''Ipomedon'' is a

romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

composed in

Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to: *Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066 * Anglo-Norman language **Anglo-Norman literature * Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 10 ...

verse by

Hue de Rotelande Hue de Rotelande was an important Cambro-Norman poet writing in Old French at the end of the 12th century. Life He was a cleric and a native of Rhuddlan. He wrote in Credenhill, Herefordshire. Gilbert de Monmouth Fitz Baderon, a grandson of Gilb ...

in the late 12th century at

Credenhill Credenhill is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England. The population of this civil parish taken at the 2011 Census was 2,271. Near Credenhill is the site of the former Royal Air Force station, RAF Credenhill. It was redeveloped ...

near

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...

. In the sequel '' Protheselaus'', which must have been composed slightly later, Hue acknowledges as his patron Gilbert fitzBaderon, lord of

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...

. Gilbert's death in or just before 1191 gives an approximate

terminus ante quem ''Terminus post quem'' ("limit after which", sometimes abbreviated to TPQ) and ''terminus ante quem'' ("limit before which", abbreviated to TAQ) specify the known limits of dating for events or items.. A ''terminus post quem'' is the earliest da ...

to both romances. ''Ipomedon'' is comparatively rich in references to the real world in which the poet lived. He names himself in full ''Hue de Rotelande'' (line 33 and two other places) and confirms that his house was at

: ''A Credehulle a ma meisun'' (line 10571). He mentions the siege of

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

by King

Louis VII of France 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 ...

in 1174 (lines 5351-5352), and also names a Welsh king called "''Ris''", almost certainly

Rhys ap Gruffydd Rhys ap Gruffydd, commonly known as The Lord Rhys, in Welsh ''Yr Arglwydd Rhys'' (c. 1132 – 28 April 1197) was the ruler of the Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth in south Wales from 1155 to 1197 and native Prince of Wales. It was believed that he ...

(line 8942). He has a backhanded compliment for the well-known writer

Walter Map Walter Map ( la, Gualterius Mappus; 1130 – 1210) was a medieval writer. He wrote ''De nugis curialium'', which takes the form of a series of anecdotes of people and places, offering insights on the history of his time. Map was a courti ...

, evidently a friend or rival: ''Sul ne sai pas de mentir l'art: Walter Map reset ben sa part'' ("I am not the only one who knows the art of lying: Walter Map is equally good at it" (lines 7185-7186). A certain "''Huge de Hungrie''" who appears in the poem as a seducer of women is generally thought to represent Hugh, canon of Hereford, another friend or rival. Many of the names of characters are inspired by the '' Roman de Thebes'' ("Romance of Thebes"), a medieval retelling of the ancient mythological tales of Thebes composed around 1150 by a French poet in the court of

Henry II of England Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin king ...

and

Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor ( – 1 April 1204; french: Aliénor d'Aquitaine, ) was Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King Henry II, and Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right from ...

. The story of ''Ipomedon'' cannot be traced to this, or to the romances of

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 ...

as argued by Kölbing, or to any other single source. It is essentially a new story, in which the knight Ipomedon, in love with a princess, conceals his identity and serves her as cupbearer. He departs to show his knightly prowess in overseas adventures; returns to take part in a three-day tournament under three different disguises; defends his heroine from three monsters, still disguised; then, finally, reveals his identity and triumphantly marries her. The style is often parodic and burlesque, sometimes also erotic. This is the only known text that provides the

form of what is now an English

four-letter word The phrase four-letter word refers to a set of English-language words written with four letters which are considered profane, including common popular or slang terms for excretory functions, sexual activity and genitalia, blasphemies, terms rel ...

: ::''Quant si beaus out les membres tuz,'' ::''K'en dites vus de cel desuz,'' ::''Ke nus apelum le cunet?'' ::''Je quit qe asez fut petitet:'' (lines 2267-2270). "If all the parts of her body were so beautiful, what do you say of the part underneath that we call 'cunt'?" "I think it was nice and small." ''Ipomedon'' was widely popular. It is known from several manuscripts, and there is one surviving fragment of a version in which the Anglo-Norman dialect has been converted to continental

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...

.Livingston (1942) At least three translations into

middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English p ...

exist (see ''

Ipomadon The Anglo-Norman romance '' Ipomedon'' by Hue de Rotelande, composed near Hereford around 1180, survives in three separate Middle English versions, a long poem ''Ipomadon'' composed in tail-rhyme verse, possibly in the last decade of the fourt ...

''). A prose version entitled ''The Life of Ipomydon'', translated by

Robert Copland Robert Copland ( fl. 1508–1547), English printer and author, is said to have been a servant of William Caxton, and certainly worked for Wynkyn de Worde. The first book to which his name is affixed as a printer is ''The Boke of Justices of Peace' ...

, was published by

Wynkyn de Worde Wynkyn de Worde (died 1534) was a printer and publisher in London known for his work with William Caxton, and is recognised as the first to popularise the products of the printing press in England. Name Wynkyn de Worde was a German immigra ...

at the end of the 15th century.

Notes

{{reflist

Bibliography

; Editions of the Anglo-Norman text *A. J. Holden, ed., ''Ipomedon: poème de Hue de Rotelande (fin du XIIe siècle)''. Lutetiae: Klincksieck, 1979 *E. Kölbing, E. Koschwitz, eds, ''Ipomedon, ein französischer Abenteuerroman''. Breslau, 1889 ; Further reading * William Calin, "The Exaltation and Undermining of Romance: Ipomedon" in Norris J. Lacy and others, eds, ''The Legacy of Chrétien de Troyes'' * Lucy M. Gay, "Hue de Rotelande's Ipomédon and Chrétien de Troyes" in ''PMLA'' vol. 32 (1917) pp. 468-491 * Walther Hahn, ''Der Wortschatz des Dichters Hue de Rotelande''. Berlin, 1910 * Robert W. Hanning, "Engin in Twelfth Century Romance: An Examination of the Roman d'Enéas and Hue de Rotelande's Ipomedon" in ''Yale French Studies'' no. 51 (1974) pp. 82-101 *

Dominica Legge Professor Mary Dominica Legge, FBA (26 March 1905 – 10 March 1986), known as Dominica Legge, was a British scholar of the Anglo-Norman language. Life Legge was born in Bayswater in 1905. Her grandfather was Professor James Legge, and her f ...

, ''Anglo-Norman Literature and its Background'' (Oxford, 1963) * Charles H. Livingston, "Manuscript Fragments of a Continental French Version of the ''Roman d'Ipomedon'' in ''Modern Philology'' vol. 40 (1942) pp. 117-130 * André de Mandach, ''Naissance et développement de la chanson de geste en Europe, IV: Chanson d'Aspremont'' (Geneva: Droz, 1980) pp. 18-27 * Adolfo Mussafia, "Sulla critica del testo del romanzo in francese antico Ipomedon" in ''Sitzungsberichte, Kaiserliche Academie der Wissenschaften: Philosophisch-historische Classe'' (Vienna, 1890)

External links

''Ipomadon''
Modern English translation of the story, based on one of the Middle English versions
The Wynkyn de Worde edition
Anglo-Norman literature