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'FIERABRAS' IN IRELAND - THE TRANSMISSION AND
CULTURAL SETTING OF A FRENCH EPIC IN THE MEDIEVAL
IRISH LITERARY TRADITION
Michael Howard Davies
PhD
The University of Edinburgh
1995
ABSTRACT
Thirteenth-century France saw the construction of the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris to
house the Crown of Thorns and other Relics of the Passion which had been purchased
by King Louis IX. As a result, a fictitious history that explained how Charlemagne
had rescued these Relics from the Saracens and brought them to Paris gained
widespread popularity in later medieval France. This history was in the form of an
epic poem entitled the Chanson de Fierabras, of which English translations were also
made. The history was, in addition, taken to Ireland, where the Irish translation, Sdair
Fortibrais developed a wide circulation. However, the Irish text had as its source a
Latin translation of the French epic poem. This Latin text is preserved only partially
in a unique Irish manuscript of the fifteenth century. It is assumed to be the work of
an Irish cleric due to the non-appearance of this version of the story outside Ireland.
Hitherto unedited, the principal aim of this project is to provide an edition of the Latin
text that lies between the French epic and the Irish text, and then to discuss the
position of the story in the Irish literary tradition.
The first part of this thesis is entitled 'The Irish Fierabras- the Historical and Literary
Framework', divided into five chapters. The first chapter asks why a certain selection
of literary texts were translated into Irish during the later Middle Ages, and how they
were representing the literary tastes of contemporary France. A comparison is then
made with the translation literature of English, Welsh and Old Norse, leading to the
conclusion that the history of the Relics of the Passion was the major reason for the
interest in the Fierabras story in Ireland as in England. The second chapter outlines
the spread of the Fierabras story in France, England and Ireland from the thirteenth to
the fifteenth century, noting any political reasons as to why the story may have been
popular at any one time. The third chapter considers how the subjects of the Fierabras
story were used elsewhere in the Irish tradition in order to see if any political
interpretations may be applied. The results are inconclusive. The fourth chapter
demonstrates that the Irish text is a close translation of the Latin, which is itself an
economical translation of the French poem. The final chapter notes how the Latin text
can be considered a scholastic text of the early fourteenth century, and asks if it was
the work of one particular author, by comparison with another datable text.
The second part, 'Manuscript, Text and Translation', is centred upon the edition of the
Latin text. The edition presents the text as it is written in the manuscript, with
appropriate emendations - an 'editio princeps'. The title of the text in the manuscript,
Gesta Karoli Magni, is preserved. The edition is prefaced by a description of the
manuscript, along with the editorial principles. It is noted how the text is preserved on
one quire that would probably have been followed by a similar quire, now lost. The
edition is followed by a textual apparatus, in which the editorial corrections are
explained, and some further notes. A reasonably literal translation lies at the end, in
which the difficulties in the Latin text are clarified as far as possible.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, I wish to acknowledge the efforts of my supervisor, Professor
William Gillies of the Celtic Department of the University of Edinburgh. Throughout
the preparation of this thesis, his assistance and direction in all areas have been
invaluable. I would especially like to thank him for the benefit of his Latin learning
during the preparation of the edition of the text Gesta Karoli Magni, and also for his
illuminating comments made during the preparation of the introductory chapters.
I would also like to acknowledge Professor Donald Meek, now of the Celtic
Department of the University of Aberdeen, for his guidance during the preparatory
stages of the work. Additionally, I should like to thank the following members of the
Celtic Department of the University of Edinburgh for their help with the Celtic
languages, the presentation of editions, and general thesis structure: Mr. Ronald
Black, Dr. Thomas Clancy, Dr. Nerys Ann Jones and Mr. Robbie Mullally.
Finally, I wish to acknowledge the following scholars for the benefit of their
knowledge: Professor Marvin Calker of the Classics Department of the University of
Virginia for his information about T.C.D. MS. 667; Professor Kenneth Fowler,
formerly of the History Department of the University of Edinburgh, for his overviews
of later medieval history; and Mr. Allan Hood of the Classics Department of the
University of Edinburgh for his insight into the history of later medieval Latin.
