The work of Hue de Rotelande

Abstract

?The subject of this thesis is a literary study of Ipomedon and Protheselaus, the romances of the late twelfth century Anglo-Norman poet Hue de Rotelande.We begin with a discussion of the author's identity, the dating of the poems and their historical background, with reference to Hue's knowledge and use of contemporary events.We then examine briefly the manuscripts and the editions of the romances, and show the extent to which they have already been studied. Analyses of both poems end the introductory section.Our investigation of Hue's sources and his original treatment of conventional themes occupies the main part of the thesis. After considering the poet's own claims to be translating from Latin, we make a detailed study of his debt to the Romans Antiques, as far as his use of names and descriptive passages are concerned.We devote a considerable amount of space to a discussion of the importance of love in Ipomedon and Protheselaus. We show the influence of the romans antiques, particularly of Eneas, and of the romans bretons, with especial reference to Chretien de Troyes. This discussion is divided as far as possible into sections dealing with various aspects of the love interest and with Hue's use of courtly love symptoms.In the section dealing with the romans bretons weconcentrate on Chretien de Troyes, on the Tristan of Thomas, both very interesting sources, on certain lais of Marie de France and on the possible sources of one episode.Our chapter on folklore deals with several non-literary, traditional themes used by Hue and his treatment of them.In our conclusion we sum up the extent of Hue's borrowings and the literary value of his work.