The Author in the Text: The Prologues of Chrétien de Troyes

Author(s): Marie-Louise Ollier

Source: Yale French Studies, No. 51, Approaches to Medieval Romance (1974), pp. 26-41
Published by: Yale University Press
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Marie-LouiseOllier

The Author in the Text: The Prologues of Chretien de Troyes *

It is notmypurposeinthisarticleto offer oftheprologue

a definition
as it appearsin mostof the earlynarrative textsin the vernacular
-nor evena definition of theprologuesof Chr6tien de Troyes.At
best,myconclusions maysucceedin providing someperspective in
whichto situatea studyof theprologue.Up to now,studiesof the
subjectstatetheproblemin narrowly terms(is theprologue
rhetorical
something otherthan a purelyconventional exordium?)-orelse
boil downto a simpleinventory of the formulasand topoifound
in the prologues.I shouldstate,moreover,that the traditionof
medieval"ArtsofPoetry"are of no helphere: theyallowno room
fornew "genres,"and besides,theyseemmoreoftento be a collec-
tionoftechnical, empiricalpreceptsthana truly theoretical
reflection.
Our pointof departure, whichis quite different, derivesfrom
certainprinciplesof modemanalysis:alongwithcertainpresent-day
I postulatethe necessity
theoreticians, of situatingeverytextat the
confluence of its own organization and of the tradition,or as a
in
singularform a literary space populatedby other forms.1 This
requiresthatwe recognize, concerning the romancesof Chretiende
Troyes,thattheyrepresent thefirstappearancein Frenchliterature,
jointlywiththe lais and thefabliaux,of a written narrative,strictly
speakingof a narrative text,as opposedto theoral narrative of the
chanson de geste.
This transition
fromspeakingto writing corresponds to a muta-
tionof thecollective
consciousness
as it manifests
itselfin theforms
thatit engenders.The chansonde gestewas a ritualcelebration
whereby thecommunity of thejongleurand of his audiencebrought

* This paper was presentedin a somewhatdifferent format the Medieval

Studies Conference,WesternMichiganUniversity, on May 1, 1972.
1 J. Kristeva,"Le texteclos," Langages 12 (1968), p. 104.

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as the words,a
to life,in an act of singingthatwas as significant
pastwellknownto all,whichwas at thesametimea staticorganiza-
tionoftheworldand in which,withtheabolition of timeand space,
theforcesofGood andEvil confronted one another.
2 Writing,on the
otherhand,impliesthepresenceof an author,who assumeshis text
and investsit withmeaning.Withoutreintroducing the romantic
notionof a "creativesubject,"I wish to studythe signsof this
presenceas a purelytextualphenomenon, using the prologues
(especiallythatof Yvain) as our base and takingthemin theorder
of decreasing explicitness.

It is interesting to consider, firstof all, the way the textrefers

to itselfas a totality. At thisdegreeof generality, moreover,the
vocabularyof the prologuemustbe clarifiedby the vocabulary
certified by the entiretext.3
If it is readilyacknowledged thatwithChretien thewordroman
(romance)becomesa standardtermdenotinga singularliterary
form,particularly as opposed,in thenarrative sphere,to thelai and
the fabliau,it is not easy to distinguish it fromothertermswith
whichthe wordromanseemsto have a synonymous relationship:
conte,estoire, livre.4 But an examination ofthesetermsin Chretien's
worksshowsthathe does not employanyof themindiscriminately.
In theuses of contethatwe have observed, thetermrefersmost
oftento thesource(Erec 13), or to a narrative sequencecontained
within thetale(Erec 1080)-or to Chretien's ownnarrative (Perceval
63 and 66, Cliges 8). In all threecases, it denotesthe narrative
argument, the "story,"in the sense in whichthattermis defined
by moderntheorists: a seriesof eventsoriented in time.

2 E. Vance, Reading the Song of Roland (EnglewoodCliffs,N.J., 1970),

pp. 11-12; P. Zumthor,Essai de Poetique me'dievale (Paris, 1972),pp. 323-327.
3 See, in the appendixto this paper, a selectionof significant examples.
We cite here the numberof occurrencesof the termsin question(according
to the glossariesof the criticaleditionsconsulted):conte: Erec 4 times,Cliges
4, Lancelot0, Yvain 2, Perceval10. estoire: Erec 6, Cliges 3, Lancelot0, Yvain
1, Perceval5. livre: Erec 1, Cliges 5, Lancelot 1, Yvain 1, Perceval2. roman:
Erec 0, Cliges 2, Lancelot 2 (1 by the continuator), Yvain 2, Perceval 1.
4 P. Zumthor,op. cit., pp. 380-396.

