Arthurian Literatur from the liberary of the Duc de Nemours

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Brigitte Burrichter
• Subject Area: European and American Literary and Cultural Studies
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 515769997

Following the publication of Chrétien de Troyes’ novels, the early 13th century sees the emergence, in the 1220s to 1240s, of several versions of the “Prose Lancelot”, a text associated with the Grail motif. Further Grail novels, several Merlin-centric tales, as well as a prose “Tristan” also referencing the Arthurian world and the Grail, indicate the literary world’s new fascination for the object of Grail. Subsequently, we can chart the expansion of a narrative cosmos focussed on these topics during the 13th and 14th century, its broad appeal tangible until the late 15th century. The opulent manuscripts from the library of Jacques d’Armagnac, Duke of Nemours (1433-1477), attest to this fascination. Among those, a “Tristan” in prose as well as two extensive compilations based on the “Prose Lancelot” have been reliably identified as works commissioned by the Duke himself. These manuscripts, which represent a substantial part of the vernacular texts in the library, are the focus of this research proposal, which aims to make these texts accessible for future scholarly research and analysis. The present proposal has two objectives, one pertaining to literary science in the narrow sense, the other one focused on palaeography. Up until now, literary scholarship on the topic has been focused on the early, 13th and 14th century versions of Arthurian prose novels in the attempt to gain an understanding of the genesis and original form of these often-lengthy stories. On the other hand, the present project based on the Nemours manuscripts addresses the end of (late) medieval Arthurian literature in France and examines the distinctive characteristics of these texts, which were written at a time when both everyday life and aesthetic concepts were entirely different from those of the early 13th century. Furthermore, by making the compilations available in a digital edition, the project will enable scholars to access a substantial corpus that has so far only been edited in short excerpts. As far as palaeography is concerned, the digital manuscript transcriptions published by the project will provide a wealth of research material regarding the writing habits of the copyists working for the Duke of Nemours, enabling several hundred pages to be analysed digitally. These transcriptions will also serve as a basis for historical linguistic research on Middle French.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants