'Boeve de Haumtone' and 'Gui de Warewic': Two Anglo-Norman Romances. (Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies, 332; The French of England Translation Series, 3) by Judith Weiss

Abstract

MLR, 104.4, 2009 ii35 psycholinguistic discussions; despite discussion of the psychological plausibility of descriptions for language-learning, despite the experience of the author in teach ing French toGerman learners and the commendable objective of being useful to French as second language, and despite the subtitle of the book, no actual exper imental data are taken on board although there is a wealth of studies in the field (among many others, Emmanuelle Labeau, Beyond theAspect Hypothesis: Tense Aspect Development inAdvanced Li French (Bern: Peter Lang, 2005)). Accounting for such real data about learning and usage isverymuch the next challenge for the description of language forms and of the temporal categories. Aston University Pierre Larrivee 'Boeve de Haumtone' and Gui de Warewic: Two Anglo-Norman Romances. Trans, by Judith Weiss. (Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies, 332; The French of England Translation Series, 3) Tempe: Arizona Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. 2008. xiv+264 pp. $45. ISBN 978-0-86698-378-5. Judith Weiss's translation of Boeve de Haumtone and Gui deWarewic is a welcome addition to the field of Anglo-Norman scholarship and successfully makes two key twelfth-century insular romances considerably more accessible to themodern reader. In her detailed introduction Weiss contextualizes the development of insular romance in twelfth-century England, pointing out the emergent concerns with history and topography that provide a preliminary thematic link between the two texts. She goes on to discuss their ensuing popularity in Europe and in England, re-establishing them as central to understanding both the literary tastes of their original audiences and their influence on latermedieval texts.Having established the background to the romances, Weiss moves on to an individual study of both texts inher introduction. This in-depth analysis of theworks will be invaluable to anyone studying the romances, as both previously existed in now rather outdated editions: Boeve de Haumtone being last edited in 1899 by Albert Stimming (Halle: Niemeyer), and Gui deWarewic in 1933 byAlfred Ewert (Paris: Champion). Weiss begins her introductory study of both works with an individual plot sum mary, with subsequent sections on author and date, sources and influences, themes and issues, structure, style, and aesthetic qualities, manuscripts, her principles in translating the text, and, in the case of Gui de Warewic, an additional section on Ewert's earlier edition. Following the romances there is an extensive bibliography, index, and an appendix of short extracts from the original Anglo-Norman texts. In the case of Boeve particularly, Weiss highlights the challenges presented by previous editions. She highlights the shortcomings of Stimmings's 1899 edition, which freely emends the textwhere incomprehensible, changes the order of lines, and adds or omits words. Ewert similarly supplies lines missing from the 'best' manuscript in his edition of Gui. Weiss's edition, in the case of both romances, keeps to themanuscripts as closely as possible, replacing former editorial inter ventions where necessary and maintaining original line order where tenable. Her 1136 Reviews main alteration is to adopt modern paragraphing, which facilitates easy reading, especially of the epic Gui, which runs to 12,920 lines. Weiss's translation is flowing and colourful, and supported by comprehensive footnotes which defend her choice ofwords, draw attention to previous editorial corrections, and point out manuscript variants. She takes pains to avoid any am biguity ofmeaning, as in her translation of Ta mer de Bretaine' in line 750 as 'the Breton coast\ combining both nuances of the original phrase. In sum, this is an excellent scholarly edition of both texts,which it is to be hoped will contribute to a renewed critical interest in insular romance. Queen's University Belfast Mariana Neilly Desire by Gender and Genre in Trouvere Song. By Helen Dell. (Gallica, 10) Cambridge: Brewer. 2008. x+227 pp. ?50. ISBN 978-1-84384-164-7. Helen Dell's study focuses on issues thathave been explored indepth in troubadour scholarship but, as of yet,mostly neglected with regard to theNorthern French lyric tradition. Her work aims in part, therefore, to counteract criticism which has privileged not only the Southern poetry, but also the 'high-style' chanson over the pastourelle and the chanson defemme. Dell adopts a psychoanalytic line of enquiry to support...