Elizabeth Archibald

Religion and magic

The themes of religion and magic, interwoven in the supernatural, are crucial to the Arthurian legend. Many of its most resonant motifs, both secular and sacred, are linked to the supernatural (quest and adventure, magic and enchantment, prophecy and destiny, miracle and marvel, the search for the Holy Grail), as are some of its most powerful figures (Merlin, Morgan le Fay, the Fisher King). The leitmotif of the supernatural echoes through Arthurian romance from its origins in the twelfth century to its modern manifestations. Writers such as Chretien de Troyes, the Gawain -poet, Malory, Tennyson, T. H. White and Marion Zimmer Bradley engage in vastly differing ways with the supernatural, but it remains a constant, fundamental to their narratives. While in some contemporary works the supernatural is reduced or floats free of Christianity, the intimate connection between magic, religion and romance, established over something approaching a millennium, is not readily lost. Magic and the supernatural more generally provide romance with its quality of the marvellous, but may also be treated with profundity and realism. Medieval Arthurian legend, the focus of this essay, reflects a Christian world view in which the supernatural is assumed to play a part, and in which religion does not negate the possibility of magic. Some of the central tensions in Arthurian romance, however, arise from the clash between different sorts of supernatural, in particular between the secular (with its origins in the pagan) and the sacred, and the ways that chivalric ideals engage with these.

The thirteenth-century Arthur

Twelfth-century France left two quite distinct legacies to the adept of romance. On the one hand, it provided what was confidently thought to be an historical Arthur, the Arthur whose life-story and political mission were celebrated by the unimpeachable Geoffrey of Monmouth and his authoritative verse-translator and adapter Wace. On the other, it bequeathed a sequence of wonderfully inventive verse romances which focused on individual heroes more or less loosely attached to Arthur and his Round Table: the romances principally of Chretien de Troyes, of course, but also of the Tristan tradition. The writers of the previous century had elaborated much of the portfolio of structures and motifs and narrative patterns which were to characterise romance: the ethic of solitary and individual enterprise; the knight-errant hero and the quest; the search for chivalric identity; the court of Arthur as the point of departure and the benchmark for individual adventure; the tournament as the locus for chivalric competition; the exploration of sexuality and desire; the conflict and reconciliation of love and chivalry; the pleasures of deferral; the problematic and irresistible ultimate adventure, the Grail.

Bathing for Beauty in the Middle Ages

‘Wine, sex and baths ruin our bodies, but they are the stuff of life,’ according to the tombstone of a Roman freedman at Pompeii.1 It is striking that baths are described as damaging to the body; we might have expected that they were considered an important part of a health and beauty regime, but for the Romans bathing was primarily a social event. Many Roman villas had bath suites, but what is notable about the Roman world is the extent of public bathing. Every city had a public water supply and public baths, and the entry charges were moderate. The baths were open for rich and poor, free and slaves, and maintaining them was a civic duty taken on by public figures. It was normal practice to go to the baths to make and meet friends (and also lovers), do business deals and relax in pleasurable surroundings. The first Christians lived in a Roman culture, and most would certainly have considered both public and private bathing to be usual and pleasurable. The cult of asceticism was not a fundamental aspect of early Christianity, but developed gradually during the third and fourth centuries, and was not general practice.2 Saints who refrained from washing for years — the practice known as alousia — were the exception to the rule; there would have been no point in this renunciation if no one else washed either. Melania the Younger, granddaughter of one of the ascetic Roman ladies in Jerome’s circle, gave up bathing as part of her campaign to persuade her husband to agree to a chaste marriage; she clearly understood that this would make her less attractive.3

