Alexander Romance
Encyclopedia
Alexander romance is any of several collections of legends concerning the mythical exploits of Alexander the Great. The earliest version is in Greek
, dating to the 3rd century. Several late manuscripts attribute the work to Alexander's court historian Callisthenes
, but the historical figure died before Alexander and could not have written a full account of his life. The unknown author is still sometimes called Pseudo-Callisthenes.
The text was recast into various versions between the 4th and the 16th centuries, in Middle Greek, Latin
, Armenian
, Syriac, Hebrew, and most medieval European vernaculars.
as drawing back from him in proskynesis
. Writing after Alexander's death, another participant, Onesicritus
, went so far as to invent a tryst between Alexander and Thalestris
, queen of the mythical Amazons
. (According to Plutarch
, when Onesicritus read this passage to his patron Lysimachus
, one of Alexander's generals who went on to become a king himself, Lysimachus quipped "I wonder where I was at the time.")
Throughout Antiquity
and the Middle Ages
, the Romance underwent numerous expansions and revisions exhibiting a plasticity unseen in "higher" literary forms. Latin
, Armenian
, Georgian
and Syriac translations were made in Late Antiquity
(4th to 6th centuries).
The Latin Alexandreis
of Walter of Châtillon
was one of the most popular medieval romances. A 10th century Latin version by one Leo the Archpriest is the basis of the later medieval vernacular translations in all the major languages of Europe
, including French
(12th century), English
, Scots
(The Buik of Alexander
) (13th century), Italian
, Spanish
(the Libro de Alexandre
), German
(the Alexanderlied and a 15th century version by Johannes Hartlieb
), Slavonic
, Romanian
, and Hungarian
.
The Syriac version gave rise to Middle East
ern recensions, including Arabic
, Persian
(the Iskandarnamah), Ethiopic
, Hebrew
(in the first part of Sefer HaAggadah), Turkish
, and Middle Mongolian
(13th century).
The story of Dhul-Qarnayn
in the Qur'an
(Sura
The Cave
18:83-98) matches the Gog and Magog
episode in the Romance, which has caused some controversy among Islamic scholars (see Alexander in the Qur'an
). Alexander was identified in Persian and Arabic-language sources as "Dhû-'l Qarnayn", Arabic for the "Horned One", likely a reference to the ram horns Alexander wears on coins minted during his rule to indicate his descent from the Egyptian god
Amun
. Islamic accounts of the Alexander legend, particularly in Persia, combined the Pseudo-Callisthenes material with indigenous Sassanid
Middle Persian
ideas about Alexander. The Alexander Romance is the source of many incidents in Ferdowsi
's Shahnama.
period, some of them recasting it into poetical form in Middle Greek vernacular. Recensio α is the source of a Latin
version by Julius Valerius (4th century), and an Armenian
version (5th century). Most of the content of the Romance is fantastical, including many miraculous tales and encounters with mythical creatures such as Siren
s or Centaurs.
and Middle French
and one Anglo-Norman
Alexander romances:
the Alexander Romance experienced a remarkable popularity. It is even referred to in Chaucer
's Canterbury Tales, where the monk apologizes to the pilgrimage group for treating a material so well known. However, unlike the indigenous legend of King Arthur
and the related romances dealing with the Matter of Britain
, the Alexander Romance neither confines itself to the history and culture of Western Europe, nor is it a story situated in the Middle Ages. There are five major romances in Middle English
which have been passed down to us and most remain only in fragments. There are also two versions from Scotland
, one which has sometimes been ascribed to the Early Scots
poet John Barbour
which exists only in a sixteenth-century printing, and a Middle Scots
version from 1499:
, Arabic, Ethiopic and Bulgar versions of the Alexander romance are all closely related Christian and Muslim variants. Some people assert that the Alexander romance is the origin of the story of Dhul-Qarnayn
in the Qur'an.
Two later Persian varieties are the Iskandarnameh and the A’ina-yi Sikanderi of Amir Khusrow
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, dating to the 3rd century. Several late manuscripts attribute the work to Alexander's court historian Callisthenes
Callisthenes
Callisthenes of Olynthus was a Greek historian. He was the son of Hero and Proxenus of Atarneus, which made him the great nephew of Aristotle by his sister Arimneste. They first met when Aristotle tutored Alexander the Great...
, but the historical figure died before Alexander and could not have written a full account of his life. The unknown author is still sometimes called Pseudo-Callisthenes.
