Roman de Fergus
Encyclopedia
Romance (genre)
As a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knight errant portrayed as...
written in Old French probably at the very beginning of the 13th century, by a very well educated author who named himself Guillaume li Clers (William the Clerk
William the Clerk
William the Clerk was an Old French poet who names himself at the end of his only known work: the Arthurian Roman de Fergus, a parody of the romances of Chrétien de Troyes, notably Perceval, the Story of the Grail....
). The main character is Fergus, the son of Soumilloit , a rich but old-fashioned farmer and a noble Arthurian women who rises to become the best knight of King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
.
Historical background
If the Roman is based upon a historical figure, it is probably Fergus of GallowayFergus of Galloway
Fergus of Galloway was King, or Lord, of Galloway from an unknown date , until his death in 1161. He was the founder of that "sub-kingdom," the resurrector of the Bishopric of Whithorn, the patron of new abbeys , and much else besides...
. The Roman has been upheld by many modern critics for its highly sophisticated use of parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
, parody directed at the whole genre of Arthurian romance. It had been suggested by earlier scholars such as Dominicia Legge that the work was produced under the patronage of Alan, Lord of Galloway
Alan, Lord of Galloway
Alan Fitz Roland was the last of the MacFergus dynasty of quasi-independent Lords of Galloway. He was also hereditary Constable of Scotland.-Family:He was the son of Roland, or Lochlann, Lord of Galloway and Helen de Morville...
, but this idea is now rejected by most scholars, for a variety of reasons, including the Roman's satirization of Fergus (Alan's great-grandfather). Recently, it has been proposed by D.D.R. Owen that it was written for the entertainment of the Scottish court
Kingdom of Alba
The name Kingdom of Alba pertains to the Kingdom of Scotland between the deaths of Donald II in 900, and of Alexander III in 1286 which then led indirectly to the Scottish Wars of Independence...
of William I
William I of Scotland
William the Lion , sometimes styled William I, also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough", reigned as King of the Scots from 1165 to 1214...
, and that the author was none other than William Malveisin, a royal clerk who rose to hold both the Bishopric of Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and St Andrews
St Andrews
St Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....
. Also noted by scholars is the Roman's extensive knowledge of the geography of southern Scotland, which is in general depicted in an exceedingly accurate manner. This is in contrast to most other works of the genre, in which geography is vague and unrealistic.
Some scholars hold that the Roman satirizes native Scottish
Gaels
The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man....
society. Soumilloit is wealthy enough to own a fortress, but he is low-born and the fortress is made only of wood. Moreover, his son Fergus works on the farm. Fergus' character is stumbling. Although valiant, he frequently transgresses the etiquette that the Francophone
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
aristocratic society took for granted.
The Roman could be the first piece of non-Celtic vernacular
Vernacular
A vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is not native to the population, such as a national language or lingua franca.- Etymology :The term is not a recent one...
literature to have survived from Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, an honor often thought to belong to the Brus of John Barbour, written one and a half centuries later in Middle English. It has been neglected in Scotland mainly because it did not come to the attention of scholars until relatively recently, being preserved only in Continental Europe
Continental Europe
Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands....
. The other reason for neglect is probably that it was written in French, a linguistic-literary tradition which died out by the later Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. The Roman de Fergus however shows that, despite its future, French-culture flourished in Scotland during the High Middle Ages
Scotland in the High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages of Scotland encompass Scotland in the era between the death of Domnall II in 900 AD and the death of king Alexander III in 1286...
.
Plot
The story begins with a stag huntStag hunt
In game theory, the stag hunt is a game which describes a conflict between safety and social cooperation. Other names for it or its variants include "assurance game", "coordination game", and "trust dilemma". Jean-Jacques Rousseau described a situation in which two individuals go out on a hunt. ...
. Beginning in Carlisle, King Arthur and his knights chase a great white stag
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
, which eludes them until Percival
Percival
Percival or Perceval is one of King Arthur's legendary Knights of the Round Table. In Welsh literature his story is allotted to the historical Peredur...
finally captures it in Galloway. At this point, Fergus, working the land in the service of his father, spots the knights and is inspired by them. Fergus persuades his father to give him a suit of armour, so that he can follow after the knights and join them. Fergus makes his way to Carlisle, killing two bandits on the way, whose heads he brings to the king. Arriving at court, he is mocked by Kay
Sir Kay
In Arthurian legend, Sir Kay is Sir Ector's son and King Arthur's foster brother and later seneschal, as well as one of the first Knights of the Round Table. In later literature he is known for his acid tongue and bullying, boorish behavior, but in earlier accounts he was one of Arthur's premier...
, the seneschal
Seneschal
A seneschal was an officer in the houses of important nobles in the Middle Ages. In the French administrative system of the Middle Ages, the sénéchal was also a royal officer in charge of justice and control of the administration in southern provinces, equivalent to the northern French bailli...
. Kay challenges Fergus to prove his worth by, among other things, defeating the king's bitter enemy, the Black Knight
Black Knight
The black knight is a literary stock character, often contrasted with the white knight. The character famously appeared in Arthurian literature and has been adapted and adopted by various authors, in cinema and popular culture...
; Fergus accepts. After being taught knightly arts by the daughter of the royal Chamberlain
Chamberlain (office)
A chamberlain is an officer in charge of managing a household. In many countries there are ceremonial posts associated with the household of the sovereign....
, he is knighted by Arthur and receives encouragement and a sword from Percival and Gawain
Gawain
Gawain is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table who appears very early in the Arthurian legend's development. He is one of a select number of Round Table members to be referred to as the greatest knight, most notably in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight...
