''Pamphilus de amore'' (or, simply, ''Pamphilus'' or ''Pamfilus'') is a 780-line, 12th-century

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

comedic play, probably composed in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, but possibly

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

.Vincente Cristóbal, "Ovid in Medieval Spain", in ''Ovid in the Middle Ages'', ed. James G. Clark, Frank T. Coulson and Kathryn L. McKinley (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011), pp. 231–256 (p. 241). It was "one of the most influential and important of the many pseudo-Ovidian productions concerning the 'arts of Love'" in medieval Europe,Thomas Jay Garbaty, "Pamphilus, de Amore: An Introduction and Translation", ''The Chaucer Review'', 2 (1967), pp, 108–134 (p. 108 ff.

and "the most famous and influential of the medieval Elegiac comedy, elegiac comedies, especially in Spain". The protagonists are Pamphilus and Galatea, with Pamphilus seeking to woo her through a procuress (as with the procuress in Book 1.8 of

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

's '' Amores'').

Style

The play was one of the works that many boys learning Latin in the Middle Ages would study. The hero is presented as falling in love with the virgin Galathea, yet he does not set about winning her heart, despite some initial encouragement. Instead he "pays an old woman to entrap her and, despite her protestations, rapes her. Pamphilus and the old woman argue that she should accept the situation... but her last words are despondent: 'There is no hope of happiness for me.'" According to Thomas Jay Garbáty, "The Latin original abounds in all aspects of medieval rhetoric as outlined by grammarian Geoffrey de Vinsauf, in his '' Poetria Nova'', specifically ''repetitio'', paradox, oxymoron, alliteration. It is obvious that the author sacrificed much dramatic tension and liveliness for elegance of style."

Influence

''Pamphilus de amore'' gave rise to the word ''

pamphlet A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a Hardcover, hard cover or Bookbinding, binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' ...

'', in the sense of a small work issued by itself without covers, because the poem was popular and widely copied and circulated on its own, forming a slim

codex The codex (: codices ) was the historical ancestor format of the modern book. Technically, the vast majority of modern books use the codex format of a stack of pages bound at one edge, along the side of the text. But the term ''codex'' is now r ...

. The word came into

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

in about 1387 as or .Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
/ref> ''Pamphilus'' soon became widely read: by the early 13th century, it was being quoted and anthologised in England, France, Provence, and Italy. It is first attested in the Netherlands about 1250, in Germany about 1280, and Castile about 1330. It remained popular in England into the late 15th century. It was translated 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 ...

in the 13th century as ''Pamphilus ok Galathea'',Marianne E. Kalinke and P. M. Mitchell, ''Bibliography of Old Norse–Icelandic Romances'', Islandica, 44 (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1985), p. 86. and into French as ''Pamphile et Galatée'' by Jean Brasdefer (about 1300/1315). In England, the poem was known to

John Gower John Gower (; c. 1330 – October 1408) was an English poet, a contemporary of William Langland and the Pearl Poet, and a personal friend of Geoffrey Chaucer. He is remembered primarily for three major works—the ''Mirour de l'Omme'', ''Vox ...

and

Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer ( ; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...

, Chaucer drawing on it particularly in ''

The Franklin's Tale "The Franklin's Tale" () is one of ''The Canterbury Tales'' by Geoffrey Chaucer. It focuses on issues of providence, truth, generosity and ''gentillesse'' in human relationships. Synopsis A medieval franklin was free, non-serf yet did not hav ...

'' and ''

Troilus and Criseyde ''Troilus and Criseyde'' () is an epic poem by Geoffrey Chaucer which re-tells in Middle English the tragic story of the lovers Troilus and Cressida, Criseyde set against a backdrop of war during the siege of Troy. It was written in ''rhyme ro ...

''. It also influenced the ''

Roman de la Rose ''Le Roman de la Rose'' (''The Romance of the Rose'') is a medieval poem written in Old French and presented as an allegory">allegorical romantic love is disclosed. Its two authors conceived it as a psychological allegory; throughout the Lover' ...

''; Boccaccio's '' Fiammetta'' drew inspiration from it; and it was adapted in Juan Ruiz's Don Melon/Dona Endrina episode in the '' Libro de Buen Amor'' in the earlier 14th century.

Editions and translations

*Alphonse Baudouin, ed.
''Pamphile, ou l'Art d'étre aimé, comédie latine du Xe siècle''
(Paris, 1874) *Jacobus Ulrich, ed., ''Pamphilus'', Codici Turicensi (Zurich, 1983) * Gustave Cohen, ''La "Comédie" latine en France au 12e siècle'', 2 vols (Paris, 1931) *Adolfo Bonilla and San Martín, ''Una comedia latina del siglo XII: (el "Liber Panphili"); reproducción de un manuscrito inédito y versión castellana'', ''Boletín de la Real Academia de la Historia'', 70: Cuaderno, V (Madrid: Imp. de Fortanet, 1917) *Thomas Jay Garbáty, "Pamphilus, de Amore: An Introduction and Translation", ''The Chaucer Review'', 2 (1967), pp. 108–134
English translation

References

{{authority control 12th-century plays 12th-century books in Latin Medieval drama Comedy plays