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-Unlike conte,estoire, it is true,neverrefersexplicitlyto Chretien's

narrative,exceptperhapsin Erec 23, or again in Clig&s23. But
mostof the uses of the termcarefully distinguish the estoirefrom
the conte: a referenceto the estoireaims at guaranteeing the
authenticityof the narrative, and thus its credibility, withmuch
more certainty than the simplementionof the conte.Wherethe
conterefers to a source,theestoireimpliesthatthesourceis worthy
of belief.The twotermsare thusnearlysynonymous, in the sense
thattheybothdenotethe "story"in theromance, butwithdifferent
connotations.
-The livreis primarily a Latinbook, a factwhichestablishes the
auctoritasof the classics,at once truthand meansof transmitting
thistruth. All knowledge comesby wayof a book,and at thesame
timethebook constitutes thesurestguarantee, fora literateperson
of theMiddleAges,of historical continuity.This certainty is clearly
affirmed, on twooccasions,in theprologueof Cliges(HI.25 and 28).
Consequently, to allude to the livre,for a detailor for the total
work,as Chretien doesforexamplein Erec 6680, or in Perceval67,
is to seek to imbueone's own narrative withthe same authority.
Betteryet,in lines24-25 of Lancelot,it is his "oevre"(work)itself
(1. 22) thathe designates as a livre.Thus somelightis shedon the
boastfulself-confidence of the prologueof Erec: in this passage
Chretienstressedthe superiority of his projectover that of the
jongleurs, whocan only"corronpre et depecier"[corrupt and break
up] the narrative, and he boastedof beginning "l'estoire/ qui toz
jorz mes iertan mimoire"[the storywhichforeveraftershall be
remembered]. This survivaldependedon one condition:that the
narrative be promoted to thedignity of a livre.
Thustheromanis defined clearlyby itsrelationship to the livre,
thatis,to thewritten work,a relationship whichsuffices to distinguish
the romanfromany othernarrativethat is a tributary of oral
literature.It is remarkable, moreover,that this specificnarrative
formshouldbe designated by the termthatoriginally connoted,in
the syntagm "metreen roman"[translate intothe vernacular], one
of theearliestRomanceculturalmanifestations (theadaptationof a

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Latin textin the vulgartongue)-as, forexample,in Cliges3 and

2345-2346.It is as if Latin culture,foundedon writing, in some
wayimposedthemodelofthebookon thisnascentliterature. Indeed,
therelationship of theronwn(as a text)to Latinmustbe expressed
essentiallyin termsof a culturalmodel. Upon the raw material
furnished by theconteor the estoire,the operations of writingare
imposed,whichproducethe roman;throughthe auctoritasthat
writing confers,theromanis investedwiththeprestigeof the livre,
thedepository of all doctrina.
Writing is thereforeperceived, on the
basis of the Latintradition, as the instrument of a memory thatis
far moreadequatethanthe purelyoral memoryof the jongleurs.
This at least is how we interpret the uses of the wordroman in
Perceval 7-8 and,betteryet,in Yvain 5359-5362.
The romancethusoffers itselfas a text,closedin itsorganization,
but henceforth openedby virtueof a memorythathas been fixed
for all time.

We mustnowspecify, throughthetermsthathe employs, notably

in theprologues,themannerin whichChretiendenoteshis textas
There existsalreadya long list of criticalworksthat
a structure.
and the relationships
have assayedthe interpretation of the terms
matitere or source),conjointure
(matter (structure,arrangement),and
sens (meaning),termsthat all the criticshave taken to be key
terms.5
-We shallpass quicklyoverthe termmatitre;it seemsgenerally
admitted that,whatevermaybe thesourceadvancedby the author,
it could not be consideredas anythingotherthan a source.An
goal of makingthe
to a sourcehas theparticular
explicitreference

5 We cite here only studiesthat have appeared since 1950 and that deal
expresslywith one of these terms: D. W. Robertson,Jr.,"Some Medieval
LiteraryTerminologywithSpecial Referenceto Chrdtiende Troyes,"Studies
in Philology48 (1951),pp. 669-692; F. Lyons,"Entencionin Chretien'sLan-
celot," Studies in Philology51 (1954), pp. 425-430; W. A. Nitze, "Conjoin-
turein Erec,v. 14,"ModernLanguageNotes 69 (1954),pp. 180-181;D. Kelly,
Sens and Conjointurein the Chevalierde la Charette(The Hague, 1966),and
"The source and meaningof conjointurein Chretien'sErec 14," Viator 1
(1970), 179-200; J. Rychner,"Le prologuedu Chevalierde la Charette,"Vox
Romanica 26 (1967), pp. 1-13.

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narrative a matterworthy of belief.But theproblemof therelation

betweenthe sourceand the finished romanceremainsunresolved.
-It is thefamoustermconjointure, in line 14 of Erec, thatseems
specificallyto denotethe treatment imposedon the raw material.
Douglas Kelly,to whomwe owe two studieson the question,sees
in conjointure a purelyformalconcept:6 understood on a primary
level as a principleof arrangement of the wordsin a sentence,it
could also mean,on a secondlevel,a principleof arrangement of
theelements in a narrative;thisin factis precisely whatis derived
fromthenotionof juncturain theLatinmedievaltheorists. But this
when
definition, applied to thisspecificnew form that is theromance,
strikesus as extremely There seemsto us to be some
restrictive.
contradiction in creditingChretienwiththe elaborationof a new
genreand, at the same time,in confining him,in the name of a
traditional term,withina rhetoricthat allows no room for this
genre.We thinkinsteadthatChretien, raisedin theclassicaltradition
-which, in fact,is more empiricalthan theoretical, notablyin
everything thatgenerally concernsthedispositio-enriched theterm
witha newconnotation thatwas appropriate to his plan. Thus,we
believe,theconjointure can in no waybe reducedto meaningmerely
thenarrative argument,but ratheris the textualorganization in its
entirety:the oppositionbetweenthe conte d'aventureand the
conjointure is therefore
illuminated,and one avoidsthethorny debate
overthecontribution madeby theconte:whether it is a heterogene-
ous, formless matter,or a matteralreadyorganizedaccordingto a
narrative scheme,makesno difference; Chretien's originality consists
in makinga romance,that is, a significant whole,investedwith
meaningat everylevel of its structure-the sequentialarrangement
beingbut one of the elementsthatcome together to producethis
meaning.
-The termsens seemsat firstto yieldto a moreimmediate inter-
than
pretation this
conjointure; transparencyis as
deceptive, becomes
of lines21-29 of Lancelot,a passage
evidentfromthe elucidation

6 Cited in note 4.

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alreadyanalyzedon severaloccasions, T in whichthe wordoccurs

twice. Its firstoccurrence,in line 23, presents,in general,no
difficulty.
Here it is clearlya questionof the talent,wisdom,and
knowledgeof the author,a subjectthatChretienspeaks of very
politely,sayingthatthe successof theworkowes less to himthan
to thecountess'mandate.Thismeaningof sensis verywidelyborne
out in the vulgarliterature, and the termis associatedwiththe
topos,so frequentin theprologuesof romances, ofthemoralobliga-
tionto shareone'sknowledge. We referthereaderto thelistdrawn
up by R. Halpherson in "Ueberdie Einleitungenim altfranzosischen
Kunstepos"(1911) and moreparticularly to Erec 16-18. We can
thus considersan, sapiance, sciance to be synonyms.
There remainsthe second usage, which is of incontestable
Sens hereis associatedwithmatiere;thusit is no longer
difficulty.
possibleto interpret
thewordas a faculty of theauthor-itmustbe
seen as an interpretationof the mathere.Consequently the word
seemsto comprisetwo different meanings,illustratedat an interval
of threelines: talentor knowledgeof the author,on one hand;
meaningor interpretation, on the other.J. Rychner,however,
questionsthe lattermeaning. 8 He emphasizes that,of the totalof
seventy-sevenexamplesof sens in Chretien'sworks,thereis only
one (not countingour line, whichis problematical) thathas this
meaning:in Clig&s4311 ("An celuisan qu'ele le prist"[in whatever
senseshe maytakeit]). To thisone could add a fewveryrareex-
amplesin thevulgartongue,eitherin didacticworksor in heavily
Latinistauthors.No doubtpolysemy was verycurrent at thattime.
But evenifit wereto be concededhere,despiteRychner's objections,
the problemnevertheless remainsunresolved. If it is the countess
who givesChretienhis sens at the same timeas the matiere,then
at theveryleastwe mustreadsens heremerelyas a sortof sensus
litteralis,resultingfromthe succession of the units of the text.
But mustwe thenload the termwithyeta thirdvalue-taking
it also to meanthe significance
withwhichChretien
himselfinvests

