The
Roman de Fergus is an Arthurian
romanceAs a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about the marvelous adventures of a chivalrous, heroic knight errant,...
written in Old French probably at the very beginning of the 13th century, by a very well educated author who named himself Guillaume li Clers (
William the ClerkWilliam the Clerk was an Old French poet who names himself at the end of his only known work: the Arthurian Roman de Fergus, a parody of the romances of Chrétien de Troyes, notably Perceval, the Story of the Grail....
). The main character is Fergus, the son of
Soumilloit , a rich but old-fashioned farmer and a noble Arthurian women who rises to become the best knight of
King ArthurKing Arthur is a legendary British leader who, according to medieval histories and romances, led the defense of Britain against the Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and his historical existence is debated...
.
Historical background
If the
Roman is based upon a historical figure, it is probably
Fergus of GallowayFergus of Galloway was King, or Lord, of Galloway from an unknown date , until his death in 1161. He was the founder of that "sub-kingdom," the resurrector of the Bishopric of Whithorn, the patron of new abbeys , and much else besides...
. The
Roman has been upheld by many modern critics for its highly sophisticated use of
parodyA parody , in contemporary usage, is a work created to mock, comment on, or poke fun at an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
, parody directed at the whole genre of Arthurian romance. It had been suggested by earlier scholars such as Dominicia Legge that the work was produced under the patronage of
Alan, Lord of GallowayAlan FitzRoland was the last of the MacFergus dynasty of quasi-independent Lords of Galloway. He was also hereditary Constable of Scotland.-Family:He was the son of Roland, or Lochlann, Lord of Galloway and Helen de Morville...
, but this idea is now rejected by most scholars, for a variety of reasons, including the
Roman's satirization of Fergus (Alan's great-grandfather). Recently, it has been proposed by D.D.R. Owen that it was written for the entertainment of the
Scottish courtThe Kingdom of Alba pertains to the Kingdom of Scotland between the deaths of Donald II in 900, and of Alexander III in 1286 which then led indirectly to the Scottish Wars of Independence...
of
William IWilliam I , known as the Lion or Garbh, "the Rough", reigned as King of Scots from 1165 to 1214. His reign was the second longest in Scottish history before the Act of Union with England in 1707,...
, and that the author was none other than William Malveisin, a royal clerk who rose to hold both the Bishopric of
GlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and
St AndrewsSt Andrews is a town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle. St Andrews has a population of 16,596 making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....
. Also noted by scholars is the
Roman's extensive knowledge of the geography of southern Scotland, which is in general depicted in an exceedingly accurate manner. This is in contrast to most other works of the genre, in which geography is vague and unrealistic.
Some scholars hold that the
Roman satirizes
native ScottishThe Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group which originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to Scotland and the Isle of Man. They are speakers of the Goidelic languages – Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx...
society. Soumilloit is wealthy enough to own a fortress, but he is low-born and the fortress is made only of wood. Moreover, his son Fergus works on the farm. Fergus' character is stumbling. Although valiant, he frequently transgresses the etiquette that the
FrancophoneThe adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
aristocratic society took for granted.
The
Roman could be the first piece of non-Celtic
vernacularVernacular is the native language of a country or a locality. In general linguistics, it is used to describe local languages as opposed to lingua francas, official standards or global languages. It is sometimes applied to nonstandard dialects of a global language...
literature to have survived from
ScotlandScotland 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...
, an honor often thought to belong to the Brus of John Barbour, written one and a half centuries later in Middle English. It has been neglected in Scotland mainly because it did not come to the attention of scholars until relatively recently, being preserved only in
Continental EuropeContinental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands and, at times, peninsulas. Notably, in British and Irish English usage, the term means Europe excluding the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, the Channel...
. The other reason for neglect is probably that it was written in French, a linguistic-literary tradition which died out by the later
Middle AgesThe Middle Ages of European history is a period of European history covering roughly a millennium in the 5th century through 16th centuries. More specific starting and ending points are sometimes adopted by scholars to suit their respective specializations or current focus...
