2 - The Manuscript Contexts of Medieval Romance

Summary

Much can be learned about medieval romances by examining the manuscripts in which they are transmitted. The practical necessity of reading medieval texts in modern critical editions distances them from our only tangible contact with their historical contexts. Few, if any, romances survive in copies dating from a period near their date of composition, so the history of manuscript context is a history of reception. This chapter concentrates on Old French romance, with brief discussion of Middle English, Middle High German, Middle Dutch, and Old Norse. Consideration of the mise en texte, mise en page, and mise en livre of some major works and books which contain them, permits the construction of a model by which medieval romance may be approached in manuscript. Romances discussed include the Arthurian romances of Chrétien de Troyes and his epigones, the romans d’antiquité and other romans courtois. Briefer mention is made of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the unique manuscript of Malory; the Tristan of Gottfried von Straßburg and the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach; and the texts of the Lancelot-Compilatie.