Chevrefoil
Encyclopedia
"Chevrefoil" is a Breton lai
by the medieval poet Marie de France
. The eleventh poem in the collection called The Lais of Marie de France
, its subject is an episode from the romance of Tristan and Iseult
. The title means "honeysuckle
," a symbol of love in the poem. "Chevrefoil" consists of 118 lines and survives in two manuscripts, Harley 978 or MS H, which contains all the Lais, and in Bibliothèque Nationale
, nouv. acq. fr. 1104, or MS S.
and his uncle's wife Iseult
, which, according to Marie, was so pure that it eventually caused their deaths on the same day. Tristan has been exiled from Cornwall
by his uncle Mark
for his adulterous transgressions, and is forced to return to his homeland in South Wales
. After pining away for a year, Tristan hears news that Mark is planning a great feast for Pentecost
at Tintagel
, and Iseult will be present. On the day the king's court sets out, Tristan takes to the woods, where he cuts a hazel
branch into an appropriate signal and carves his name into it. Marie says Iseult will be on the lookout for such a sign, since Tristan has contacted her in a similar manner in the past. Immediately recognizing the branch as Tristan's, Iseult asks her party to stop and rest, and goes out in the woods with only her faithful servant Brangaine
. The lovers spend their time together, and Iseult tells Tristan how he can win back his uncle's favor. When it comes time to leave, the lovers weep, and Tristan returns to Wales to wait for his uncle's word.
Lines 68 through 78 compare Tristan and Iseult's love to the intertwining of the honeysuckle with the hazel; the two plants grow so entwined that both will die if they are separated. Marie says the original author of the lai was none other than Tristan, an accomplished bard who put his thoughts into a song at Iseult's request. According to Marie, "Chevrefoil" is the French
name for the poem; it is called "Gotelef" (Goatleaf) in English
.
. A testament to Marie's popularity appears in Gerbert's Continuation to Chrétien de Troyes
's unfinished romance Perceval, the Story of the Grail
, which contains an episode in which a disguised Tristan plays the lay of "Chevrefoil" to his unsuspecting lover at a tournament.
"Chevrefoil" is one of Marie's several lais concerning an adulterous love. It is also one of several which deal with the sexual frustration suffered by a young woman who has been married to an older man. Like other lais, prominence is given to the analysis of the characters' emotions and to the contrast between the ideals of love and the needs of reality. It has been speculated that Marie arranged her poems as they appear in MS H in order to pair a short, tragic poem with a longer one on the power of love and the importance of fidelity. If this is true, "Chevrefoil" may be paired with "Eliduc
," the final poem in the collection.
One of the most discussed features of the lai is the hazel branch Tristan leaves for Iseult. The poet indicates that Tristan carves his name on the branch; it is unclear if he also leaves a fuller message. In any case Iseult interprets it correctly. Glyn Burgess suggests the branch is merely a signal Tristan has already told Iseult about in an earlier message; the poet indicates that Iseult would be on the lookout for the branch, "for this had all happened before". Others have read the poem as indicating that Tristan has left a longer message, perhaps lines 77-78, or the entirety of lines 61-78. In such a case the message may have been transcribed in notches on the branch, perhaps in the ogham
alphabet, or in a fashion similar to the tally stick
.
Like the other Lais, "Chevrefoil" was adapted into other languages. It was translated as "Geitarlauf" in the Old Norse
version of Marie's Lais known as Strengleikar
, perhaps written by Brother Robert
.
Breton lai
A Breton lai, also known as a narrative lay or simply a lay, is a form of medieval French and English romance literature. Lais are short , rhymed tales of love and chivalry, often involving supernatural and fairy-world Celtic motifs...
by the medieval poet Marie de France
Marie de France
Marie de France was a medieval poet who was probably born in France and lived in England during the late 12th century. She lived and wrote at an undisclosed court, but was almost certainly at least known about at the royal court of King Henry II of England...
