Guillaume de Palerme
Encyclopedia
Guillaume de Palerme is a French romance poem, which has been translated into English.
The French verse romance was composed circa 1200, commissioned by Countess Yolande (who is generally identified to be Yolande, daughter of Baldwin IV, Count of Hainaut
). The prose version of the French romance, printed by N Bonfons, passed through several editions.
The English poem in alliterative verse, commissioned by Humphrey de Bohun, 6th Earl of Hereford
, was written circa 1350 by a poet named William. A single surviving manuscript of the English version is held at Kings College
, Cambridge
.
, and loves his daughter Melior who is destined for a Greek prince. The lovers flee into the woods, disguised in bear-skins. Alfonso, who is Guillaume's cousin and a Spanish prince, has been changed into a wolf by his stepmother's enchantments. He provides food and protection for the fugitives, and Guillaume eventually triumphs over Alfonso's father, and wins back from him his kingdom. The benevolent werewolf
is disenchanted, and marries Guillaume's sister.
as used in this story draws on later developments of that legend than such lai
s as Bisclavret
and Melion
, where the werewolf status is inherent, although his obeisance to the king, his father, corresponds to the same act in the other stories. The werewolf's protection of the child probably stems from the ancedote found in both The Seven Sages and Gesta Romanorum
. But the werewolf's attack on his wicked stepmother corresponds to that of the werewolf on his false wife in Bisclavret and Melion, and Guillaume plays the same role as the king, protecting the werewolf after the attack.
The French verse romance was composed circa 1200, commissioned by Countess Yolande (who is generally identified to be Yolande, daughter of Baldwin IV, Count of Hainaut
Baldwin IV, Count of Hainaut
Baldwin IV was count of Hainaut from 1120 to his death. He was the son of Baldwin III, Count of Hainaut, and Yolande de Wassenberg.-History:...
). The prose version of the French romance, printed by N Bonfons, passed through several editions.
The English poem in alliterative verse, commissioned by Humphrey de Bohun, 6th Earl of Hereford
Humphrey de Bohun, 6th Earl of Hereford
Humphrey de Bohun, 6th Earl of Hereford, 5th Earl of Essex was a Lord High Constable of England.- Lineage :...
, was written circa 1350 by a poet named William. A single surviving manuscript of the English version is held at Kings College
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
, Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
.
The story
Guillaume, a foundling supposed to be of low degree, is brought up at the court of the emperor of RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, and loves his daughter Melior who is destined for a Greek prince. The lovers flee into the woods, disguised in bear-skins. Alfonso, who is Guillaume's cousin and a Spanish prince, has been changed into a wolf by his stepmother's enchantments. He provides food and protection for the fugitives, and Guillaume eventually triumphs over Alfonso's father, and wins back from him his kingdom. The benevolent werewolf
Werewolf
A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...
is disenchanted, and marries Guillaume's sister.
Motifs
The werewolfWerewolf
A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...
as used in this story draws on later developments of that legend than such lai
Lai
A lai is a lyrical, narrative poem written in octosyllabic couplets that often deals with tales of adventure and romance.Lais were mainly composed in France and Germany, during the 13th and 14th centuries. A Provençal term for a similar kind of poem is descort.The English term lay is a...
s as Bisclavret
Bisclavret
"Bisclavret" is one of the twelve Lais of Marie de France written in the 12th century. Originally written in French, it tells the story of a werewolf who is trapped in lupine form by the treachery of his wife...
and Melion
Melion
Melion is an anonymous Breton lai that tells the story of a knight who transforms into a werewolf for the love of his wife who betrays him.-Composition and manuscripts:The actual date of composition is estimated between 1190 and 1204....
, where the werewolf status is inherent, although his obeisance to the king, his father, corresponds to the same act in the other stories. The werewolf's protection of the child probably stems from the ancedote found in both The Seven Sages and Gesta Romanorum
Gesta Romanorum
Gesta Romanorum, a Latin collection of anecdotes and tales, was probably compiled about the end of the 13th century or the beginning of the 14th...
. But the werewolf's attack on his wicked stepmother corresponds to that of the werewolf on his false wife in Bisclavret and Melion, and Guillaume plays the same role as the king, protecting the werewolf after the attack.
Further reading
- Guillaume de Palerne, ed. Henri Michelant, Paris: Société des anciens textes françaisSociété des anciens textes françaisSociété des anciens textes français is a learned society founded in Paris in 1875 with the purpose of publishing all kinds of medieval documents written either in langue d'oïl or langue d'oc . Its founding members are Henri Bordier, marquis J. de Laborde, A...
, 1876. - Histoire littéraire de la FranceHistoire littéraire de la FranceHistoire littéraire de la France is an enormous history of French literature initiated in 1733 by Dom Rivest and the Benedictines of St. Maur but it was abandoned in 1763 after the publication of volume XII...
, vol. 22, p. 829. - Madden, F.Frederic MaddenSir Frederic Madden , was an English palaeographer.-Biography:Madden was the son of an officer of Irish extraction, he was born at Portsmouth. From his childhood he displayed a flair for linguistic and antiquarian studies...
(1832). William of Palerme, Roxburghe Club. - Skeat, Walter W.Walter William SkeatWalter William Skeat , English philologist, was born in London on the 21st of November 1835, and educated at King's College School , Highgate School, and Christ's College, Cambridge, of which he became a fellow in July 1860. His grandsons include the noted palaeographer T. C...
(1867). Early English Text Society, Extra Series, No. I. - Kaluza, M., in Englische Studien (Heilbronn, iv. 196).