Gloriant is a

Middle Dutch Middle Dutch is a collective name for a number of closely related West Germanic dialects whose ancestor was Old Dutch. It was spoken and written between 1150 and 1500. Until the advent of Modern Dutch after 1500 or c. 1550, there was no overarch ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

. It is one of the four ''

abele spelen The abele spelen ({{IPA-nl, ˈaːbələ ˈspeːlə(n)) are a collection of four plays contained in the Van Hulthem Manuscript, which dates from 1410 and is in the collection of the Royal Library of Belgium in Brussels (shelfmark hs. 15.589-623). T ...

'' ("able plays") contained in the

Van Hulthem Manuscript The Van Hulthem Manuscript is a masterpiece of medieval Dutch literature, probably compiled in the Duchy of Brabant. It contains over 200 stories from across the Low Countries. The manuscript is named after its last private owner, Charles van Hult ...

, and consists of 1,142 lines in

rhyme A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds (usually, the exact same phonemes) in the final stressed syllables and any following syllables of two or more words. Most often, this kind of perfect rhyming is consciously used for a musical or aesthetic ...

. The other abele spelen are ''

Esmoreit Esmoreit is a Middle Dutch drama. It is one of the four ''abele spelen'' ("able plays") contained in the Van Hulthem Manuscript and consists of 1,018 lines in rhyme. The other ''abele spelen'' are: '' Gloriant'', ''Lanseloet van Denemerken'' and ' ...

'', ''

Lanseloet van Denemerken ''Lanseloet van Denemerken'' (Lancelot of Denmark) is a Middle Dutch drama. It is one of the four ''abele spelen'' ("able plays") contained in the Van Hulthem Manuscript and consists of 925 lines in rhyme.Annelies van Gijsen,Love and Marriage: Fict ...

'' and ''

Vanden Winter ende vanden Somer Vanden Winter ende vanden Somer is a Middle Dutch drama. It is the shortest of the four ''abele spelen'' ("able plays") contained in the Van Hulthem Manuscript, comprising 625 lines in rhyme. The other abele spelen are: ''Esmoreit'', '' Gloriant'' ...

''. The play is named after the male protagonist Gloriant, duke of Bruuyswijc. It deals with the love between two people of different religion and is followed by the ''sotternie'' (

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity o ...

) '' Buskenblaser''. One of its sources is the 14th-century ''

chanson de geste The ''chanson de geste'' (, from Latin 'deeds, actions accomplished') is a medieval narrative, a type of epic poem that appears at the dawn of French literature. The earliest known poems of this genre date from the late 11th and early 12th cen ...

'' ''

Baudouin de Sebourc ''Baudouin de Sebourc'' is a fourteenth-century French ''chanson de geste'' which probably formed part of a cycle related to the Crusades, and may well be related to '' Bâtard de Bouillon''. The poem was likely composed c. 1350 in Hainaut. The ...

''.

Roles

* Gheraert (uncle of duke Gloriant) * Godevaert (friend of duke Gloriant) * Gloriant (Duke of Bruuyswijc) * Florentijn die maghet (daughter of Rodelioen) * Rogier (servant of Florentijn) * Rode Lioen (Rodelioen, Lord of Abelant) * Floerant (cousin of Rodelioen) * De Hangdief (the executioner)

Plot

Gloriant is the duke of Bruuyswijc and a bachelor by heart. His relatives Gheraert and Godevaert urge him to marry to make sure there is a successor. Gloriant does not make haste. Florentijn, daughter of Rodelioen from Abelant, hears of him and sees much of herself in Gloriant's way of doing. She sends her help Rogier to Gloriant with a portrait of hers. When Gloriant sees it, he immediately falls in love with her, but then the trouble starts: his relatives now are less keen on him marrying Florentijn because Gloraint’s father had killed several relatives of Rodelieon during a crusade. This will not help in getting Gloriant a good reception. Despite this Gloriant goes to Abelant to get Florentijn. They meet in an orchard near the palace and confess their love for each other. They decide to leave the very night. Overcome by fatigue Gloriant falls asleep in Florentijn's lap. Floerant, Rodelioen's cousin, finds them there; he takes Gloriant's sword (Brant) and betrays them. Rodelioen is outraged and imprisons Gloriant and Florentijn in order to kill them. Faithful Rogier manages to free Gloriant and hides him in the forest. He plays a risky double play and goes to Rodelioen to advise him to have Florentijn beheaded right away. Because of her betrayal of her own religion for Christianity he agrees. Just before her death Gloriant leaps forward, kills Rodelioen and takes Florentijn to Bruuyswijc to marry her.

References

External links

{{Wikisourcelang, nl, Gloriant *
Gloriant
' at the

Digital Library for Dutch Literature The Digital Library for Dutch Literature (Dutch: Digitale Bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren or DBNL) is a website (showing the abbreviation as dbnl) about Dutch language and Dutch literature. It contains thousands of literary texts, second ...

Dutch plays Fictional dukes and duchesses Fictional Dutch people Middle Dutch literature Plays set in the Middle Ages Plays set in the Netherlands