medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
As this is such a short Life of the Day, I hope George will forgive me for
forwarding it whole. (The illustration is from the Bayeux Tapestry)
Rosemary Hayes
To read this Life of the Day complete with a picture of the subject,
visit http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/lotw/2008-11-03
Thorold [Turold] (fl. c.1100), supposed author of the Chanson de Roland,
bore a common Norman name which appears as Turoldus in the concluding line
(explicit) of the oldest copy of the Chanson de Roland (Bodl. Oxf., MS Digby
23; 1125-40, or 1150-70) and as Turold in the Bayeux tapestry. Every word of
the line 'Ci falt la geste que Turoldus declinet' bears multiple meanings
and the ambiguity of the line is irreducible. 'Turoldus' may indicate the
author of the Chanson de Roland (at an indeterminate stage in its
evolution), a redactor, the scribe of the Digby copy, or the performer of
the work. Declinet may mean 'recites', 'composes', 'copies', and 'grows
weak'. Ci falt suggests 'here [spatial or temporal] ends', with or without
the sense of completion. The geste might refer to subject matter of the
poem, the poet's written source, or possibly the performance. Even the
simple word que is equivocal, functioning either as a relative pronoun
object or as a causal conjunction ('for'). Any attempt to identify Turoldus
is therefore arbitrary, whether consideration is given to Thorold, abbot of
Peterborough (d. 1098), or Thorold of Envermeu, bishop of Bayeux (1097-1104)
and subsequently a monk at Bec. In the case of the Bayeux tapestry the
critical issue is whether the name Turold refers to a messenger (one of two
speaking with Gui de Ponthieu) or the small-scale figure of the jongleur
who, to the right, holds the bridle of one of the messengers' horses. The
latter hypothesis has found recent support.
Tony Hunt
Sources T. A. Jenkins, La chanson de Roland: Oxford version (1924),
xlvi-lxv + P. Aebischer, Prehistoire et protohistoire du 'Roland' d'Oxford
(1972), 203-34 + M. de Riquer, Les chansons de geste francaises (1957),
105-16 + P. E. Bennett, 'Encore Turold dans la tapisserie de Bayeux',
Annales de Normandie, 30 (1980), 3-13
Likenesses embroidery (Bayeux Tapestry), Bayeux, France [see illus.]
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