Crescentia (romance)
Encyclopedia
Crescentia is an Old High German chivalric romance, written in Kaiserchronik
about 1150. Other versions appeared in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, in prose and verse.
Numerous romances, such as Le Bone Florence of Rome
are classified into as the "Crescentia cycle" because of the common plot; it is the oldest known variant of it.
, Emaré
, Constance, and Griselda
, stock character
s in chivalric romance. It is distinguished among them by the story's opening with her brother-in-law approaching her with offers of love and ending with her fame as a healer bringing all her persecutors together; there are more than a hundred versions from the twelfth to the nineteenth century. One such features in the Gesta Romanorum
. Many of these are strongly miraclous, which led to their becoming Miracles of the Virgin. The brother-in-law, and his motive of thwarted love, classifies this among those romances not using the typical fairy tale
motifs for their persecutor, a wicked mother-in-law, but a motif found among the heroines only in romances.
The story itself been traced to the Old English The Wife's Lament
; however, because the woman herself complains only of malevolent relatives, not the specific brother-in-law, it is impossible to confirm that it is the source. Similar attempts, for instance, have been made to link it to the Constance cycle, and it does fit such tales as Emare and Vitae Duorum Offarum
as well as it does the Crescentia cycle.
and the conclusion in the gathering of the family.
In The Man of Law's Tale, Constance is framed for murder by a bloody dagger; this appears to be a direct borrowing.
Kaiserchronik
The Kaiserchronik is a 12th century chronicle of emperors, written 17,283 lines of Middle High German verse. It runs from Julius Caesar to Conrad III, and seeks to give a complete account of the history of Roman and German emperors and kings, based on a historiographical view of the continuity of...
about 1150. Other versions appeared in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, in prose and verse.
Numerous romances, such as Le Bone Florence of Rome
Le Bone Florence of Rome
Le Bone Florence of Rome is a medieval English chivalric romance. Featuring the innocent persecuted heroine, it is subcategorized into the Crescentia cycle of romances because of two common traits: the heroine is accused by her brother-in-law after an attempted seduction, and the story ends with...
are classified into as the "Crescentia cycle" because of the common plot; it is the oldest known variant of it.
Romance
Crescentia is approached by her brother-in-law, in her husband's absence, with offers of love. She tricks him into a tower imprisonment, but frees him out of joy at her husband's imminent return. He accuses her of adultery to his brother, and she is thrown in the Tiber by her husband and saved by St. Peter. She finds refuge in a court, where she rebuffs another lover, who frames for murder of her fosterling by a bloody dagger, and she is thrown in the water again. St. Peter grants her healing powers. Her persecutors, striken by maladies, come to her; she cures them after a complete confession and retires to a convent.Cycle
The Crescentia cycle features women who suffer trials and misfortunes, similar to those of Le Bone Florence of RomeLe Bone Florence of Rome
Le Bone Florence of Rome is a medieval English chivalric romance. Featuring the innocent persecuted heroine, it is subcategorized into the Crescentia cycle of romances because of two common traits: the heroine is accused by her brother-in-law after an attempted seduction, and the story ends with...
, Emaré
Emaré
Emaré is a middle English Breton lai, a form of Mediaeval Romance poem, told in 1035 lines. The author of Emaré is unknown and exists in only one manuscript, the Cotton Caligula A. ii, which contains ten metrical narratives. Emaré seems to date from the late fourteenth century, possibly written in...
, Constance, and Griselda
Griselda (folklore)
Griselda is a figure from certain folklores whose name is eponymous for patience and obedience.In the tale as written by Giovanni Boccaccio, Griselda marries Gualtieri, the Marquis of Saluzzo. He tests her by declaring that their first child—a daughter—must be put to death, likewise their second...
, stock character
Stock character
A Stock character is a fictional character based on a common literary or social stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes,...
s in chivalric romance. It is distinguished among them by the story's opening with her brother-in-law approaching her with offers of love and ending with her fame as a healer bringing all her persecutors together; there are more than a hundred versions from the twelfth to the nineteenth century. One such features in the Gesta Romanorum
Gesta Romanorum
Gesta Romanorum, a Latin collection of anecdotes and tales, was probably compiled about the end of the 13th century or the beginning of the 14th...
. Many of these are strongly miraclous, which led to their becoming Miracles of the Virgin. The brother-in-law, and his motive of thwarted love, classifies this among those romances not using the typical fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
motifs for their persecutor, a wicked mother-in-law, but a motif found among the heroines only in romances.
The story itself been traced to the Old English The Wife's Lament
The Wife's Lament
The Wife's Lament or The Wife's Complaint is an Old English poem of 53 lines found in the Exeter Book and generally treated as an elegy in the manner of the German frauenlied, or woman's song. The poem has been relatively well-preserved and requires few if any emendations to enable an initial reading...
; however, because the woman herself complains only of malevolent relatives, not the specific brother-in-law, it is impossible to confirm that it is the source. Similar attempts, for instance, have been made to link it to the Constance cycle, and it does fit such tales as Emare and Vitae Duorum Offarum
Vitae duorum Offarum
The Vitae duorum Offarum "The lives of the two Offas" is a literary history written in the mid-thirteenth century, apparently by the St Albans monk Matthew Paris.-Account:...
as well as it does the Crescentia cycle.
Influences
Crescentia appears to be one of the sources of the romance Octavian. This includes both the motifs of the supposed lover, similar to the Erl of ToulouseErl of Toulouse
The Erl of Toulouse is a medieval English chivalric romance centered on an innocent persecuted wife. It is supposed to be a translated lai, but the original lai is lost.-Synopsis:...
and the conclusion in the gathering of the family.
In The Man of Law's Tale, Constance is framed for murder by a bloody dagger; this appears to be a direct borrowing.