The text was recast into various versions between the 4th and the 16th centuries, in Middle Greek, Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, Armenian
Armenian language
The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...
, Syriac, Hebrew, and most medieval European vernaculars.
Versions of the romance
Alexander was a legend in his own time. In a now-lost history of the king, the historical Callisthenes portrayed the sea in CiliciaCilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
as drawing back from him in proskynesis
Proskynesis
Proskynesis refers to the traditional Persian act of prostrating oneself before a person of higher social rank....
. Writing after Alexander's death, another participant, Onesicritus
Onesicritus
Onesicritus , a Greek historical writer, who accompanied Alexander on his campaigns in Asia. He claimed to have been the commander of Alexander's fleet but was actually only a helmsman; Arrian and Nearchus often criticize him for this. When he returned home, he wrote a history of Alexander's...
, went so far as to invent a tryst between Alexander and Thalestris
Thalestris
According to the mythological Greek Alexander Romance, Queen Thalestris of the Amazons brought 300 women to Alexander the Great, hoping to breed a race of children as strong and intelligent as he...
, queen of the mythical Amazons
Amazons
The Amazons are a nation of all-female warriors in Greek mythology and Classical antiquity. Herodotus placed them in a region bordering Scythia in Sarmatia...
. (According to Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
, when Onesicritus read this passage to his patron Lysimachus
Lysimachus
Lysimachus was a Macedonian officer and diadochus of Alexander the Great, who became a basileus in 306 BC, ruling Thrace, Asia Minor and Macedon.-Early Life & Career:...
, one of Alexander's generals who went on to become a king himself, Lysimachus quipped "I wonder where I was at the time.")
Throughout Antiquity
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
and the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, the Romance underwent numerous expansions and revisions exhibiting a plasticity unseen in "higher" literary forms. Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, Armenian
Armenian language
The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...
, Georgian
Georgian language
Georgian is the native language of the Georgians and the official language of Georgia, a country in the Caucasus.Georgian is the primary language of about 4 million people in Georgia itself, and of another 500,000 abroad...
and Syriac translations were made in Late Antiquity
Late Antiquity
Late Antiquity is a periodization used by historians to describe the time of transition from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world. Precise boundaries for the period are a matter of debate, but noted historian of the period Peter Brown proposed...
(4th to 6th centuries).
The Latin Alexandreis
Alexandreis
Alexandreis is a medieval Latin epic poem by Walter of Châtillon, a 12th-century French writer and theologian. A version of the Alexander romance, it gives an account of the life of Alexander the Great, based on Quintus Curtius Rufus' Historia Alexandri Magni...
of Walter of Châtillon
Walter of Chatillon
Walter of Châtillon was a 12th-century French writer and theologian who wrote in the Latin language. He studied under Stephen of Beauvais and at the University of Paris. It was probably during his student years that he wrote a number of Latin poems in the Goliardic manner that found their way...
was one of the most popular medieval romances. A 10th century Latin version by one Leo the Archpriest is the basis of the later medieval vernacular translations in all the major languages of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, including French
Old French
Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories that span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from the 9th century to the 14th century...
(12th century), English
Middle English
Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....
, Scots
Early Scots
Early Scots describes the emerging literary language of the Northern Middle English speaking parts of Scotland in the period before 1450. The northern forms of Middle English descended from Northumbrian Old English...
(The Buik of Alexander
The Buik of Alexander
The Buik of Alexander is a short title for the two known Scots versions of the Alexander romance stories — a genre which was common in Medieval European literature, particularly France from the 12th century onwards, and the British Isles in the 14th and 15th centuries...
) (13th century), Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
(the Libro de Alexandre
Libro de Alexandre
The Libro de Alexandre is a medieval Spanish epic poem about Alexander the Great written between 1178 and c. 1250 in the mester de clerecía. It is largely based on the Alexandreis of Walter of Châtillon, but also contains many fantastical elements common to the Alexander romance...
), German
Middle German
In linguistics, Middle German can refer to a few variants of the German language:* Middle Low German , the northern dialects in the 11th-15th centuries...
(the Alexanderlied and a 15th century version by Johannes Hartlieb
Johannes Hartlieb
Johannes Hartlieb was a physician of Late Medieval Bavaria, probably of a family from Neuburg an der Donau. He was in the employment of Louis VII of Bavaria and Albert VI of Austria in the 1430s, and of Albert III of Bavaria from 1440, and of the latter's son Sigismund from 1456.In 1444, he...
