Introduction ELISSA R. HENKEN Arthurian literature has ever been characterized by its ability to cross cultural .. and linguistic boundaries and to develop new forms, by its ability to share symbols and themes across cultural divides, remaining truly contemporary in every age. Nevertheless, it is good from time to time to return to consider the literature of Arthur and his court in the culture that carries the earliest record ofthese in tradition and literature. As it spread through other cultures, the Arthurian tradition in Wales by no means ossified; it underwent its own literary development which, while reflecting and interacting with its own prolific progeny, responded to and addressed the changing needs ofspecifically Welsh society. The scholars who focus on Wales and work mainly on Welsh literature have, therefore, of necessity been cognizant of and taken into consideration both literary and analytic developments elsewhere. Thus, this issue, devoted to a discussion of Welsh Arthurian texts, addresses matters pertinent to all Arthurian literature and applies techniques relevant to Arthurian scholarship anywhere. When I was asked to edit this issue, I decided to sample the varied and vigorous scholarship being carried out on both sides of the Atlantic. I took the opportunity to invite established scholars and also to provide a platform for younger scholars. However, I left the choice of topics open so that the authors might pursue what most intrigued them at the time. Only one of the five chose to examine a 'native' Welsh text, Culhwch and Olwen; the other four not only chose the more European-influenced romances, but also divided their energies evenly between only two ofthem—Owein and Peredur. Their choices are in themselves interesting, but ofgreater immediate import is that having two approaches to each text both adds to our understanding ofthe individual texts and gives greater depth to this special issue. Michael Cichon and Carl Lindahl both examine Owein with the aid of other texts and both stress the contemporaneity of the narrative, but where Cichon refers to the Law texts to explicate certain details and recover deeper meanings that would have been readily recognizable to the thirteenth-century audience, Lindahl refers to other texts to shed light not just on Owein but on the whole (re-)creative process ofcultural translation. Brynley F. Roberts ARTHURIANA IO-3 (2OOO) 4 ARTHURIANA and John K. Bollard both present the order of episodes and placement of manuscript breaks as evidence in their examination of Peredur, but while Roberts determines that the long and short versions are two separate, complete, and equally valid narratives, Bollard concerns himself with the long version and treats the short one as defective and truncate. Roberts and Bollard differ on a number ofother points of interpretation as well, such as Peredur's instructions from his mother or the contextual meaning ofcynnydd, but their scholarly disagreement both highlights points for further investigation and discussion and reminds us that when we explore the questions posed by literatures of cultures and periods other than our own, the answers are rarely either simple or definitive. Demonstrating the need to take into consideration the full range oftexture, text, and context from the smallest textual details to the largest cultural concerns, the articles in this collection prove useful guides in the reading not only of specifically Welsh texts but also more generally of medieval literature. At one end of the scale, one need look not just at the words but also at the way they appear in the manuscript, how large initials and formulae mark the various narrative segments. At the other end, one need keep in mind the socio-cultural context in which the redactions were prepared. Two articles in particular stress the value ofculturally sensitive reading, and both accomplish it through comparative study with other texts. Cichon, in comparing Owein with Welsh legal texts, illuminates the social realities and concerns which informed the redactors. Lindahl, in comparing Owein with both French literary texts and historical developments in Welsh society, reveals Owein, no matter what its sources, as firmly set in thirteenth-century Wales and as an invaluable aid for understanding that period. All of the articles confirm a lesson too often ignored: not to make assumptions about what...
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Jan 1, 2003
K Conway + 6
