Crestien’s Guillaume d’Angleterre / William of England
An Edition and Annotated Translation
Edited by Ian Short
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This edition is not available yet.
This edition is not available yet.
Subjects: European Literature, Literary Studies, Medieval Studies |
An edition with facing annotated translation of the 12th-century Medieval French popular romance Guillaume d’Angleterre. The claim to fame of this verse narrative is to have had its authorship attributed (falsely) to Chrétien de Troyes, the most famous of all 12th-century Medieval French narrative poets. This prototypical adventure romance and is representative of a literary genre that has recently seen a renewal of interest among medieval literary critics.
An amusing tale of late twelfth-century social mobility, the romance tells of a bewildering series of adventures that befall a fictitious king who deliberately abandons his royal status to enter the ‘real’ world of knights, wolves, pirates and merchants. He and his family, dispersed by events between Bristol, Galway and Caithness, are finally re-united at Yarmouth thanks to a climactic stag hunt.
The book is designed for students of French, Medieval Studies, Comparative Literature and English, and for all medieval scholars interested in having an English version of a typical medieval adventure romance. It is the first authoritative English translation of this text, and all of its critical material is new.
It is difficult to over-state Ian Short’s eminence in the field. His philological expertise is second to none.
- Professor Daron Burrows, St Peter’s College, OxfordAt every step of the way, Prof. Short’s scholarship is admirable and a model to follow. His support, which is not limited to his introduction and bibliography, but also appears in the form of annotations throughout the translation, is very convincing—and enlightening. Throughout the annotated translation, he has further references to other scholars, medieval texts, and other passages from Guillaume that prove his assertions about the text.
- Courtney Joseph Wells, Associate Professor of French, Hobart and William Smith Colleges
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