. The
Roman de Fergus however shows that, despite its future, French-culture flourished in Scotland during the
High Middle AgesThe High Middle Ages of Scotland encompass Scotland in the era between the death of Domnall II in 900 AD and the death of king Alexander III in 1286. Alexander's death was an indirect cause of the Scottish Wars of Independence....
.
Plot
The story begins with a
stag huntIn game theory, the stag hunt is a game which describes a conflict between safety and social cooperation. Other names for it or its variants include "assurance game", "coordination game", and "trust dilemma". Jean-Jacques Rousseau described a situation in which two individuals go out on a hunt. ...
. Beginning in Carlisle, King Arthur and his knights chase a great white
stagDeer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. They include for example Moose, Red Deer, Reindeer, Roe and Chital. Animals from related families within the order Artiodactyla are often also considered to be deer – these include muntjac and water deer...
, which eludes them until
PercivalPercival or Perceval is one of King Arthur's legendary Knights of the Round Table. In Welsh literature his story is allotted to the historical Peredur...
finally captures it in Galloway. At this point, Fergus, working the land in the service of his father, spots the knights and is inspired by them. Fergus persuades his father to give him a suit of armour, so that he can follow after the knights and join them. Fergus makes his way to Carlisle, killing two bandits on the way, whose heads he brings to the king. Arriving at court, he is mocked by
KayIn Arthurian legend, Sir Kay is Sir Ector's son and King Arthur's foster brother and later seneschal, as well as one of the first Knights of the Round Table...
, the
seneschalA seneschal was an officer in the houses of important nobles in the Middle Ages. In the French administrative system of the Middle Ages, the sénéchal was also a royal officer in charge of justice and control of the administration in southern provinces, equivalent to the northern French bailli...
. Kay challenges Fergus to prove his worth by, among other things, defeating the king's bitter enemy, the
Black KnightThe black knight is a literary stock character, often contrasted with the white knight. The character was developed in Arthurian legend and has been adapted and adopted by various authors, in cinema and popular culture. The black knight character can also be associated with the chess piece...
; Fergus accepts. After being taught knightly arts by the daughter of the royal
ChamberlainA chamberlain is an officer in charge of managing a household. In many countries there are ceremonial posts associated with the household of the sovereign....
, he is knighted by Arthur and receives encouragement and a sword from Percival and
GawainGawain is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table who appears very early in the Arthurian legend's development. He is one of a select number of Round Table members to be referred to as the greatest knight, most notably in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight...
.
Following his introduction to
chivalryChivalry is a term related to the medieval institution of knighthood. It is usually associated with ideals of knightly virtues, honor and courtly love. The word is derived from the French word chevalier, indicating one who rides a horse Chivalry is a term related to the medieval institution of...
, Fergus makes his way to Liddel Castle, where he first encounters Galiene, the niece of the
castellanA castellan was the governor or caretaker of a castle or keep. The word stems from the Latin Castellanus, derived from castellum "castle".-Duties:...
. She declares her love for him, but he only promises to return after he has fulfilled his
questIn mythology and literature a quest — a journey towards a goal — serves as a plot device and as a symbol. Quests appear in the folklore of every nation and also figure prominently in non-national cultures...
. Having vanquished the Black Knight, Fergus returns, only to find that Galiene has disappeared. At this point, the magic of love hits Fergus. He searches for her in vain for a year, until he meets a dwarf who tells him that he will retrieve his lost love if he can obtain a shield from a hag in
Dunnottar CastleDunnottar Castle is a ruined medieval fortress located upon a precipitous rocky headland on the north-east coast of Scotland, about two miles south of Stonehaven. Its surviving buildings are largely of the 15th-16th centuries, but an important fortress certainly existed on this site from Dark Age...
. With renewed hope, Fergus makes his way to Queensferry, in order to cross from "
EnglandEngland 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 and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
" into "
ScotlandScotia was originally a Latin geographical expression of the territory inhabited by the people Latin writers called Scoti or Scotii, the early Gaels, one of the tribes living to the north of the Central Uplands. Use of the name shifted in the Middle Ages to designate the part of the island of Great...
