Béroul was a
Norman or
Breton poet of the 12th century. He wrote ''Tristan'', a
Norman language
Norman or Norman French (, french: Normand, Guernésiais: , Jèrriais: ) is a Romance language which can be classified as one of the Oïl languages along with French, Picard and Walloon. The name "Norman French" is sometimes used to descri ...
version of the legend of
Tristan and Iseult
Tristan and Iseult, also known as Tristan and Isolde and other names, is a medieval chivalric romance told in numerous variations since the 12th century. Based on a Celtic legend and possibly other sources, the tale is a tragedy about the illic ...
of which a certain number of fragments (approximately 3000 verses) have been preserved; it is the earliest representation of the so-called "vulgar" version of the legend (the "courtly" version being represented by fragments from
Thomas of Britain's poem).
Eilhart von Oberge wrote a treatment of this version in
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
, and many of Béroul's episodes that do not appear in Thomas reappear in the
Prose ''Tristan''. Beroul's poem survives in a single manuscript now in the
Bibliothèque Nationale
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...
in Paris. This copy is poorly written and there is a suggestion that part of the poem was written by a different scribe from the rest. The actual content of the poem also differs from the modern conception of what a narrative poem should be; the plot is disjointed and lacking in a flow of cause and effect, and the characters are poorly defined. Nevertheless, Fedrick proposes that this was common of literature in Beroul's time.
[Beroul ''The Romance of Tristan'', Introduction and translation by Alan S. Fedrick]
See also
*
Anglo-Norman literature Anglo-Norman may refer to:
*Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066
*Anglo-Norman language
** Anglo-Norman literature
*Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 106 ...
References
External links
*
Texte of TristanChapter ''Béroul'' in Pinkernell: "Namen, Titel und Daten der französischen Literatur"
Writers of Arthurian literature
Norman-language poets
12th-century Normans
12th-century French writers
12th-century French poets
French male poets
Tristan and Iseult
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