. The eleventh poem in the collection called The Lais of Marie de France
The Lais of Marie de France
The Lais of Marie de France are a series of twelve short narrative Breton lais by the poet Marie de France. They are written in the Anglo-Norman and were probably composed in the late 12th century. The short, narrative poems generally focus on glorifying the concept of courtly love through the...
, its subject is an episode from the romance of Tristan and Iseult
Tristan and Iseult
The legend of Tristan and Iseult is an influential romance and tragedy, retold in numerous sources with as many variations. The tragic story is of the adulterous love between the Cornish knight Tristan and the Irish princess Iseult...
. The title means "honeysuckle
Honeysuckle
Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the family Caprifoliaceae, native to the Northern Hemisphere. There are about 180 species of honeysuckle, 100 of which occur in China; Europe, India and North America have only about 20 native species each...
," a symbol of love in the poem. "Chevrefoil" consists of 118 lines and survives in two manuscripts, Harley 978 or MS H, which contains all the Lais, and in Bibliothèque Nationale
Bibliothèque nationale de France
The is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.-History:...
, nouv. acq. fr. 1104, or MS S.
Summary
The lai begins with a statement that others have sung it previously, and that the author has seen it in written form. The story tells of the love between the knight TristanTristan
Tristan is one of the main characters of the Tristan and Iseult story, a Cornish hero and one of the Knights of the Round Table featuring in the Matter of Britain...
and his uncle's wife Iseult
Iseult
Iseult is the name of several characters in the Arthurian story of Tristan and Iseult. The most prominent is Iseult of Ireland, wife of Mark of Cornwall and adulterous lover of Sir Tristan. Her mother, the Queen of Ireland, is also named Iseult...
, which, according to Marie, was so pure that it eventually caused their deaths on the same day. Tristan has been exiled from Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
by his uncle Mark
Mark of Cornwall
Mark of Cornwall was a king of Kernow in the early 6th century. He is most famous for his appearance in Arthurian legend as the uncle of Tristan and husband of Iseult, who engage in a secret affair.-The legend:Mark sent Tristan as his proxy to fetch his young bride, the Princess Iseult, from...
for his adulterous transgressions, and is forced to return to his homeland in South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
. After pining away for a year, Tristan hears news that Mark is planning a great feast for Pentecost
Pentecost
Pentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...
at Tintagel
Tintagel
Tintagel is a civil parish and village situated on the Atlantic coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom. The population of the parish is 1,820 people, and the area of the parish is ....
, and Iseult will be present. On the day the king's court sets out, Tristan takes to the woods, where he cuts a hazel
Hazel
The hazels are a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae, though some botanists split the hazels into a separate family Corylaceae.They have simple, rounded leaves with double-serrate margins...
branch into an appropriate signal and carves his name into it. Marie says Iseult will be on the lookout for such a sign, since Tristan has contacted her in a similar manner in the past. Immediately recognizing the branch as Tristan's, Iseult asks her party to stop and rest, and goes out in the woods with only her faithful servant Brangaine
Brangaine
Brangaine is the handmaid and confidante of Iseult of Ireland in the story of Tristan and Iseult...
. The lovers spend their time together, and Iseult tells Tristan how he can win back his uncle's favor. When it comes time to leave, the lovers weep, and Tristan returns to Wales to wait for his uncle's word.
Lines 68 through 78 compare Tristan and Iseult's love to the intertwining of the honeysuckle with the hazel; the two plants grow so entwined that both will die if they are separated. Marie says the original author of the lai was none other than Tristan, an accomplished bard who put his thoughts into a song at Iseult's request. According to Marie, "Chevrefoil" is the French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
name for the poem; it is called "Gotelef" (Goatleaf) in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
.
