Yvain among Friars

Abstract

Abstract: This article focuses on the cultural context of a late medieval manuscript of Herr Ivan, the Old Swedish translation of Chrétien de Troyes’ Yvain. This manuscript (Stockholm, Riksarkivet, E 8822 fol.) is unique in several respects. First, its language shows that it was adapted for a Norwegian, rather than Swedish, audience. Second, it is the only manuscript of Herr Ivan that contains almost exclusively devotional poems. Third, according to a note in the manuscript, it was compiled by Friar Johannes of Nidaros, a Franciscan living in Trondheim in the third quarter of the fifteenth century. Thus, while the most recent studies of the Swedish work indicate that the translator skilfully adapted Chrétien’s romance for a Swedish court audience in the early fourteenth century, E 8822 suggests that Norwegian Franciscans found Herr Ivan proper in a devotional context as well. To understand Friar Johannes’s purpose in compiling the manuscript, the uses of romances and poetry by medieval Franciscans are discussed. Saint Francis of Assisi himself used Arthurian imagery in his preaching, and especially in Italy and England the medieval Franciscans have been connected to the development of the religious lyric in the vernacular and the increase in the use of popular narratives in preaching. Still, very few Franciscan manuscripts of Arthurian romances survive in medieval Europe. Many friars perceived these romances as challenging. In the case of Friar Johannes, it is argued here that the potential in the hero’s encounter with the hermit was used to show the laity how important it was to turn to the Franciscans for spiritual guidance. From being a romance meant for the knightly élite, E 8822 was later reoriented to address a wider audience, especially the wealthy farmers in the parishes, perhaps in order to attract gifts from the pious. In return for donations the Franciscans offered donors a part of the good deeds of the friars. The article suggests that Herr Ivan was performed at local gatherings, such as weddings or guild feasts. On such occasions, the friars could use both Herr Ivan as well as the devotional poems in the manuscript to generate emotional responses in the audience, although this audience was much wider and different to the one in the mind of the Swedish translator in the early fourteenth century.