CONTENTS
Introduction 1
Part One The Irish Fierabras - The Historical 11
and Literary Framework
Chaoter One The Insular Representation of the 12
'Matters' of Old French Literature
Section One Irish 'Matter' Translations and the 12
Literature of Medieval France
Section Two The 'Matter' Translations in 47
English, Welsh and Old Norse
Chapter Two The Fierabras Story in the Literature 75
of France, England and Ireland
Section One The Chanson de Fierabras and the Relics 75
of the Passion in Later Medieval France
Section Two The Later Medieval Derivatives of the Chanson 100
de Fierabras in France, England and Ireland
ChaQter Three France, The Saracens and the Relics in 130
the Writings of Later Medieval Ireland
ChaQter Four Gesta Karoli Magni- The French 186
Source and Irish Derivative
Section One Sdair Fortibrais- An Irish Translation 186
of Gesta Karoli Magni
Section Two Identifying a Chanson de Geste 204
Source for Gesta Karoli Magni
Section Three Gesta Karoli Magni - A Translation 218
from the Chanson de Fierabras
Chapter Five Gesta Karoli Magni- A Specimen of 245
Fourteenth-Century Hiberno-Latin
Section One The Latinity of the Author 245
of Gesta Karoli Magni
Section Two Gesta Karoli Magni and the 264
Latinity of Simon Semeonis
Con cl us ion to Part One 275
Part Two Manuscript, Text and Translation 279
Section One Previous Scholarship on T.C.D. MS. 667 280
and Gesta Karoli Magni
Section Two T.C.D. MS. 667 - Notes on the Codex and the Script 285
Section Three The Quire Containing Gesta Karoli Magni 293
Gesta Karoli Magni Comments on the Manuscript Text 299
Gesta Karoli Magni Editorial Principles 302
Hie Incipiunt Gesta Karoli Magni et cetera. 304
Gesta Karoli Magni Textual Apparatus 368
Gesta Karoli Magni Translation 384
Appendices 429
Appendix One Manuscripts Containing the Chanson de 430
Fierabras and its Derivative Versions
Appendix Two The Names of Gesta Karoli Magni and 440
Sdair Fortibrais, and their Equivalents
in French and English Fierabras Texts
Bibliography 469
1
INTRODUCTION
The overall aim of this thesis is to make a contribution to the study of how the literary
developments in France from the twelfth to the early sixteenth century influenced the
literature of Ireland during the same period. In Northern Europe, these centuries
approximate to the later Middle Ages historically and the Gothic Age artistically. Gothic
Art was propagated in France during the twelfth century, and led to the development of
more innovative architectural practises, and to the flourishing of vernacular literature in
French. The Gothic styles matured in France and were developed further in the
neighbouring countries of Western Europe until the arrival in the North during the
sixteenth century of the classically-derived Renaissance ideals. Gothic art was to
beC<..ime particularly influential in the places where French culture predominated among
the aristocracy, notably England.
From the twelfth century, Ireland fell increasingly under the influence of this French
based culture. The primary causes were the conquest and settlement of Ireland and the
Gaelic Irish by a French-speaking aristocracy from England, and the establishment in
Ireland of monastic houses of the continental orders. These factors added impetus to the
spread of the Gothic ideals over Ireland. During the course of the later Middle Ages,
this influence was particularly profound upon the realm of literature. Foremost among
the literary testimonies to this influence is a series of translations concerning some of
the most important subjects of the literature of later medieval France. This thesis takes
its focus from this group of texts that were translated and copied between the twelfth
and early sixteenth centuries, a period at the end of which the Reformation of the
English church and subsequent revolts in Ireland led to a new era in Irish history.
The means for making this contribution include the proximate aim of presenting an
'editio princeps' of a Latin prose translation of the late twelfth-century chanson de
2
geste, the Chanson de Fierabras, and discussing it. This Latin translation lies mid-way
between the French and Irish literary traditions, as it was itself used as the source for
the Irish translation Sdair Fortibrais, datahle to around 1400. The story is part of the
fictitious history of the wars of Charlemagne against the Saracens, and recounts how
the Relics of the Passion, including the Crown of Thorns, were rescued from the
Saracens and brought to rest in St. Denis. In France, this story was able to provide an
excellent promotion for the Sainte-Chapelle, the masterpiece of thirteenth-century
Gothic architecture that had been constructed to accommodate these Relics. In
acknowlcdgetnent of the importance of this story, the Irish translation became one of
the most popular of all the texts translated from a foreign source into Irish during the
later Middle Ages.