7 See Lyons, Kelly Sens, and Rychner,above, note 4.

8 J. Rychner, op. cit.

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his work?Eitherwe agreewiththe conclusionsof Rychner,who

establishes,withveryseriouslexicalproofs,thatthewordin itstwo
uses has the samemeaning, thatis, thefirst-butthentheproblem
of whatto call thesecond meaning remainsunresolved-orelse we
admitthe ambiguity of sens, an ambiguity favoredby its formal
relationship of itsetymology)
(regardless withtheLatintermsensus.
But lestwe be accusedof frivolous guesswork, we mustsupportour
hypothesis by thecontext.
This bringsus to the thirdkey termof the passage: the one
that appears,in line 29, in the syntagm"metreson antancion."
Writers haveoftenstressed theopposition, in thetextitself,
between
thesens givenby the countess(1. 26) and the antancionwhich,in
line 29, denotesthe author'sown contribution. D. W. Robertson
has eventriedto distinguish the two termsby understanding them,
respectively,as sensus litteralisand sententia;9 unfortunately,
this
meaningascribedto antandionis contradicted by lexicalevidence.
We referthe readeronce againto Kelly'sstudythatsumsup the
articlesthathave appearedon thisquestion.It appearsthatthetwo
meanings presentedby W. Foersterin the Wdrterbuch, namely(1)
effort,(2) goal,intention,meaning, I' can easilybe reducedto just
one: the notionof "effort directed,orientedtowarda goal"-and
in thecase thatconcernsus, Chretien wouldbe directing his antan-
cionto theelaboration ofhisromance;thatis, theantancion denotes
the creativeeffortitself.
At thispoint,the relationships of the termswithinthismicro-
systembecomeclear: the matiereengenders a sens thanksto an
antancion(thecreativeplan of thepoet)thatis realized,at thelevel
of the text,by a conjointure, the conjointure thus becomingthe
textualorganizationproductive of sens.The author'srelationship to
thetextis herebyestablished: it involvesa new relationship of the
reader/listenerto the text,whichis due to the antante,another
fundamental termthatmustbe integrated intoourmicro-system.

9 D. W. Robertson,Jr.,op. cit.
10 In German,respectively:(1) Anstrengung,
(2) Zweck,Absicht,Meinung,
Sinn.

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Antanteis of commonuse, mostoftenin the syntagm"metre

s'antantea/en" [directone's concentrationto], withsome variants
on the order of "avoir/donerantantea." Withinthe syntagm,
antanteand antancionseem to be in free variation,the greater
frequency of theformer beinglinked,as F. Lyonshas suggested,"
to rhythmicalconsiderations.
The semantic fieldof antante,
however,
extendsbeyondthatof antandion:if,in Erec 6677, antanteis applied
to an author,elsewhere (Clig&s447-449,2279, 3141) it refersto a
personwho receivesa perception or who interprets a signal.In our
micro-system, antancionrefers,therefore, to the investingof a
thought and a willof theauthor;antantecan also meanthis,butin
additionit denotesthe activereceptivity demandedof the readeror
of the listener.This is a dual relationship, involving the two inex-
tricableaspectsof a singlerealityof discourse-the sender-receiver
relationship,whether it involvesthe connection betweenauthorand
reader,or (withinthenarrative) betweenspeakerand listener.
Thus the simpleexamination of these few termsrevealsin
Chretiena remarkably modernconception of the text.Whereasthe
matiereis moreor less inert,and the conjointure denotesa textual
structure, the threetermsantandon,antante,and the verbalform
antandreare essentially dynamic,introducea will, a directeden-
deavor,as muchon thepartof theauthor,whoinvestshis textwith
meaning, as on thepartof thereader,of whomthedecodingeffort
is required.This meaning,in fact,is not offeredas an absolute
value,is not understood in termsof a transcendent truthexternal
to thework,a truth thattheworkwouldmerely demonstrate, merely
declare,in theetymological sense;rather,themeaningis immanent
in the text,it is realized,in some manner,onlyby the awareness
the readerhas of it. To the poet'santancionmustcorrespond the
reader's antante.

