Translation and Temporality in Benoit de Sainte-Maure's Roman de Troie

The Roman de Troie is a medieval French poem that retells the story of the Trojan War. It was an essential element in the inauguration of a new genre, romance, and allowed medieval dynasties to create new kinds of political authority by extending their pedigrees back into days of legend. This book uses approaches from translation and temporality to develop its analysis of the text and its context. It argues that the poem participates in the invention of romance time, even as it uses its queer characters to cast doubt upon the optimistic genealogical fantasies of romance. It also provides an overview of the complex manuscript tradition of the Roman de Troie in support of the contention that the text deserves to be central to any study of medieval literature.

Format: Hardback
Length: 246 pages
Publication date: 29 October 2021
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Ltd

An intriguing new perspective on one of medieval Europe's most significant works. The Trojan War tale has been retold and reinterpreted throughout time, from Homer's Iliad and Virgil's Aeneid to modern film and television adaptations. The people of medieval Europe were particularly captivated by the story of the Greek siege of the great city, and by the fourteenth century, nearly every royal house in Europe claimed descent from some long-ago Trojan warrior. However, the medieval West had no access to Homer, and while Virgil was certainly read, the most influential version of the Troy story for centuries was that recounted in the Roman de Troie, by Benoît de Sainte Maure. This massive poem in Old French claimed to be a translation of two eyewitness accounts of the War, both actually late antique forgeries, but it is, in reality, a largely original tapestry of chivalric exploits, elaborate descriptions, and marvelous creatures such as centaurs and Amazons. The love story of Troilus and Briseida was invented on its pages, later inspiring Boccaccio, Chaucer, and Shakespeare. The Roman de Troie's enormous popularity enabled medieval dynasties to establish new forms of political authority by extending their pedigrees back into days of legend, and it was a critical component in the inauguration of a new genre, romance. This book employs approaches from translation and temporality. It reads the text against Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain to argue that Benoît is a participant in the Anglo-Norman invention of a new kind of history. It develops readings grounded in both gender studies and queer theory to demonstrate the ways in which the Roman de Troie participates in the invention of ro.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781843846154