Brother Robert was a cleric working in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

who adapted several French literary works into

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

during the reign of King

Haakon IV of Norway Haakon IV Haakonsson ( – 16 December 1263; ; ), sometimes called Haakon the Old in contrast to his namesake son, was King of Norway from 1217 to 1263. His reign lasted for 46 years, longer than any Norwegian king since Harald Fairhair. Haak ...

(1217–1263). The most important of these, ''Tristrams saga ok Ísöndar'', based on

Thomas of Britain Thomas of Britain (also known as Thomas of England) was a poet of the 12th century. He is known for his Old French poem ''Tristan">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, w ...

's ''Tristan'', is notable as the only example of Thomas' "courtly branch" of the

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. Of disputed source, usually assumed to be primarily Celtic nations, Celtic, the tale is a ...

legend that has survived in its entirety. It was the earliest Scandinavian version of the story, and is thought to be the first Norwegian adaptation of an Old French work. Its success may have inspired the spate of translations during King Haakon's reign.Schach, ''The Saga of Tristram and Ísönd'', p. xiii. Robert's nationality is unknown, but his name and other circumstantial evidence suggests he was Anglo-Norman. As such he may have been connected to the

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

monasteries of Lyse Abbey or Hovedøya Abbey, which maintained close ties with

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Robert's name is connected to one other work with assurance, ''Elis saga'', an adaptation of the ''

chanson de geste The , from 'deeds, actions accomplished') is a medieval narrative, a type of epic poetry, epic poem that appears at the dawn of French literature. The earliest known poems of this genre date from the late 11th and early 12th centuries, shortly ...

'' ''Elie de St. Gille'', where he is called "Abbot." Four other anonymous works largely on Arthurian subjects have been attributed to him; these are ''Ívens saga'' and ''Parcevals saga'', based on

Chrétien de Troyes Chrétien de Troyes (; ; 1160–1191) was a French poet and trouvère known for his writing on King Arthur, Arthurian subjects such as Gawain, Lancelot, Perceval and the Holy Grail. Chrétien's chivalric romances, including ''Erec and Enide'' ...

' romances '' Yvain, the Knight of the Lion'' and ''

Perceval, the Story of the Grail ''Perceval, the Story of the Grail'' () is an unfinished verse romance written by Chrétien de Troyes in Old French in the late 12th century. Later authors added 54,000 more lines to the original 9,000 in what is known collectively as the ''Four ...

''; '' Möttuls saga'', a version of the poem ''Le Mantel Mautaillié''; and a collection of lais many of which are based on the '' Lais of Marie de France'' called '' Strengleikar''. (Among the several Strengleikar with other sources is ''Strandar ljóð'', a Norwegian translation of ''The Lay of the Beach'' commissioned from 'The Red Lady of Brittany' by

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

.) Robert's translations at Haakon's commission speak to the king's role in spreading French and Arthurian material throughout Scandinavia. The wide influence of ''Tristrams saga ok Ísöndar'' is especially apparent in

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

, where it served as the basis for the ballad "Tristrams kvæði" and the prose adaptation ''Saga af Tristram ok ĺsodd''.

Notes

References

* Lacy, Norris J. (Ed.) (1991). ''The New Arthurian Encyclopedia''. New York: Garland. . *Róbert; Schach, Paul (1973). ''The Saga of Tristram and Ísönd''. University of Nebraska Press. . *Both prose versions edited and translated into English by Peter Jorgensen in ''Norse Romance'' I. ''Tristrams saga ok Ísöndar,'' pp. 23–226 and ''Saga af Tristram ok Ísodd,'' pp. 241–292. General Editor Marianne Kalinke, 3 vo1s. 1999. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Robert, Brother 13th-century deaths Cistercians 13th-century Roman Catholic priests Norwegian Roman Catholic priests 13th-century translators Writers of Arthurian literature Norwegian male writers Old Norse prose French–Norwegian translators Year of birth unknown