The interpretation
we are proposingwouldseem to justifyour
grantinga privileged
place to the prologueof Yvain,preciselybe-
cause theveryexistenceof a prologuein Yvain has been debated:

11 F. Lyons, op. cit.

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W. Foersterdoes not hesitateto deny its existence,on the grounds

that the firstlines of the romance introduceus at once into the
story.We postulate,for our part, that Yvain does contain a pro-
logue. Where should its boundarybe placed? From the viewpoint
of narrativegrammar,one could justifiablyincorporatethe whole of
Calogrenant'snarrativein the prologue; thus the prologue would
consistof the first580 lines. For the sake of the precise point that
concernsus here, it will be sufficientto limitthe prologue to lines
1-172-that is, up to the pointwhereCalogrenantresumeshis story.
The prologue of Yvain does not explicitlycontain any of the
termsnoted elsewhere,withthe exceptionof antandre.But antandre
is here the subject of a remarkabledevelopment,which constitutes
in and of itselfa sort of prologue (11. 150 ff.),a prologue to Calo-
grenant'stale, afterthe unpleasant interruption by the malevolent
seneschal Keu. Calogrenantsolemnlyexhortshis audience: his tale
must be antendu de cuer (understoodby the heart) and not only
oi par oroilles (heard by the ears). Now the cuer is the seat of all
mental and affectiveactivity.Understanding,that is, the compre-
hensionof the message,is carefullydistinguished frompurelysensory
perception,whichis ineffective unless relayedby the understanding.
The ears are merelythe channel,the voie et doiz [path and duct]
(1. 165), the voiz (voice) itselfis "prise dedans le ventrepar le cuer"
[seized withinthe chest by the heart] (11. 166-67). Thus it appears
that a very special emphasis is placed on the antante required of
the listener.He must in some way prime and condition himself
towardthe text: "si li cuers n'est si esveilliez/ qu'au prendresoit
appareilliez" [unless the heart is alerted so that it is prepared to
receive it] (11. 161-162), the transmissionwill not be effected.But
such an urgentappeal to the listenernecessarilyassumes that there
is somethingto be understood,assumes thereforethe existence of
a truthto be transmitted;Calogrenantexpresses this not directly,
but by antiphrasis, in lines 179 and following:"car ne vuel pas parler
de songe / ne de fable ne de manqonge" [for I do not intendto
speak of a dream, nor a fable, nor a lie]. Fable, songe, wanfonge
are an inverseparaphrasefor the sens withwhich the tellerintends

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to investhis tale. Let us note,moreover, thatthis admonition is

preparedfor,well in advance,by the wholenarrative elementthat
precedesit. Calogrenant has beguna tale.The queencomesto hear
it-the firstsignof theinterest it holds.Nextthereis Keu's sarcasm
regarding the courteousness of the narrator, the onlyone who saw
thequeenapproachand whogotto his feet.Thenit is Keu himself
who intervenes twice,firstin lines 102-103,thenin lines 125-126,
to have the tale continued,notwithstanding Calogrenant'sreluc-
tanceto go on. Betteryet,Keu appealssuccessively to theauthority
of the queen,then,goingbeyondher,to thatof the king.When
Calogrenant decidesto continue,his admonition thustakes on an
extraordinary force.This narrative, brokenoff preciselybecause
it had notreceivedall thenecessary attention,becomesthesubjectof
urgentsuspense-havingalreadybeen marked,forthisreason,by
a surprising pomposity. The development on cuer and oreillesmarks
the culmination of thisescalation,at it were: the audienceis thus
perfectly primedto understand the message.
It is true,of course,thatall thisconcernsonlyCalogrenant's
tale,in otherwordsa narrative sequenceand a character contained
within theromance. Andindeed,theotherpeculiarity ofthisprologue
is thatit entersimmediately into the narrative. But how does it
nevertheless play its role as prologue-in otherwords,how does
it revealthis dual relationship, the relationship of the authorto
thetextand of thetextto the listener/reader? It does so precisely
-and, we feel,withmuch greaterforce-by stripping away the
didacticappearanceof the otherprologues.A detailedanalysisof
lines1-41 (up to Calogrenant's entrance) wouldshowus how,from
theverybeginning, theauthor'spresencein thetextis madeproges-
sivelymorestrongly felt,firstby meansof a nous thatestablishes
the author/audience community aroundthe Arthurian model;then
by reflections on the partof the author(11.18-28) whichidentify
themselves as such onlyby the break betweenpast and present;
by a return to thenous (11.29-32), alreadycloserto the "je dilate"
(the dilatedI) spokenof by Benveniste; 12 to lead finallyto the
12 E. Benveniste,"Structuredes relationsde personne dans le verbe,"
Problemes de Linguistique generale (Paris, 1966), p. 235.