Unlike the hish translation, which is comparatively well represented in the manuscript
tradition of the fifteenth century, the Latin text is only partially preserved in one
fifteenth-century manuscript. This manuscript was compiled in all probability at a
Franciscan friary in County Clare, and is now preserved in the library of Trinity
College, Dublin as Manuscript No. 667, formerly F.5.3 .. The Irish translation, Sdair
Fortibrais, is the only other representation of this version of the story anywhere in
Europe, and it will be argued that it is reasonable to assume that the Latin text is
Hiberno-Latin, made by an Irishman for the transmission of the story to Ireland. In
combination with Sdair Fortibrais, it may thus be considered as the main representation
of the Fierabras story in the hish literary tradition.
The present enquiry into the Fierabras story in Ireland originated in a more general
survey of a specific group of the translations made into Irish from foreign sources
during the later Middle Ages. These texts are all stories that fit into one of the three
'Matters', that is the 'Matter of Rome', the 'Matter of France' and the 'Matter of
Britain', which predominated in the secular narrative literature of France during the later
3
Middle Ages. This class encompasses all the translated stories that can be considered af.)
epic, romance or histotiography, but excludes the translations of hagiographic textf.) or
purely desctiptive, non-literary accounts of voyages. The translations in this class are of
two sorts of provenance: the first incorporates texts translated from Latin, either
classical epics or late classical prose histoties; the second involves texts translated from
later medieval English romances. Note that there are no extant examples of any
translations having been made directly from a French source during the later Middle
Ages. This may appear somewhat surprising, as the French cultural sphere had
extended over all the Btitish Isles as a result of Norman activity during this petiod, and
French literature had become popular among the ruling classes. But although a number
of the ltish translations have French texts as their ultimate source, in all cases bar one
there is an intermediary text that is an English romance. The one exception is Sdair
Fortibrais, which is translated from a Latin text, itself a rare example of translation from
French verse into Latin prose. Hence, these two texts of the Fierabras story have a
unique position in the extant Irish tradition.
A notable omission in the existing scholarship was revealed in the course of this
survey. All the Irish translations within the scope of the study had been at some stage
edited, as indeed had versions of all bar one of the source texts in Latin and English.
The exception was the Latin source of Sdair Fortibrais. The examination of this text
became both an urgent priority within this investigation, and also a pointer to the form
that this thesis should finally take, built around an edition of this barely studied Latin
text. T.C.D. MS. 667 did not prove to be overly difficult to read or study from a
codicological point of view. The text was transcribed from the original manuscript,
which was examined and described in June 1992. The resulting edition, presented in
Part Two of this project, entitled 'Manuscript, Text and Translation', is diplomatic, the
text being laid out as in the manuscript, with each line of the manuscript text appearing
as a line in the printed edition. The edition is prefaced by codicological and
4
palacographical notes, and a statement of the editorial principles. A fairly literal
translation is also provided. One of the problems was knowing what title to give the
edited text. The title of the text in the manuscript, Gesta Karoli Magni, is used
throughout this thesis, even though it does not contain the expected reference to the
eponymous hero of the Chanson de Fierabras. It must be noted here that although the
editor of the hish translation names the text Sdair Fortibrais, the manuscripts actually
entitle the text Sdair Serluis Mh6ir, again with no reference to Fierabras/Fortibras.
Examination of the Latin and Irish texts quickly revealed that Sdair Fortibrais is a very
close translation of Gesta Karoli Magni. The two texts, taken together, permit the
placing of the Irish Fierabras tradition in its cultural setting in the later Middle Ages. In
order to achieve this goal, there are five basic questions that require to be answered.
The first three concern the literary context of the text: The first question asks how the
Irish tradition of the Fierabras story compares with the Irish tradition of other
comparable 'Matter' translations; the second then enquires how the Irish Fierabras texts
compare to those of the other countries, France and England, in which the story was
represented; the third asks how the subjects presented in the Fierabras story were
employed in later medieval Irish literature, and how they could have been interpreted by
the contemporary reader. The other two concern aspects of language and style: the
fourth question asks if the respective translators of Sdair Fortibrais and Gesta Karoli
Magni treated their source texts faithfully, or if the sources were freely adapted; the fifth
then enquires about the characteristics of the Latin used in Gesta Karoli Magni, and
asks if this type of Latin can help identify the translator of the text. The answers to all
these questions form the chapters of Part One of this project, entitled 'The Irish
Ficrabras -The Historical and Literary Framework', which discusses the background
and context of the Irish Fierabras tradition.