"; however, he gets into a dispute with the boatmen, dispatches them all, and is forced to sail himself over. Upon reaching Dunnotar, Fergus slays the guardian of the shield, and returns to
LothianLothian forms a traditional region of Scotland, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills....
. It is then that he is told that Galiene is the new ruler of Lothian, but is besieged in
RoxburghThe destroyed royal burgh of Roxburgh was an important trading burgh in High Medieval to early modern Scotland. In the Middle Ages it had at least as much importance as Edinburgh, Stirling, or Berwick-upon-Tweed, for a time acting as de facto capital .-History:Its significance lay in its position...
by a neighbouring king. On the way to Roxburgh, he is waylaid at
MelroseMelrose is a small, historic town in the Scottish Borders, historically in Roxburghshire. It is in the Eildon committee area.The town's name is recorded in its earliest form as Mailros, 'the bare peninsula' , referring to the original site of the monastery, recorded by the Venerable Bede, in a bend...
by the husband of the hag-dragon he dispatched at Dunnottar. Emerging victorious, Fergus takes up residence in Melrose, and from there wreaks havoc on the army. He defeats some of its greatest knights, but this is not enough to lift the siege.
After a while, the king sends his nephew Arthofilaus to demand that Galiene surrender the castle. She refuses, but they agree that if she can find a suitable knight, they will settle the dispute by single combat. Galiene soon regrets the deal, as she is unable to find a willing candidate among her men. She therefore sends her attendant, Arondele, to request a knight from Arthur at Carlisle. However, Arthur is unable to provide one because all of his knights are out searching for Fergus. Dejected, Arondele heads back to her mistress. On the way, she passes Melrose and relates the story to Fergus, before returning to Roxburgh. News of the attendant's failure brings Galiene to grief, because the combat must take place the following day. When the time arrives, Galiene prepares to throw herself from the castle tower. However, she catches sight of a shining shield in the distance. The mysterious knight slays Arthofilaus, and the king gives up his claim to Lothian. It is then that Galiene learns the identity of the knight, her lost love Fergus. By then, however, he had already departed.
Back at Carlisle, King Arthur learns of the events and pardons the defeated king. Arthur decides personally to set out in search of Fergus, but Gawain counsels that he has a better chance of finding him if he hosts a
tournamentA tournament is a competition involving a relatively large number of competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:...
. The tournament is arranged at
JedburghJedburgh is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and historically in Roxburghshire.-Location:Jedburgh lies on the Jed Water, a tributary of the River Teviot, it is only ten miles from the border with England, and is dominated by the substantial ruins of Jedburgh Abbey...
, and the prize is Queen Galiene and her kingdom. During the week-long tournament, Fergus remains invincible, defeating, among others, Kay,
LancelotIn the Arthurian legend, Sir Lancelot is one of the Knights of the Round Table. He is typically considered to be one of the greatest and most trusted of King Arthur's knights and plays a part in many of Arthur's victories...
and the Black Knight. It is after this that Fergus and Galiene are united in marriage, and Fergus becomes King of Lothian.
Roman van Ferguut
In the middle of the thirteenth century, the
Roman was translated and adapted into
Middle DutchMiddle Dutch is a collective name for a number of closely related West Germanic dialects which were spoken and written between 1150 and 1500...
as the
Roman van FerguutThe Roman van Ferguut is a 13th century Arthurian romance written in what is now called Middle Dutch . The first part of the Roman was translated fairly accurately from the Scottish French language work known as the Roman de Fergus, but the second part, possibly the work of another author, was...
. The first part of the
Roman was translated from French fairly accurately, but the second part, possibly the work of another author, was much more loosely derived. The
Ferguut today has wide fame as a
DutchDutch is a West Germanic language spoken by over 22 million people as a native language, and over 5 million people as a second language.
"1% of the EU population claims to speak Dutch well enough in order to have a conversation." Outside the European Union the number of second language...
classic, certainly more fame than the
Roman de Fergus possesses in either Scotland or France. It has recently been translated into English by an American scholar.
External links