Draco Normannicus

The ''Draco Normannicus'' is a chronicle written circa 1167-1169 by Étienne de Rouen (Stephen of Rouen), a Norman Benedictine monk from Bec-Hellouin. Considered Étienne's principal work, it survives in the Vatican Library. 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 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.

Content and name

The ''Draco'' (considered an epic by some critics, such as Irene Harris and Elizabeth Kuhl) was based largely on the work of Robert of Torigni and William of Jumièges' ''Gesta Normannorum Ducum''. The poem itself is unfinished, and also adapts parts of the ''Roman de Brut'' by Wace. 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 followed into battle.

Historical characters mentioned

Matilda of England, daughter to King Henry I of England, later to become the Empress Matilda after her marriage to the Holy Roman Emperor Henry V, 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 definitively as the sister of the legendary King Arthur, and ruler of the isle of Avalon. 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' poem ''Erec and Enide'' 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", which Étienne wrote shortly before Becket was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral 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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1160s books
12th-century Latin books
12th-century history books
History of Normandy
Norman chronicles