), Slavonic
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
, Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
, and Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
.
The Syriac version gave rise to Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
ern recensions, including Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
, Persian
Middle Persian
Middle Persian , indigenously known as "Pârsig" sometimes referred to as Pahlavi or Pehlevi, is the Middle Iranian language/ethnolect of Southwestern Iran that during Sassanid times became a prestige dialect and so came to be spoken in other regions as well. Middle Persian is classified as a...
(the Iskandarnamah), Ethiopic
Ge'ez language
Ge'ez is an ancient South Semitic language that developed in the northern region of Ethiopia and southern Eritrea in the Horn of Africa...
, Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
(in the first part of Sefer HaAggadah), Turkish
Ottoman Turkish language
The Ottoman Turkish language or Ottoman language is the variety of the Turkish language that was used for administrative and literary purposes in the Ottoman Empire. It borrows extensively from Arabic and Persian, and was written in a variant of the Perso-Arabic script...
, and Middle Mongolian
Middle Mongolian language
Middle Mongolian is an ancient Mongolic language formerly spoken in the Mongol Empire and later on in Greater Mongolia during the 13th to at least the early 15th century.-Definition and historical precessors:...
(13th century).
The story of Dhul-Qarnayn
Dhul-Qarnayn
Dhul-Qarnayn , literally "He of the Two Horns" or "He of the two centuries" is a figure mentioned in the Qur'an, the sacred scripture of Islam, where he is described as a great and righteous ruler who built a long wall that keeps Gog and Magog from attacking the people who he met on his journey...
in the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
(Sura
Sura
A sura is a division of the Qur'an, often referred to as a chapter. The term chapter is sometimes avoided, as the suras are of unequal length; the shortest sura has only three ayat while the longest contains 286 ayat...
The Cave
Al-Kahf
Sura al-Kahf "The Cave" is the 18th surah of the Qur'an with 110 ayat. It is a Meccan sura.-People of the Cave:Verses 9 – 26 of the chapter tell the story of the People of the Cave . Some number of young monotheistic men lived in a time where they were persecuted. They fled the city together, and...
18:83-98) matches the Gog and Magog
Gog and Magog
Gog and Magog are names that appear primarily in various Jewish, Christian and Muslim scriptures, as well as numerous subsequent references in other works. Their context can be either genealogical or eschatological and apocalyptic, as in Ezekiel and Revelation...
episode in the Romance, which has caused some controversy among Islamic scholars (see Alexander in the Qur'an
Alexander in the Qur'an
Alexander the Great in the Qur'an refers to the conjecture that the story of Dhul-Qarnayn , mentioned in the Qur'an, is in fact a reference to Alexander III of Macedon , popularly known as Alexander the Great.Dhul-Qarnayn is a figure who was well known in the lore of...
). Alexander was identified in Persian and Arabic-language sources as "Dhû-'l Qarnayn", Arabic for the "Horned One", likely a reference to the ram horns Alexander wears on coins minted during his rule to indicate his descent from the Egyptian god
Egyptian mythology
Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals which were an integral part of ancient Egyptian society. It centered on the Egyptians' interaction with a multitude of deities who were believed to be present in, and in control of, the forces and elements of nature...
Amun
Amun
Amun, reconstructed Egyptian Yamānu , was a god in Egyptian mythology who in the form of Amun-Ra became the focus of the most complex system of theology in Ancient Egypt...
. Islamic accounts of the Alexander legend, particularly in Persia, combined the Pseudo-Callisthenes material with indigenous Sassanid
Sassanid Empire
The Sassanid Empire , known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān in Middle Persian and resulting in the New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran , was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651...
Middle Persian
Middle Persian
Middle Persian , indigenously known as "Pârsig" sometimes referred to as Pahlavi or Pehlevi, is the Middle Iranian language/ethnolect of Southwestern Iran that during Sassanid times became a prestige dialect and so came to be spoken in other regions as well. Middle Persian is classified as a...
ideas about Alexander. The Alexander Romance is the source of many incidents in Ferdowsi
Ferdowsi
Ferdowsi was a highly revered Persian poet. He was the author of the Shahnameh, the national epic of Iran and related societies.The Shahnameh was originally composed by Ferdowsi for the princes of the Samanid dynasty, who were responsible for a revival of Persian cultural traditions after the...
's Shahnama.