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je of theauthorin lines33-41-this shortprologueis so interwoven

intothe overallmovement thatit seemsto emanatefromthe nar-
rativethatin reality
it establishes.
(We pointoutin passingthatthis
passage,a preludeto Calogrenant's speech,standsin a numerical
ratioof 1 to 2 withthatspeech.)The play of thetenses,the alter-
nationbetweenthe narrative past and the authorialpresent,is a
parallelmanifestationof thisinterweavingof narrativeand prologue.
But in theje discourse,afterChretien's thathe
discreetaffirmation
is narrating"chosequi facea escoter"[a storythatis worthlistening
to]-expressing thewholenetwork ofrelationships
assumedelsewhere
by the key terms-a remarkable sentenceintervenes,in whichthe
presentorganizes thepastand thefuture arounditself,demonstrating
the specialforceof the text:the textalone giveslife to the tale
thatprecedesand whichwill follow,the textalone guaranteesits
immortality in thememory of men.The remarks on love exchanged
bytheknights, theprivilegedstoryofthenarratorCalogrenant-these
are merespeechesthatderivetheirforceonlyfromthe author's
writing.The "lesson"taughtby Arthur'sprowess,in the opening
lines of the romance,is nothingbut the doctrina,the sens with
whichthepoet'santancionhas investedmatiere.

Whatbetterwayto affirmtheabsolutevalue of thetext,which

makesno otherreference
thanto itself,
thissiteof a truthenclosed
in a conjointure,the resultof the author'santancion,an antancion
offered henceforth of everyreader,thanksto
to the-interpretation
thepermanence of writing?Chretien'sawarenessof creatinga work
thatwouldlast,unliketheworkof thejongleurs, was neveraffirmed
withas muchmastery, we think,as in Yvain.His debtto theLatin
traditionis, above all, the awarenessof the necessityof a book,
his debtto thechansonde gesteis the necessity
thatis, of writing;
to createa narrativethatwould make its references onlywithin
itself,by establishingits own spatialityand temporalityin which
the individualdiscovershis complexity and sets out in searchof
his singularity.
Translatedby David Baker

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REFERENCES
Criticaleditionsused:
Erec, edited by M. Roques Classiques Frangaisdu Moyen Age (CFMA)
Cliges, edited by A. Micha "
Lancelot,editedby M. Roques "
Yvain, editedby M. Roques "
Perceval,edited by W. Roach Textes LitterairesFrangais

(Referencesare given in the order in which theyappear in the article.)

Erec
13 "et tretd'un conte d'aventure
une molt bele conjointure"
"and froma tale of adventurederivesa most beautifulstructure"
1080 "por coi vos feroielonc conte?"
"Why should I make you hear a long tale?"

Perceval
63 "Crestiensqui ententet paine
a rimoierle meillorconte"
"Chretienwho intendsand strivesto set in rhymethe best tale"
66 "Ce est li contes del Graal"
"It is the tale of the Graal"

Cliges
8 "Un novel conte rancomance'
"Begins a new tale"

Erec
23 "Des or comancerail'estoire
qui toz jorz mes iert an mimoire"
"Now I shall begin the storywhich foreveraftershall be
remembered"

Cliges
22-24 "De la fu li contesestrez
Qui tesmoingnel'estoirea voire:
Por ce fet ele mialz a croire"
"From therethe tale was taken,and thisatteststo the story'struth:
This makes it particularlyworthyof belief."

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25-28 "Par les livresque nos avons

Les fez des anciens savons
Et del siegle qui fu jadis.
Ce nos ont nostrelivre apris..
"From the books we possess,we knowthe deeds of the ancientsand
of the world that once was. This our books have taughtus."

