In Praise of Troubadourism: Creating Community in Occupied France, 1942–43

Abstract

In 1942, French medievalist Edith Thomas wrote in her personal diary a scathing review of Marcel Carne’s film Les Visiteurs du soir/The Devil’s Envoy coining the word “troubadourism” to describe the appropriation of the medieval past to create a sentimental present.1 While for Thomas troubadourism held dangerous implications of filmic collaboration with Hitler’s Germany, her argument that the Middle Ages is easily misused as a far-removed, imaginary space in which to address contemporary problems still holds sway. One year later, Jean Cocteau’s 1943 retelling of the Tristan and Isolde legend in L’Eternel retour (Eternal Return) that was directed by Jean Delannoy also met with mixed reviews, as Cocteau’s leading man and lady were criticized for being too “Aryan.”2 Rather than casting troubadourism in an inherently negative light, this chapter considers the ambiguous use of medieval characters and settings in Les Visiteurs du soir and L’Eternel retour, claiming that the recreation of a mythical past performs important cultural work for these filmmakers as well as for the Occupation French audience who viewed the film. While the chapters in this volume ask important questions about how modern directors use medieval settings to infuse their works with modern preoccupations about race, class, and gender, this chapter will address a parallel question in order to better understand filmic medievalism.