Greek versions
The oldest version of the Greek text, the Historia Alexandri Magni (Recensio α), can be dated to the 3rd century. It was subjected to various revisions during the ByzantineByzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
period, some of them recasting it into poetical form in Middle Greek vernacular. Recensio α is the source of a Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
version by Julius Valerius (4th century), and an Armenian
Armenian language
The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...
version (5th century). Most of the content of the Romance is fantastical, including many miraculous tales and encounters with mythical creatures such as Siren
Siren
In Greek mythology, the Sirens were three dangerous mermaid like creatures, portrayed as seductresses who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island. Roman poets placed them on an island called Sirenum scopuli...
s or Centaurs.
- Recensio α sive Recensio vetusta: W. Kroll, Historia Alexandri Magni, vol. 1. Berlin: Weidmann, 1926
- Recensio β: L. Bergson, Der griechische Alexanderroman. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell, 1965
- Recensio β (e cod. Leidensi Vulc. 93) L. Bergson, Der griechische Alexanderroman. Rezension β. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell, 1965
- Recensio β (e cod. Paris. gr. 1685 et cod. Messinensi 62): L. Bergson, Der griechische Alexanderroman. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell, 1965
- Recensio γ (lib. 1): U. von Lauenstein, Der griechische Alexanderroman. [Beiträge zur klassischen Philologie 4. Meisenheim am Glan: Hain, 1962]
- Recensio γ (lib. 2): H. Engelmann, Der griechische Alexanderroman. [Beiträge zur klassischen Philologie 12. Meisenheim am Glan: Hain, 1963]
- Recensio γ (lib. 3): F. Parthe, Der griechische Alexanderroman. [Beiträge zur klassischen Philologie 33. Meisenheim am Glan: Hain, 1969]
- Recensio δ (e cod. Vat. gr. 1700, 88v‑89r): G. Ballaira, "Frammenti inediti della perduta recensione δ del romanzo di Alessandro in un codice Vaticano," Bollettino del comitato per la preparazione dell'edizione nazionale dei classici greci e latini 13 (1965)
- Recensio ε: J. Trumpf, Anonymi Byzantini vita Alexandri regis Macedonum. Stuttgart: Teubner, 1974
- Recensio λ (lib. 3): H. van Thiel, Die Rezension λ des Pseudo-Kallisthenes Bonn: Habelt 1959
- Recensio λ (Pseudo-Methodius redactio 1) H. van Thiel, Die Rezension λ des Pseudo-Callisthenes Bonn: Habelt 1959
- Recensio λ (Pseudo-Methodius redactio 2) H. van Thiel, Die Rezension λ des Pseudo-Kallisthenes Bonn: Habelt 1959
- Recensio F (cod. Flor. Laurentianus Ashburn 1444), vernacular: V.L. Konstantinopulos and A.C. Lolos, Ps.-Kallisthenes‑ Zwei mittelgriechische Prosa-Fassungen des Alexanderromans, 2 vols [Beiträge zur klassischen Philologie 141 & 150, Meisenheim am Glan: Hain 1983]
- Recensio φ: G. Veloudis, [ 39. Athens: Hermes, 1977]
- Recensio Byzantina poetica (cod. Marcianus 408): S. Reichmann, Das byzantinische Alexandergedicht nach dem codex Marcianus 408 herausgegeben [Beiträge zur klassischen Philologie 13. Meisenheim am Glan: Hain, 1963]
- Recensio E (cod. Eton College 163), vernacular: V.L. Konstantinopulos and A.C. Lolos, Ps.-Kallisthenes, Zwei mittelgriechische Prosa.Fassungen des Alexanderromans, 2 vols [Beiträge zur klassischen Philologie 141 & 150‑ Meisenheim am Glan: Hain 1983]
- Recensio V (cod. Vind. theol. gr. 244): K. Mitsakis, Der byzantinische Alexanderroman nach dem Codex Vind. Theol. gr. 244 [Miscellanea Byzantina Monacensia 7. Munich: Institut für Byzantinistik und neugriechische Philologie der Universität, 1967]
- Recensio K (cod. 236 Kutlumussiu, AthosAthosAthos may refer to:* Athos , one of the Gigantes in Greek mythologyAthos may also refer to:-Places:* Athos, a village in France, part of the commune Athos-Aspis...