.
Chivalry
Chivalry is a term related to the medieval institution of knighthood which has an aristocratic military origin of individual training and service to others. Chivalry was also the term used to refer to a group of mounted men-at-arms as well as to martial valour...
, Fergus makes his way to Liddel Castle
Liddel Castle
Liddel Castle is a ruined castle in Liddesdale, by the Liddel Water, near Castleton in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, in the former Roxburghshire.-See also:*Anglo-Scottish border*List of places in the Scottish Borders*List of places in Scotland...
, where he first encounters Galiene, the niece of the castellan
Castellan
A castellan was the governor or captain of a castle. The word stems from the Latin Castellanus, derived from castellum "castle". Also known as a constable.-Duties:...
. She declares her love for him, but he only promises to return after he has fulfilled his quest
Quest
In mythology and literature, a quest, a journey towards a goal, serves as a plot device and as a symbol. Quests appear in the folklore of every nation and also figure prominently in non-national cultures. In literature, the objects of quests require great exertion on the part of the hero, and...
. Having vanquished the Black Knight, Fergus returns, only to find that Galiene has disappeared. At this point, the magic of love hits Fergus. He searches for her in vain for a year, until he meets a dwarf who tells him that he will retrieve his lost love if he can obtain a shield from a hag in Dunnottar Castle
Dunnottar Castle
Dunnottar Castle is a ruined medieval fortress located upon a rocky headland on the north-east coast of Scotland, about two miles south of Stonehaven. The surviving buildings are largely of the 15th–16th centuries, but the site is believed to have been an early fortress of the Dark Ages...
. With renewed hope, Fergus makes his way to Queensferry, in order to cross from "England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
" into "Scotland
Scotia
Scotia was originally a Roman name for Ireland, inhabited by the people they called Scoti or Scotii. Use of the name shifted in the Middle Ages to designate the part of the island of Great Britain lying north of the Firth of Forth, the Kingdom of Alba...
"; however, he gets into a dispute with the boatmen, dispatches them all, and is forced to sail himself over. Upon reaching Dunnotar, Fergus slays the guardian of the shield, and returns to Lothian
Lothian
Lothian forms a traditional region of Scotland, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills....
. It is then that he is told that Galiene is the new ruler of Lothian, but is besieged in Roxburgh
Roxburgh
Roxburgh , also known as Rosbroch, is a village, civil parish and now-destroyed royal burgh. It was an important trading burgh in High Medieval to early modern Scotland...
by a neighbouring king. On the way to Roxburgh, he is waylaid at Melrose
Melrose, Scotland
Melrose is a small town and civil parish in the Scottish Borders, historically in Roxburghshire. It is in the Eildon committee area.-Etymology:...
by the husband of the hag-dragon he dispatched at Dunnottar. Emerging victorious, Fergus takes up residence in Melrose, and from there wreaks havoc on the army. He defeats some of its greatest knights, but this is not enough to lift the siege.
After a while, the king sends his nephew Arthofilaus to demand that Galiene surrender the castle. She refuses, but they agree that if she can find a suitable knight, they will settle the dispute by single combat. Galiene soon regrets the deal, as she is unable to find a willing candidate among her men. She therefore sends her attendant, Arondele, to request a knight from Arthur at Carlisle. However, Arthur is unable to provide one because all of his knights are out searching for Fergus. Dejected, Arondele heads back to her mistress. On the way, she passes Melrose and relates the story to Fergus, before returning to Roxburgh. News of the attendant's failure brings Galiene to grief, because the combat must take place the following day. When the time arrives, Galiene prepares to throw herself from the castle tower. However, she catches sight of a shining shield in the distance. The mysterious knight slays Arthofilaus, and the king gives up his claim to Lothian. It is then that Galiene learns the identity of the knight, her lost love Fergus. By then, however, he had already departed.
Back at Carlisle, King Arthur learns of the events and pardons the defeated king. Arthur decides personally to set out in search of Fergus, but Gawain counsels that he has a better chance of finding him if he hosts a tournament
Tournament
A tournament is a competition involving a relatively large number of competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:...
. The tournament is arranged at Jedburgh
Jedburgh
Jedburgh is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and historically in Roxburghshire.-Location:Jedburgh lies on the Jed Water, a tributary of the River Teviot, it is only ten miles from the border with England and is dominated by the substantial ruins of Jedburgh Abbey...
, and the prize is Queen Galiene and her kingdom. During the week-long tournament, Fergus remains invincible, defeating, among others, Kay, Lancelot
Lancelot
Sir Lancelot du Lac is one of the Knights of the Round Table in the Arthurian legend. He is the most trusted of King Arthur's knights and plays a part in many of Arthur's victories...
and the Black Knight. It is after this that Fergus and Galiene are united in marriage, and Fergus becomes King of Lothian.
Roman van Ferguut
In the middle of the thirteenth century, the Roman was translated and adapted into Middle DutchMiddle Dutch
Middle Dutch is a collective name for a number of closely related West Germanic dialects which were spoken and written between 1150 and 1500...
as the Roman van Ferguut
Roman van Ferguut
The Roman van Ferguut is a 13th century Arthurian romance written in what is now called Middle Dutch . The first part of the Roman was translated fairly accurately from the Scottish French language work known as the Roman de Fergus, but the second part, possibly the work of another author, was...
. The first part of the Roman was translated from French fairly accurately, but the second part, possibly the work of another author, was much more loosely derived. The Ferguut today has wide fame as a Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
classic, certainly more fame than the Roman de Fergus possesses in either Scotland or France. It has recently been translated into English by an American scholar.