Variations on romance themes in the Historia Meriadoci

Abstract: The little known Latin Arthurian narrative Historia Meriadoci presents many challenges. Was it written in the twelfth century, in which case it is an early example of Arthurian romance, or is it later, in which case it reflects already developed motifs? It uses numerous romance themes – separated family, dispossessed heir, young knight arriving at Arthur’s court – but the protagonist leaves the Arthurian milieu quite early on, and pursues a military career more characteristic of epic on the continent. Arthur is presented in a rather disparaging light, as an unjust ruler (there is considerable emphasis on legal issues). This may reflect Welsh traditions in which he is not always an idealized king. But the story is written in Latin: who was the author, and what was the target audience? Does the fact that it was written in Latin, presumably for a largely clerical audience, explain the lack of interest in love, and in detailed accounts of courtly life, which one might expect to find in a vernacular romance? The author seems to draw on historical accounts of European wars as well as more legendary material. The mixture of romance and epic in this text may be compared with the Latin verse narrative Ruodlieb, produced in Germany in the late eleventh century. The Ruodlieb is much more elaborate in style and in plot, but also draws on a wide range of sources to produce a hybrid narrative which might be aimed at a similar audience, well-educated but ready to enjoy a range of heroic adventures, aware of Arthur but not averse to criticism of him. Résumé: Historia Meriadoci, histoire arthurienne en latin, suscite beaucoup de problèmes. Cette œuvre a-t-elle été écrite au XIIème siècle? Si c’est le cas, est-elle un exemple précoce de roman arthurien? Ou a-t-elle été écrite plus tard, auquel cas elle réutilise des motifs déjà développés? Elle aborde de nombreux thèmes romanesques, comme ceux de la famille éclatée, du fils déshérité, du jeune chevalier qui arrive à la cour du roi Arthur. Néanmoins, le protagoniste quitte le milieu arthurien assez tôt pour poursuivre une carrière militaire, ce qui est plus caractéristique des chansons de gestes continentales. Arthur est dépeint sous un mauvais jour, apparaissant comme un roi injuste (l’auteur met l’accent sur les affaires juridiques). Ceci renvoie peut-être à la tradition galloise, où il n’est pas toujours le souverain idéal. Il n’en reste pas moins que l’histoire a été écrite en latin: par qui, et pour qui? Le choix du latin, visant vraisemblablement un public de clercs, explique-t-il le manque d’intérêt pour les histoires d’amour, et les récits détaillés de la vie courtoise que l’on trouve normalement dans les romans vernaculaires? Il semble que l’auteur s’inspire de récits historiques de guerres européennes, autant que d’histoires légendaires. Le mélange des caractéristiques romanesques et épiques dans ce texte invite à faire une comparaison avec Ruodlieb, une histoire latine en vers, écrite en Allemagne vers la fin du XIème siècle. L’intrigue et le style de Ruodlieb sont beaucoup plus élaborés que ceux de Historia Meriadoci. Cependant l’auteur de Ruodlieb s’inspire lui aussi d’une grande variété de sources, dans le but de créer une histoire hybride qui s’adresse au même public que Historia Meriadoci: un public bien instruit, mais enclin à apprécier les récits d’aventures héroïques, un public qui connaitrait le personnage d’Arthur mais qui serait prêt à accepter les critiques dont il peut faire l’objet. Zusammenfassung: Die eher unbekannte lateinische Artuserzählung Historia Meriadoci stellt uns vor etliche Herausforderungen. Wurde sie im 12. Jahrhundert verfasst – und ist sie demnach ein frühes Beispiel der Artusromanzen – oder doch später, und ist sie somit ein Produkt etablierter Motive? Sie greift auf viele Themen der Romanzenliteratur zurück – die zersprengte Familie, der entrechtete Erbe, der junge Ritter am Artushof – und doch verlässt der Protagonist schon frühzeitig das Artusmilieu und folgt einer militärischen Laufbahn, die eher der kontinentalen Epik entspricht. König Artus wird eher unvorteilhaft als ungerechter Herrscher dargestellt (der Text befasst sich intensiv mit rechtlichen Gesichtspunkten). Dies geht möglicherweise auf walisische Traditionen zurück, aus denen Artus nicht immer als ein idealer König hervorgeht. Doch die Geschichte wurde auf Latein verfasst: wer waren Autor und beabsichtigtes Publikum? Erklärt der lateinische Text (und seine wahrscheinlich klerikale Zielgruppe) das mangelnde Interesse an Themen wie Liebe oder höfisches Leben, wie man sie in einer volkssprachlichen Romanze erwarten konnte? Der Autor bezieht sich offensichtlich auf historische Berichte europäischer Kriege wie auch Legendenmaterial. Die Mischung aus Epik und Romanze lässt sich mit der lateinischen Verserzählung Ruodlieb, verfasst in Deutschland im späten 11. Jahrhundert, vergleichen. Ruodlieb ist weitaus reichhaltiger sowohl in Stil als auch Handlung, benützt aber auch eine Vielzahl an Quellen, um mit einer hybriden Erzählung möglicherweise ein vergleichbares Publikum anzusprechen: ein gebildetes Publikum, das Heldenabenteuer genießt, Artus kennt, und mit Artuskritik zurechtkommt.

Love and Marriage in the Breton Lays

Love is usually said to be the central concern of the Middle English Breton lays, as of the French ones. But in fact the English poems pay relatively little attention to romantic love, and are more concerned with identity, family separation and reunion, loyalty and justice. In the French lays, as in French romances, adultery is often accepted, and the happiness of the malmariee put before moral considerations. It is often argued that the English in the Middle Ages were not keen on stories of adultery. There are some striking exceptions – for instance Malory’s focus on Lancelot and Guinevere – but it is certainly not a common theme in the English lays, though it is notable that the two lays by Marie which survive in English versions are both about extra-marital love affairs.