), vernacular: K. Mitsakis, "," Byzantinisch-neugriechische Jahrbücher 20 (1970) - Recensio poetica (recensio R), vernacular: D. Holton, . The tale of Alexander. The rhymed version [. Thessalonica, 1974]
French versions
There are several OldOld French
Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories that span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from the 9th century to the 14th century...
and Middle French
Middle French
Middle French is a historical division of the French language that covers the period from 1340 to 1611. It is a period of transition during which:...
and one Anglo-Norman
Anglo-Norman language
Anglo-Norman is the name traditionally given to the kind of Old Norman used in England and to some extent elsewhere in the British Isles during the Anglo-Norman period....
Alexander romances:
- The Alexandre of Albéric de Briançon was composed around 1120.
- Fuerre de Gadres by a certain Eustache, later used by Alexandre de Bernay and Thomas de Kent
- Decasyllabic Alexander, anonymous from 1160–70.
- Mort Alixandre, an anonymous fragment of 159 lines.
- Li romans d'AlixandreLi romans d'AlixandreThe Roman d'Alexandre, from the Old French Li romans d'Alixandre , is a massive 16,000-verse twelfth-century) Old French Alexander romance detailing various episodes in the life of Alexander the Great. It is considered by many scholars as the most important of the Medieval Alexander romances...
(c.1170), attributed to clergyman Alexandre de Bernay (also known as Alexandre de Pâris), is based on the translations of various episodes of the conqueror's life as composed by previous poets (Lambert de Tort, Eustache and more importantly Albéric of Besançon). Unlike other authors of the era who undertook the Alexander saga, he did not base his work on the Pseudo-Callisthenes or on the various translations of Julius Valerius' work. As is common in medieval literature, the project stems from the desire to improve on the work of others and to offer the complete life of the hero to the public, a theme that is also very present in the cyclical turn that the chansons de geste took at the time. It should be noted that Thomas de Kent also penned (probably) the very same decade a version of the saga, Le roman de toute chevalerie, which is independent of Alexandre de Bernay's poem: Alexander's influence on the medieval imagination is thus shown as being as great, if not greater, than that of other pagan figures such as HerculesHerculesHercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
or AeneasAeneasAeneas , in Greco-Roman mythology, was a Trojan hero, the son of the prince Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite. His father was the second cousin of King Priam of Troy, making Aeneas Priam's second cousin, once removed. The journey of Aeneas from Troy , which led to the founding a hamlet south of...
. - Thomas de Kent (or Eustache), around 1175, wrote the Anglo-Norman Roman de toute chevalerie, which became the basis for the Middle English King Alysaunder.
- La Venjance Alixandre by Jehan le Nevelon.
- The Alixandre en Orient of Lambert de Tort was composed around 1170.
- Le Vengement Alixandre by Gui de CambraiGui de CambraiGui de Cambrai , is a medieval writer from the north of France who used vernacular French rather than Latin. He wrote Le Vengement Alixandre , an 1806 line long epic poem .A French version of Barlaam and Josaphat Gui de Cambrai (born in the second half of the 12th century, died in the 13th...
, before 1191. - The Old French Prose Alexandre was the most popular Old French version. Anonymous.
- Prise de Defur, from PicardyPicardyThis article is about the historical French province. For other uses, see Picardy .Picardy is a historical province of France, in the north of France...
c. 1250. - The Voyage d'Alexandre au Paradis terrestre is a French adaptation (c. 1260) of the Latin Iter ad paradisum
- The Vow Cycle of Alexander romances includes the Voeux du paon by Jacques de LonguyonJacques de LonguyonJacques de Longuyon of Lorraine is the author of a chanson de geste, Les Voeux du paon , written for Thibaut de Bar, bishop of Liège in 1312. It was one of the most popular romances of the 14th century, and introduces the concept of the Nine Worthies...
, Restor du Paon by Jean le Court, and Parfait du paon by Jean de Le Mote. - The Faicts et les Conquestes d'Alexandre le Grand by Jean Wauquelin c. 1448.
- The Fais et concquestes du noble roy Alexandre is a late medieval prose version.
- The Faits du grand Alexandre by Vasque de Lucène is a prose translation (1468) of Quintus Curtius RufusQuintus Curtius RufusQuintus Curtius Rufus was a Roman historian, writing probably during the reign of the Emperor Claudius or Vespasian. His only surviving work, Historiae Alexandri Magni, is a biography of Alexander the Great in Latin in ten books, of which the first two are lost, and the remaining eight are...
' Historiae Alexandri Magni.