Allusions and significance
Similar episodes to that recounted in "Chevrefoil" appear in longer Tristan poems; it is feasible that Marie drew her material from a longer source. Though there are several allusions to the greater Tristan and Iseult cycle, such as Tintagel and the character Brangaine, Marie is unique in placing Tristan's homeland in South Wales, rather than Cornwall or the fictitious LyonesseLyonesse
Lyonesse is a country in Arthurian legend, particularly in the story of Tristan and Iseult. Said to border Cornwall, it is most notable as the home of the hero Tristan, whose father was king...
. A testament to Marie's popularity appears in Gerbert's Continuation to Chrétien de Troyes
Chrétien de Troyes
Chrétien de Troyes was a French poet and trouvère who flourished in the late 12th century. Perhaps he named himself Christian of Troyes in contrast to the illustrious Rashi, also of Troyes...
's unfinished romance Perceval, the Story of the Grail
Perceval, the Story of the Grail
Perceval, the Story of the Grail is the unfinished fifth romance of Chrétien de Troyes. Probably written between 1181 and 1191, it is dedicated to Chrétien's patron Philip, Count of Flanders...
, which contains an episode in which a disguised Tristan plays the lay of "Chevrefoil" to his unsuspecting lover at a tournament.
"Chevrefoil" is one of Marie's several lais concerning an adulterous love. It is also one of several which deal with the sexual frustration suffered by a young woman who has been married to an older man. Like other lais, prominence is given to the analysis of the characters' emotions and to the contrast between the ideals of love and the needs of reality. It has been speculated that Marie arranged her poems as they appear in MS H in order to pair a short, tragic poem with a longer one on the power of love and the importance of fidelity. If this is true, "Chevrefoil" may be paired with "Eliduc
Eliduc
"Eliduc" is a Breton lai by the medieval poet Marie de France. The twelfth and last poem in the collection known as The Lais of Marie de France, it appears in the manuscript Harley 978 at the British Library. Like the other poems in this collection, "Eliduc" is written in the Anglo-Norman dialect...
," the final poem in the collection.
One of the most discussed features of the lai is the hazel branch Tristan leaves for Iseult. The poet indicates that Tristan carves his name on the branch; it is unclear if he also leaves a fuller message. In any case Iseult interprets it correctly. Glyn Burgess suggests the branch is merely a signal Tristan has already told Iseult about in an earlier message; the poet indicates that Iseult would be on the lookout for the branch, "for this had all happened before". Others have read the poem as indicating that Tristan has left a longer message, perhaps lines 77-78, or the entirety of lines 61-78. In such a case the message may have been transcribed in notches on the branch, perhaps in the ogham
Ogham
Ogham is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the Old Irish language, and occasionally the Brythonic language. Ogham is sometimes called the "Celtic Tree Alphabet", based on a High Medieval Bríatharogam tradition ascribing names of trees to the individual letters.There are roughly...
alphabet, or in a fashion similar to the tally stick
Tally stick
A tally was an ancient memory aid device to record and document numbers, quantities, or even messages. Tally sticks first appear as notches carved on animal bones, in the Upper Paleolithic. A notable example is the Ishango Bone...
.
Like the other Lais, "Chevrefoil" was adapted into other languages. It was translated as "Geitarlauf" in the Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
version of Marie's Lais known as Strengleikar
Strengleikar
Strengleikar is a collection of twenty-one Old Norse prose tales based on the Old French Lais of Marie de France. It is one of the literary works commissioned by King Haakon IV of Norway for the Norwegian court. The collection is anonymous...
, perhaps written by Brother Robert
Brother Robert
Brother Robert was a cleric working in Norway who adapted several French literary works into Old Norse during the reign of King Haakon IV of Norway . The most important of these, Tristrams saga ok Ísöndar, based on Thomas of Britain's Tristan, is notable as the only example of Thomas' "courtly...
.
External links
- "Honeysuckle". From The Honeysuckle and the Hazel Tree at content.cdlib.org/escholarship. Retrieved May 12, 2007.