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''Le Roman d'Enéas'' is a ''
''Le Roman d'Enéas'' is a ''romance
Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to:
Common meanings
* Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings
* Romance languages, ...
'' of Medieval French literature
Medieval French literature is, for the purpose of this article, Medieval literature written in Oïl languages (particularly Old French and early Middle French) during the period from the eleventh century to the end of the fifteenth century.
Th ...
, dating to ca. 1160. It is written in French octosyllabic couplets totaling a little over 10,000 lines. Its subject matter is the tale of Aeneas
In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...
, based on Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...
's ''Aeneid
The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of ...
''. It is one of the three important ''Romans d'Antiquité'' ("Romances of Antiquity") of this period; the other two are the '' Roman de Thèbes'' (anonymous) and the ''Roman de Troie
(''The Romance of Troy'') by Benoît de Sainte-Maure, probably written between 1155 and 1160,Roberto Antonelli "The Birth of Criseyde - An Exemplary Triangle: 'Classical' Troilus and the Question of Love at the Anglo-Norman Court" in Boitani, P. ...
'' of Benoît de Sainte-Maure
Benoît de Sainte-Maure (; died 1173) was a 12th-century French poet, most probably from Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine near Tours, France. The Plantagenets' administrative center was located in Chinon, west of Tours.
''Le Roman de Troie''
His 40,00 ...
.
Description
Virgil's poem emphasizes the hero's political role as founder of Rome, marked by the famous break in his wanderings when he hopes that he can settle down with the Queen of Carthage, Dido; instead, he must continue to Italy and marry the king's daughter (a character on whom Virgil wastes no interest or sentiment) in order to found a great lineage. The French author, writing "an idiosyncratic adaptation of Virgil's classic", is particularly interested in the hero's romantic relationships, both with Dido and with the princess Lavine, who becomes the central character of the later part of the romance. Lavine and Enéas fall in love at first sight, and it is important to her to know that this love transcends his merely lustful relationship with Dido. Moreover, this confirms his attraction to women, since in this version of the Aeneas legend he is alleged to be "a lover of boys", which is one reason why "Queen Amata vociferously opposes her daughter Lavinia's proposed marriage with Aeneas". For Enéas, this true love provides the strength and motive he needs to win the war against Lavine's former fiancé, Turnus. The vivid female characters of this romance discuss with each other and with themselves the meaning of love in a light but touching way that was new in vernacular literature, and modeled onOvid
Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom ...
rather than on Virgil. At about this time—or a little later—other authors, such as Chrétien de Troyes
Chrétien de Troyes (Modern ; fro, Crestien de Troies ; 1160–1191) was a French poet and trouvère known for his writing on Arthurian subjects, and for first writing of Lancelot, Percival and the Holy Grail. Chrétien's works, including ...
and Thomas of Britain, were also learning to pause their narratives to allow their characters to consider the nature and power of love.
While the narrative mostly follows Virgil, there are differences. A minor one, for instance, concerns Turnus and Enéas: in Virgil, Aeneas kills Turnus, at the end of the epic, because he recognizes the swordbelt that Turnus took from Pallas. In the ''Roman'', it is a ring that Enéas recognizes, a motif that Michelle Freeman sees repeated in Marie de France
Marie de France (fl. 1160 to 1215) was a poet, possibly born in what is now France, who lived in England during the late 12th century. She lived and wrote at an unknown court, but she and her work were almost certainly known at the royal court o ...
's "Le Fresne".
Influence and legacy
The ''Roman d'Enéas'' is the basis for theLimburgish
Limburgish ( li, Limburgs or ; nl, Limburgs ; german: Limburgisch ; french: Limbourgeois ), also called Limburgan, Limburgian, or Limburgic, is a West Germanic language spoken in the Dutch and Belgian provinces of Limburg and in the neig ...
romance ''Eneas'' by Heinrich von Veldeke
Heinrich von Veldeke (aka: , Dutch Hendrik van Veldeke, born before or around 1150 – died after 1184) is the first writer in the Low Countries known by name who wrote in a European language other than Latin. He was born in Veldeke, which was a ...
. Elements and motifs from the ''Roman'' are found throughout Marie de France
Marie de France (fl. 1160 to 1215) was a poet, possibly born in what is now France, who lived in England during the late 12th century. She lived and wrote at an unknown court, but she and her work were almost certainly known at the royal court o ...
's lais, including " Le Fresne" and "Guigemar "Guigemar" is a Breton lai, a type of narrative poem, written by Marie de France during the 12th century. The poem belongs to the collection known as ''The Lais of Marie de France''. Like the other lais in the collection, ''Guigemar'' is written in ...
". In the latter, the lengthy prologue to the love affair mirrors the courtship of Enéas and Lavinia, and the magic ship and the castle also recall the ''Roman'', according to Ernst Hoepffner.
See also
*12th century in literature
This article presents lists of the literary events and publications in the 12th century.
The 12th century in Western Europe saw an increase in the production of Latin texts and a proliferation of literate clerics from the multiplying cathedr ...
*Matter of Rome
According to the medieval poet Jean Bodel, the Matter of Rome is the literary cycle of Greek and Roman mythology, together with episodes from the history of classical antiquity, focusing on military heroes like Alexander the Great and Julius Cae ...
References
External links
*http://faculty.washington.edu/miceal/lgw/dido/Eneas(trans).html *http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/enseign/Lettres/LanguesAnciennes/Textes/Virgile/eneas.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Roman d'Eneas 12th-century books Medieval French romances Works based on the Aeneid Poetry based on works by Virgil