The ''Draco Normannicus'' is a
chronicle
A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and lo ...
written circa 1167-1169 by
Étienne de Rouen (Stephen of Rouen), a Norman
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
monk from
Bec-Hellouin. Considered Étienne's principal work, it survives in the
Vatican Library
The Vatican Apostolic Library ( la, Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, it, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City. Formally es ...
. The manuscript was initially anonymous, however it has been accepted for over one hundred years that Étienne is the undisputed author. It is a chronicle of the Normans' history, from their arrival in the former kingdom of
Neustria
Neustria was the western part of the Kingdom of the Franks.
Neustria included the land between the Loire and the Silva Carbonaria, approximately the north of present-day France, with Paris, Orléans, Tours, Soissons as its main cities. It later ...
and the founding of Normandy up to the events which occurred during Étienne's life. There is an emphasis on the territorial conflicts which occurred between Kings
Henry II and
Louis VII
Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger, or the Young (french: link=no, le Jeune), was King of the Franks from 1137 to 1180. He was the son and successor of King Louis VI (hence the epithet "the Young") and married Duchess ...
.
Content and name
The ''Draco'' (considered an
epic
Epic commonly refers to:
* Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation
* Epic film, a genre of film with heroic elements
Epic or EPIC may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and medi ...
by some critics, such as Irene Harris and Elizabeth Kuhl) was based largely on the work of
Robert of Torigni
Robert of Torigni (also known as Roburtus de Monte) (c. 1110–1186) was a Norman monk, prior, abbot and twelfth century chronicler.
Religious life
Robert was born at Torigni-sur-Vire, Normandy c. 1110 most probably to an aristocratic family but ...
and
William of Jumièges
William of Jumièges (born c. 1000 - died after 1070) (french: Guillaume de Jumièges) was a contemporary of the events of 1066, and one of the earliest writers on the subject of the Norman conquest of England. He is himself a shadowy figure, only ...
' ''
Gesta Normannorum Ducum
''Gesta Normannorum Ducum'' (''Deeds of the Norman Dukes'') is a chronicle originally created by the monk William of Jumièges just before 1060. In 1070 William I had William of Jumièges extend the work to detail his rights to the throne of Engl ...
''. The poem itself is unfinished, and also adapts parts of the ''
Roman de Brut
The ''Brut'' or ''Roman de Brut'' (completed 1155) by the poet Wace is a loose and expanded translation in almost 15,000 lines of Norman-French verse of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Latin ''History of the Kings of Britain''. It was formerly known as ...
'' by
Wace
Wace ( 1110 – after 1174), sometimes referred to as Robert Wace, was a Medieval Norman poet, who was born in Jersey and brought up in mainland Normandy (he tells us in the ''Roman de Rou'' that he was taken as a child to Caen), ending his care ...
. The poem runs to nearly 4,400 lines, though it has lost at least two passages, estimated at around one hundred verses each.
The conventional modern form of the title, ''Draco Normannicus'', was chosen by Richard Howlett in his edition published in 1885. In the manuscript it occurs only in a different word order, as ''Normannicus Draco''. Howlett also translated the title as "the Norman Standard", rather than literally as "Norman Dragon", as the ''Draco'' is named for the dragon-shaped banners which the
Normans
The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...
followed into battle.
Historical characters mentioned
Matilda of England
Empress Matilda ( 7 February 110210 September 1167), also known as the Empress Maude, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter of King Henry I of England, she moved to Germany as ...
, daughter to
King Henry I of England
Henry I (c. 1068 – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in ...
, later to become the Empress Matilda after her marriage to the Holy Roman Emperor
Henry V Henry V may refer to:
People
* Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026)
* Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125)
* Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161)
* Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227)
* Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (121 ...
, becomes a central point during the narrative, as well as Étienne's vision of the dynasty and historical identity of the Norman people. The work gives a detailed account on the funeral rites of Matilda, carried out by the archbishop of Rouen,
Rotrou.
In the poem, Étienne names
Morgan Le Fay
Morgan le Fay (, meaning 'Morgan the Fairy'), alternatively known as Morgan , Morgain /e Morg e, Morgant Morge , and Morgue namong other names and spellings ( cy, Morgên y Dylwythen Deg, kw, Morgen an Spyrys), is a powerful ...
definitively as the sister of the legendary
King Arthur
King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain.
In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...
, and ruler of the isle of
Avalon
Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in the ...
. He also makes mention that Morgan is immortal, and has the ability to grant immortality to Arthur with the aid of the herbs found on the isle. In previous epics Morgan had not been named as sister to Arthur. Only in
Chrétien de Troyes
Chrétien de Troyes (Modern ; fro, Crestien de Troies ; 1160–1191) was a French poet and trouvère known for his writing on Arthurian subjects, and for first writing of Lancelot, Percival and the Holy Grail. Chrétien's works, including ''E ...
' poem ''
Erec and Enide
, original_title_lang = fro
, translator =
, written = c. 1170
, country =
, language = Old French
, subject = Arthurian legend
, genre = Chivalric romance
, form ...
'' was Morgan transformed from sorceress to sister, and this innovation was followed by Étienne in the ''Draco''.
Analysis
According to Martin Aurell, Étienne is the only author of the Arthurian legends known to have had a direct relationship with Henry II. Aurell believes that Étienne, growing up at a time when the Normans were committed to gaining independence from France, was completely devoted to the cause of Henry II, and that this ideology is clearly visible in the ''Draco''. Aurell states the poem has "the character of a piece of propaganda totally committed to the cause of Henry II" and that it includes a "violent diatribe against
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then ...
", which Étienne wrote shortly before Becket was murdered in
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the ...
in 1170. There are extensive passages devoted to the funeral rites of Matilda, who lived out her last twenty years at the priory of Notre Dame du Pré, on the outskirts of Rouen.
Elizabeth Kuhl believes that as there is only one extant copy of the work remaining, it shows that the poem received little interest at the time it was written. However she states that assumptions on the meanings of how writing on historical matters should be presented led to the ''Draco'' being evaluated negatively, but in more recent times it is now accepted that "all historical writing arranges and makes sense out of its past and present in ways that are not inherent to events themselves". Initially, the ''Draco'' received no attention from scholars since, under the assumptions of how history ought to be written, it was deemed a failure, but when viewed from the latter perspective it is, according to Kuhl, an excellent example. Kuhl also states that another copy, which has since been lost, was known to have been made.
Footnotes
References
External links
* Stephen of Rouen: "Draco Normannicus". Ed. Richard Howlett. In: ''Chronicles of the reigns of Stephen, Henry II., and Richard I'', Vol. II. London: Longman, 1885. p. 589–786. (Full text archived at archive.or
Bibliography
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{{refend
1160s books
12th-century Latin books
12th-century history books
History of Normandy
Norman chronicles