Huon de Méry (''

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

'' 1200–1250) was the author of (modern , "The Tournament of the

Antichrist In Christian eschatology, Antichrist (or in broader eschatology, Anti-Messiah) refers to a kind of entity prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ and falsely substitute themselves as a savior in Christ's place before ...

"), a 3,546-line

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...

poem written in octosyllables.William W. Kibler, ''Medieval France: An Encyclopedia'' (Garland, 1995), p. 467.

Life

Huon's life is a matter of conjecture based on references in his work. He seems to have been a Norman who took part in the wars against Normans">Norman who took part in the wars against Pierre Mauclerc, Duke of Brittany">Pierre_Mauclerc.html" ;"title="Normans">Norman who took part in the wars against Pierre Mauclerc">Normans">Norman who took part in the wars against minority of Louis IX">Pierre Mauclerc, Duke of Brittany, during the Louis IX of France#Early life">minority of Louis IX (1232–1235). Linguistic analysis suggests that he came from northwestern France, with the name ''de Méry'' (which might also be spelled ''Merri'' or ''Méru'') pointing to Méru, Oise; Méry-Corbon, Calvados (department), Calvados; or Merry, Orne. He wrote while he was a Christian monk, monk at Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

''The Tournament of the Antichrist''

Published around 1234–1240, is a psychomachia drawing on both

allegory As a List of narrative techniques, literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a wikt:narrative, narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political signi ...

and romance. The forces of

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

array in an apocalyptic struggle against those of the

. God's troops are made up of

personified Personification is the representation of a thing or abstraction as a person, often as an embodiment or incarnation. In the arts, many things are commonly personified, including: places, especially cities, countries, and continents; elements of ...

Virtue A virtue () is a trait of excellence, including traits that may be morality, moral, social, or intellectual. The cultivation and refinement of virtue is held to be the "good of humanity" and thus is Value (ethics), valued as an Telos, end purpos ...

archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the Catholic hierarchy of angels, based on and put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite in the 5th or 6th century in his book ''De Coelesti Hierarchia'' (''On the Celestial Hierarchy'') ...

s, and Arthurian knights.

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

s, pagan gods, and

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasan ...

s fight for the Antichrist. Huon articulates a view of

courtly love Courtly love ( ; ) was a medieval European literary conception of love that emphasized nobility and chivalry. Medieval literature is filled with examples of knights setting out on adventures and performing various deeds or services for ladies b ...

that distinguishes between love ' ("without wrongdoing") and

fornication Fornication generally refers to consensual sexual intercourse between two people who are not married to each other. When a married person has consensual sexual relations with one or more partners whom they are not married to, it is called adu ...

: "Love is born of

courtesy Courtesy (from the word , from the 12th century) is gentle politeness and courtly manners. In the Middle Ages in Europe, the behaviour expected of the nobility was compiled in courtesy books. History The apex of European courtly culture was ...

" ''()''. While Huon introduces courtly figures into the conventional battle of Vices and Virtues, love is not the poem's primary preoccupation. During the battle, the narrator is wounded in the eye by

Cupid In classical mythology, Cupid ( , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus and the god of war Mars. He is also known as Amor (Latin: ...

's arrow and seeks refuge in a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

. is contemporary with the ''

Roman de la Rose ''Le Roman de la Rose'' (''The Romance of the Rose'') is a medieval poem written in Old French and presented as an allegory">allegorical romantic love is disclosed. Its two authors conceived it as a psychological allegory; throughout the Lover' ...

'', and contains

allusion Allusion, or alluding, is a figure of speech that makes a reference to someone or something by name (a person, object, location, etc.) without explaining how it relates to the given context, so that the audience must realize the connection in the ...

s to the ''

Yvain In Arthurian legend, Ywain , also known as Yvain and Owain among other spellings (''Ewaine'', ''Ivain'', ''Ivan'', ''Iwain'', ''Iwein'', ''Uwain'', ''Uwaine'', ''Ywan'', etc.), is a Knight of the Round Table. Tradition often portrays him as t ...

'' of

Chrétien de Troyes Chrétien de Troyes (; ; 1160–1191) was a French poet and trouvère known for his writing on King Arthur, Arthurian subjects such as Gawain, Lancelot, Perceval and the Holy Grail. Chrétien's chivalric romances, including ''Erec and Enide'' ...

and the ''Songe d'enfer'' of Raoul de Houdenc. It enjoyed an "ample" manuscript tradition. Huon self-consciously acknowledges literary precedent, and views the Arthurian world as bygone and thoroughly explored by his poetic masters. At the same time, he asserts his own inventiveness with his distinctive '' conjointure'' of material.Douglas Kelly, ''The Conspiracy of Allusion: Description, Rewriting, and Authorship from Macrobius to Medieval Romance'' (Brill, 1999), pp. 218–220.

References

External links

* Edition under the modern French title of ''Le Tornoiement de l'Antechrist par Huon de Mery'' (Reims, 1851)
full text.
* * List of manuscripts of the work a

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mery, Huon De Old French texts Medieval French literature 13th-century French poets 13th-century Normans 1200 births 1250 deaths French male writers