English versions
In medieval EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
the Alexander Romance experienced a remarkable popularity. It is even referred to in Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer , known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey...
's Canterbury Tales, where the monk apologizes to the pilgrimage group for treating a material so well known. However, unlike the indigenous legend of King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
and the related romances dealing with the Matter of Britain
Matter of Britain
The Matter of Britain is a name given collectively to the body of literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and its legendary kings, particularly King Arthur...
, the Alexander Romance neither confines itself to the history and culture of Western Europe, nor is it a story situated in the Middle Ages. There are five major romances in Middle English
Middle English
Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....
which have been passed down to us and most remain only in fragments. There are also two versions from Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, one which has sometimes been ascribed to the Early Scots
Early Scots
Early Scots describes the emerging literary language of the Northern Middle English speaking parts of Scotland in the period before 1450. The northern forms of Middle English descended from Northumbrian Old English...
poet John Barbour
John Barbour
John Barbour , was a Scottish poet and the first major named literary figure to write in Scots. His principal surviving work is the historical verse romance, The Brus , and his reputation from this poem is such that other long works in Scots which survive from the period are sometimes thought to be...
which exists only in a sixteenth-century printing, and a Middle Scots
Middle Scots
Middle Scots was the Anglic language of Lowland Scotland in the period from 1450 to 1700. By the end of the 13th century its phonology, orthography, accidence, syntax and vocabulary had diverged markedly from Early Scots, which was virtually indistinguishable from early Northumbrian Middle English...
version from 1499:
- King Alisaunder from c. 1275. In medieval orthography, "king" could be "kyng" and "Alisaunder" could be "Alysaunder".
- The Romance of Alisaunder (or Alexander of Macedon), sometimes referred to as Alexander A, is a fragment of 1247 lines and written in alliterative verseAlliterative verseIn prosody, alliterative verse is a form of verse that uses alliteration as the principal structuring device to unify lines of poetry, as opposed to other devices such as rhyme. The most commonly studied traditions of alliterative verse are those found in the oldest literature of many Germanic...
. It was probably written between 1340 and 1370, shortly before the beginning of the Alliterative RevivalAlliterative RevivalThe Alliterative Revival is a term adopted by academics to refer to the resurgence of poetry using the alliterative verse form - the traditional versification of Old English poetry - in Middle English during the period c. 1350 - c. 1500...
, of which it is believed to be one of the oldest remaining poems. It has been preserved in a school notebook dating from 1600. In the broad strokes Alexander A deals with the begetting of Alexander by NectanebusNectanebo IINectanebo II was the third and last pharaoh of the Thirtieth dynasty, as well as the last native ruler of Ancient Egypt. Under Nectanebo II Egypt prospered...
, his birth and early years and breaks off in the midst of the account of Philip's siege of ByzantiumByzantiumByzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...
. It is likely that the source for this fragment has been the I²-recension of the Historia de Preliis. Beside that it has been expanded with additional material taken from Paulus Orosius' Historiae adversum paganos, the adverse remarks, which are typical of Orosius, however have been omitted by the poet, whose main concern is Alexander's heroic conduct. - Alexander and Dindimus, sometimes referred to as Alexander B, is also written in alliterative verse. This fragment is found in the MS Bodley and consists of five letters which are passed between Alexander and Dindimus, who is the king of the BrahminBrahminBrahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
s, a people of philosophers who shun all worldly lusts, ambitions and entertainments. In this respect their way of life resembles the ideal of an aescetic life, which was also preached by medieval monastic orders, such as the Franciscans. The source of Alexander B again is the I²-recension of the Historia de Preliis. - The Wars of Alexander, sometimes referred to as Alexander C, is the longest of the alliterative versions of the Middle English Alexander Romances. It goes back to the I³-recension of the Historia de Preliis and can be found in the MS Ashmole 44 and in the Dublin Trinity College MS 213. Although both manuscripts are incomplete they supplement each other fairly well. In this version much space is given to letters and prophecies, which often bear a moralizing and philosophical tenor. The letters are an integral part of the Pseudo-Callisthenes tradition. The dominant theme is pride, which inevitably leads to the downfall of kings. In The Wars of Alexander the hero is endowed with superhuman qualities, which shows in the romance insofar as his enemies fall to him by the dozens and he is always at the center of action.
