicolette is an anonymous Old French chantefable (creation comprising of prose and verse), probably from the 12 th or 13 th century. I’ve been thinking for a long time about writing a review about a tale I accidentally found on Amazon.
Train to Infinity and Beyond May 21, 2017.
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