French Literature Reviews - 2026
A. Houdebert, The Ebony Horse at the Court of France: Cléomadès and Méliacin
Medieval and Renaissance Studies
The Ebony Horse at the Court of France: Cléomadès and Méliacin
Aurélie HOUDEBERT
Honoré Champion, "Nouvelle Bibliothèque du Moyen Âge" series, 2019
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EAN13: 9782745351159.
708 pages
95 euros
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Publisher's Description:
Originating from the same Eastern tale, Adenet le Roi's Cléomadès and Girart d'Amiens's Méliacin together pose an enigma in medieval literary history. In seeking to unravel the mystery of their twinship, this study explores lesser-known aspects of the medieval romance: the role of literary patronage at the French court in the late 13th century, the simultaneously playful and political dimensions of emulative writing, the mechanisms of cultural appropriation of atypical Eastern material, the shifting aesthetic contours of the verse romance of adventure on the eve of its decline, and the complex medieval and post-medieval legacy of two texts as unique as they are inseparable.
Aurélie Houdebert holds a PhD from the Université Paris III - Sorbonne Nouvelle, of which this book is a revised version. An agrégée in modern literature, she is a lecturer in medieval language and literature at the Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée.
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Rooted in the rich tradition of medieval chivalric romance, this study examines how thirteenth-century writers adapted Eastern source material for European aristocratic audiences. The work sheds light on the mechanics of literary emulation and patronage under the French court, offering a nuanced perspective on the verse romance during a transitional era marked by evolving aesthetics and shifting cultural identities on the eve of the genre's decline.
Scholars of medieval literature, French philology, and comparative narrative traditions will find this volume particularly valuable for its rigorous textual analysis. It addresses central questions regarding authorship, cultural appropriation, and the reception of lesser-studied texts, making it an essential resource for university researchers and advanced students investigating the intricate connections between medieval French literature and its broader Mediterranean and Oriental contexts.