- The Prose Life of AlexanderProse Life of AlexanderThe Prose Life of Alexander is a Middle English prose romance extant in a single copy, found in the mid-fifteenth century Lincoln Thornton Manuscript. It was edited by J.S...
copied by Robert ThorntonRobert Thornton (scribe)Robert Thornton was a Yorkshire landowner, a member of the landed gentry. His efforts as an amateur scribe and manuscript compiler resulted in the preservation of many valuable works of Middle English literature, and have given him an important place in its history.-Biography:Thornton's name is...
, c. 1440. - The Buik of AlexanderThe Buik of AlexanderThe Buik of Alexander is a short title for the two known Scots versions of the Alexander romance stories — a genre which was common in Medieval European literature, particularly France from the 12th century onwards, and the British Isles in the 14th and 15th centuries...
, anonymous, attributed to John BarbourJohn BarbourJohn Barbour , was a Scottish poet and the first major named literary figure to write in Scots. His principal surviving work is the historical verse romance, The Brus , and his reputation from this poem is such that other long works in Scots which survive from the period are sometimes thought to be...
, dates to 1438 according to its first printed edition from 1580. - The Buik of King Alexander the Conquerour by Gilbert Hay, 1499. This work is in Middle ScotsMiddle ScotsMiddle Scots was the Anglic language of Lowland Scotland in the period from 1450 to 1700. By the end of the 13th century its phonology, orthography, accidence, syntax and vocabulary had diverged markedly from Early Scots, which was virtually indistinguishable from early Northumbrian Middle English...
.
Middle Eastern versions
The Syriac, PersianPersian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
, Arabic, Ethiopic and Bulgar versions of the Alexander romance are all closely related Christian and Muslim variants. Some people assert that the Alexander romance is the origin of the story of Dhul-Qarnayn
Dhul-Qarnayn
Dhul-Qarnayn , literally "He of the Two Horns" or "He of the two centuries" is a figure mentioned in the Qur'an, the sacred scripture of Islam, where he is described as a great and righteous ruler who built a long wall that keeps Gog and Magog from attacking the people who he met on his journey...
in the Qur'an.
Two later Persian varieties are the Iskandarnameh and the A’ina-yi Sikanderi of Amir Khusrow
Translations
- Harf-Lancner, Laurence (translator and commentator, edited by Armstrong and al.) (1994). Le roman d'Alexandre, Livre de poche. ISBN 2-253-06655-9.
- Southgate, Minoo (translator) (1978). Iskandarnamah : a Persian medieval Alexander-romance. New York: Columbia Univ. Press. ISBN 0-231-04416-X.
- Stoneman, Richard (editor and translator) (1991). The Greek Alexander Romance. New York: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-044560-9.
- Wolohojian, A. H., The Romance of Alexander the Great by Pseudo-Callisthenes (from the Armenian), Columbia University Press (1969).
Literature
- Boyle, J. A., "The Alexander Romance In The East And West", Bulletin Of The John Rylands University Library Of Manchester 60 (1977), pp. 19–20.
- Budge, E. A. W., The History Of Alexander The Great Being The Syriac Version Of The Pseudo-Callisthenes, Cambridge University Press, 1889.
- Chasseur, M., Oriental Elements in Surat al Kahf. Annali di Scienze Religiose 1, Brepols Publishers 2008, ISSN 2031-5929, p. 255-289 (Brepols Journals Online)
- Gero, S., "The Legend Of Alexander The Great In The Christian Orient", Bulletin Of The John Rylands University Library Of Manchester, 1993, Volume 75.
- Gosman, Martin, "Le roman de toute chevalerie et le public visé: la légende au service de la royauté". In Neophilologus 72 (1988), 335–343.
- Gosman, Martin, "Le roman d'Alexandre et les "juvenes": une approche socio-historique". In Neophilologus 66 (1982), 328–339.
- Gosman, Martin, "La légende d'Alexandre le Grand dans la littérature française du douzième siècle", Rodopi, 1997. ISBN 90-420-0213-1.
- Selden, Daniel, "Text Networks," Ancient Narrative 8 (2009), 1–23.
- Stoneman, Richard, Alexander the Great: A Life in Legend, Yale University Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0-300-11203-0
External links
- The Medieval Alexander Project at the University of RochesterUniversity of RochesterThe University of Rochester is a private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs.The...
- Wiki Classical Dictionary
- Is The Source Of Qur'an 18:60-65 The Alexander Romances?
- Милетич, Любомир. Една българска Александрия от 1810 год. (= Български старини, XIII). София, 1936