Erec

6680 "Macrobe m'anseignea descrivre

si con je l'ai trove el livre"
"Macrobiusteachesme to writeexactlywhat I foundin the book"

Perceval

67 "dont li quens li bailla le livre"

"(a tale) of which the count gave him the book"

Lancelot

24-25 "Del Chevalierde la Charrete

comance Crestiensson livre"
"Chretienbegins his book of the Knightof the Cart"
22 "Mes tant dirai ge que mialz cevre
ses comandemanzan ceste oevre"
"But indeed I will say that her commandis much more effective
in this work"

Cliges

3 "et l'art d'amors an romans mist"

"and translatedthe art of love into Romance"
2345-46 "Ce est Cliges an cui mimoire
fu mise an romansceste estoire"
"This is Cliges, in whose memorythis storywas translatedinto
Romance"

Perceval
7-8 "Crestienssemmeet fait semence
d'un roman qu'il ancomance"
"Chretiensows the seed of a romance that he is beginning"

Yvain
5359-62 "(Et lisoit) une pucele devant lui
an un romansne sai de cui

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Marie-Louise Oilier

et por le roman escoter

s'i estoit venue acoter
une dame"
"And in frontof him a maid (was reading)aloud froma romance,
I dont'tknow by whom,and to listento the romancea lady had
drawn near"

Lancelot

21-29 "Mes tant dirai ge que mialz cevre

ses comandemanzan ceste cevre
que sans ne painne que g'i mete.
Del Chevalier de la Charrete
comance Crestiensson livre;
Matiere et san li done et livre
la contesse,et il s'antremet
de panser,que gueres n'i met
fors sa painne et s'antanc-on."
"But indeed I will say that her commandis much more effective
in this work than any sense or effortthat I may devote to it.
Chretienbeginshis book of the Knightof the Cart. The countess
gives and bestows the storyand the meaning,and the presumes
to thinkthathe is hardlycontributinganythingbut his effortand
intention."

Erec

16-18 "que cil ne fet mie savoir

qui s'escfencen'abandone
tant con Dex la grasce l'an done."
"that he is in no way wise who abandons his knowledgeso long
as God gives him grace to use it."

6677 "si an trai a garantMacrobe

qui an l'estoiremist s'antante"
"indeed I cite as witnessMacrobius,who put his intentioninto
the story"

Clige's

447-49 "que bien deuistd'amors aprandre

se li pletista ce antandre;
mes onques n'i volt metreantante"
"thatshe reallyoughtto have learnedabout love if she had wanted
to be attentiveto it; but she neverwantedto devoteher attention
to it"

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2279 "Ja d'Amor ne quier estrequites

que toz jorz n'aie m'antante"
"Indeed I do not want to be free of Love until I obtain forever
my goal"

3141 "Mestre,car i metez antante

Que cil sa fiancene mante"
"Master, pray pay close attention(that he is not pledgingdis-
honestly)"

Yvain

150 ff. "Cuers et oroilles m'aportez,

car parole est tote perdue
s'ele n'est de cuer antandue.
De dez i a qui la chose oent
qu'il n'antandent, et si la loent;
et cil n'en ont ne mes l'oie,
des que li cuers n'i antantmie;
as oroillesvientla parole,
ausi come li vanz qui vole,
mes n'i areste ne demore,
einz s'an part en molt petit d'ore,
se li cuers n'est si esveilliez
qu'au prendresoit apareilliez....
Et qui or me voldra entandre
cuer et oroilles me doit randre,
car ne vuel pas parler de songe
ne de fable ne de manconge."
"Lend me your hearts and ears, for speech is completelywasted
if it isn't understoodby the heart. There are people who hear
something thattheydo not understand, and indeedtheyapproveit;
and those people have nothingbut the mere sound,since the heart
understandsnothing; speech comes to the ears, just like the wind
that passes, but it doesn'tstop or stay there-rather it departsin
a veryshorttime,unless the heartis alertedso that it is prepared
to receiveit.... And whoeverwants to understandme now, must
lend me his heart and his ears, for I do not intendto speak of
a dream,nor a fable, nor a lie."

33-41 "Por ce me plest a reconter

Chose qui face a escoter
del roi qui fu de tel tesmoing
Qu'an an parole et pres et loing;
et par lui sont amenteiu

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Marie-Louise Oilier

li boen chevalieresleft
qui a enor se travaillierent."
"For this reason I want to tell a storythat is worthlisteningto,
about the king who was of such renownthat he is spoken of far
and near; and the good, noble knightswho workedto win honor
are rememberedbecause of him."

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