The Alliterative Morte Arthure: A Reassessment of the Poem

198 Pages·1970·31.34 MB·English

by  Karl Heinz Goller

ARTHURIAIV STUDIES f I
THE ALLITERATIVE MORTE ARTHURE
ARTHURIAN STUDIES
I
ASPECTS OF MALORY
ed. T. Takamiya and D. Brewer
I11
THE ARTHURIAN BIBLIOGRAPHY
I: AUTHOR LISTING
ed. C. E. Pickford and R. Last
THE
Alliterative Morte Arthure
A REASSESSMENT OF THE POELM
Edited by Karl Heins Gazer
D. S. BREWER
0 Contributors 1994
All Rights Resewed. Except as permitted under current legislation
no part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval
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transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means,
without the prior permission of the copyright owner
First published 1994
by D. S. Brewer
Transferred to digital printing
ISBN 9784-85991-075-0
D. S. Brewer is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd
PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IPl2 3DF, UK
and of Boydell & Brewer Inc.
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website: www.boydeIlandbrewer.com
A CiP catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library
This publication is printed on acid-free paper
Contents
The Dream of the Wheel of Fortune Kevin Crosslty-H o lland
A Summary of Research Karl Heinz GiiEler
Reality versus Romance:
A Reassessment of the Alliterative
Morte Arthur Karl Heinz Giiller
The Poem in the Tradition of Arthurian
Literature Maureen Fries
The Audience Jutta Wurster
The Language and Style: The Paradox
of Heroic Poetry Manfred Markus
Formulaic hlicrostructure: The Cluster Jean Ritrke-Rutherford
FormuIaic Macrostructure: The Theme
of Battle Jean Ritzke-Rutheford
Armorial Bearings and their Meaning Karl LiMe
The Figure of Sir Gawain Jorg 0.F ichte
The Laments for the Dead Renate Haas
The Dream of the Dragon and Bear Karl Heine GolEer
The Dream of the Wheel of Fortune Anke Jan~sen
Notes
Preface
The following colIection of essays on the Alliterative Morte Arthure grew
out of a series of lectures given by participants from the Regensburg
University Department of English at the ~11thIn ternational Arthurian
Conference, which took pface at Regensburg in August, 1979. It was felt
that a reassessment of this unique and previously negIected poem was
necessary, The present essays are the result of a joint effort by members
of the English Department and colleagues from abroad who shared our
view of the poem. The articles are meant to form an integrated whole,
whereby each contribution deals with a particular aspect of the same
problem.
Thanks are due to the native speakers of the English Department who
helped polish up the English of the following essays. All of us owe a
special debt of gratitude to Jean Ritzke-Rutherford who invested a
generous amount of time in our project. For her as for all other members
of the team, work on the Alliteratiz've Marte Arthure (endearingly referred to
as AMA by the contributors) was a labour of love and an imperative.
Further thanks are due to the publishing firm, in particular to
Richard Barber, Marcia Vale and Derek S. Brewer for their continued
support.
K.H.G.
The Dream ofthe Wheel of Fortune
KEVIN CROSSLEY-HOLLAND
3218 Then this handsome king, as chronicles tell.
Quickly and gaily gets ready for bed;
Adroitly he strips and slackens his girdle
And fatigue overcomes him, he falls asleep.
But one hour after midnight his mood entirely altered;
In the early hours he met wondrous dreams!
And when his dreadful dream had drifted past and finished,
The king trembles for fear as if afraid for his life;
He calls for his wise men and tells of his terror:
'Truly, since I was born, I have never been so afraid!
Apply yourselves with a11 speed, explain my dream to me,
As I shall rehearse it to you, readily and fully.
3230 I thought I was in a wood, lost and alone,
And had no idea which way to turn
Because of wolves and wild boar and evil creatures;
They walked in that wilderness, looking for trouble;
The most loathsome lions licked their lips there,
Longing to lap up the blood of my loyal knights!
I fled through that forest, where flowers grew tall,
To find a hiding-place from those horrible beasts;
I came to a meadow surrounded by mountains.
The most delightful on rniddIe-earth ever seen by men!
3240 The entire close was encompassed and surrounded,
Covered with clover and colourful small flowers;
That valley was encircled by vines of silver
That bore grapes of gold (more succulent
Than any other) and friezed by furzes and all kinds of trees -
Herdsmen were standing amongst splendid pastures;
Every fruit that grows on earth flourished there
On fine boughs, in a well-fenced orchard;
There was no dampness of dew to injure anything,
All the flowers were dry with the day's dryness.
3250 Then down from the clouds. and into that valley, a duchess
Descends, richly dressed in damasked clothing,
A subtly-coloured surcoat of silk
2 Kevin Crosslq-Holland
Overlaid with otter-fur right down to the hem,
And a ladylike train a yard long.
All its edges trimmed with ribbons of gold;
Brooches and bezants and many bright stones
Were pinned all over her back and her breast.
She wore a caul crowned with a golden chaplet,
And no woman's complexion was ever so clear!
3260 She whirled a wheel with her white hands.
Spun it most skilfully as she had to do;
This wheel was wrought of red gold and precious stones,
Adorned with riches and many a ruby;
The spokes were inlaid with splinters of silver.
Each springing a spear-length from the hub;
On the wheel was a chair of chalk-white silver.
Chequered with carbuncle of ever-changing hue;
A row of kings clung to the rim,
Their gleaming gojd crowns were cracking apart.
3270 Then one after another six of them suddenly
Fell from on high. each repeating these words:
"That ever I reigned on this wheel I rue for ever!
No ruler on earth was so rich as I!
When I rode with my company, I cared for nothing
But hunting by the river, revelry, extortion!
For as long as I lived this was my life-style
And so I am damned utterly and forever!"
The first man spreadeagled under the wheel was a little fellow,
His loins were skinny and loathsome to look at.
3280 His locks were grey and a yard long,
His face and body were badly diseased;
One of his eyes winked brighter than silver,
The other was yellower than the yolk of an egg.
"I was lord", said the man, "of many a land.
And all men on earth did me obeisance;
Not one rag remains now with which to cover my corpse,
But all at once I am lost, let each man recognize it!"
Certainly the second lord who spun off the wheel
Looked to me more steadfast and more mighty in war;
3290 Between his deep sighs he spoke these words:
"I sat on that throne there as sovereign and lord,
And ladies loved to enfold me in their arms,
And my estate is lost now, laid Iow for ever!"
The third was very fierce, with thickset shoulders,
A fearsome man to fight with, even thirty to one;
His crown, adorned with cut stones
And inlaid with diamonds, had dropped to the earth;