''Moriaen'' (also spelled ''Moriaan'', ''Morien'') is a 13th-century
Arthurian
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 ...
romance in
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 overarc ...
. A 4,720-line version is preserved in the vast
Lancelot Compilation
The Lancelot Compilation is the name given to a Middle Dutch collection, produced ca. 1320, containing seven Arthurian romances folded into the three parts of the Lancelot-Grail cycle.
Lancelot in Dutch
Arthurian romance must have been widespread ...
, and a short fragment exists at the
Royal Library at
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
.
[Besamusca, Bart (1991), "Moriaen". In ]Lacy, Norris J. Norris J. Lacy (born March 8, 1940 in Hopkinsville, Kentucky) is an American scholar focusing on France, French medieval literature. He was the Edwin Erle Sparks Professor Emeritus of French and Medieval Studies at the Pennsylvania State University ...
(ed.), ''The New Arthurian Encyclopedia'', New York: Garland, pp. 329–330. .[Besamusca, Bart (1991). "Lancelot-Compilatie". In Lacy, Norris J. (ed.), ''The New Arthurian Encyclopedia'', New York: Garland, p. 277.] The work tells the story of Morien, the
Moorish son of
Aglovale
The Knights of the Round Table ( cy, Marchogion y Ford Gron, kw, Marghekyon an Moos Krenn, br, Marc'hegien an Daol Grenn) are the knights of the fellowship of King Arthur in the literary cycle of the Matter of Britain. First appearing in lit ...
, one of
King Arthur's
Knights of the Round Table.
[Weston, ''Morien''.]
Plot
The romance begins with the story of Morien's conception. While searching for
Lancelot thirteen years prior,
Aglovale
The Knights of the Round Table ( cy, Marchogion y Ford Gron, kw, Marghekyon an Moos Krenn, br, Marc'hegien an Daol Grenn) are the knights of the fellowship of King Arthur in the literary cycle of the Matter of Britain. First appearing in lit ...
had travelled through the Moorish lands and fallen in love with a beautiful princess. They pledged their betrothal, but refusing to abandon his quest before Lancelot was located, Aglovale left the country before they could marry. He left her pregnant with his son Morien, who would grow into a tall, handsome youth "black of face and limb."
Of his prowess, the romance says that Sir Morien's "blows were so mighty; did a spear fly towards him, to harm him, it troubled him no whit, but he smote it in twain as if it were a reed; naught might endure before him." Of his dress, it says that "
s shield and his armour were even those of a Moor, and black as a raven."
The narrative proper begins years later, as Morien seeks his father, he and his mother having been disinherited from their lands. The action takes place just prior to the quest for the
Holy Grail
The Holy Grail (french: Saint Graal, br, Graal Santel, cy, Greal Sanctaidd, kw, Gral) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miracu ...
, and the knights Lancelot and
Gawain
Gawain (), also known in many other forms and spellings, is a character in Arthurian legend, in which he is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table. The prototype of Gawain is mentioned under the name Gwalchmei in the earliest ...
are out searching for
Percival
Percival (, also spelled Perceval, Parzival), alternatively called Peredur (), was one of King Arthur's legendary Knights of the Round Table. First mentioned by the French author Chrétien de Troyes in the tale ''Perceval, the Story of the Gr ...
, a new knight and the brother of Aglovale. After Morien tells his story to Lancelot and Gawain, who promise to help him find his father, the knights go on a series of adventures showcasing their talents. In the end father and son are reunited, and Aglovale travels to the land of the Moors to marry his lover and win back her rightful lands.
The author tries to synchronise the romance with episodes from
Chrétien de Troyes's ''
Perceval, the Story of the Grail
''Perceval, the Story of the Grail'' (french: Perceval ou le Conte du Graal) is the unfinished fifth verse romance by Chrétien de Troyes, written by him in Old French in the late 12th century. Later authors added 54,000 more lines in what are kn ...
'' and the
Lancelot-Grail
The ''Lancelot-Grail'', also known as the Vulgate Cycle or the Pseudo-Map Cycle, is an early 13th-century French Arthurian literary cycle consisting of interconnected prose episodes of chivalric romance in Old French. The cycle of unknown author ...
.
He or she notes at the beginning that some versions of the story have Percival himself as Morien's father, but decides to follow convention that Percival died a virgin.
The circumstances of Sir Morien's birth are similar to Gahmuret and Belacane's conception of
Feirefiz
Feirefiz (also ''Feirefis, Feirafiz, Ferafiz, Firafiz'') is a character in Wolfram von Eschenbach's Arthurian poem '' Parzival''. He is the half-brother of Parzival, the story's hero. He is the child of their father Gahmuret's first marriag ...
in
Wolfram von Eschenbach
Wolfram von Eschenbach (; – ) was a German knight, poet and composer, regarded as one of the greatest epic poets of medieval German literature. As a Minnesinger, he also wrote lyric poetry.
Life
Little is known of Wolfram's life. There ar ...
's ''
Parzival
''Parzival'' is a medieval romance by the knight-poet Wolfram von Eschenbach in Middle High German. The poem, commonly dated to the first quarter of the 13th century, centers on the Arthurian hero Parzival (Percival in English) and his long ...
'';
[Wolfram von Eschenbach, ''Parzival''.] like the ''Lancelot Compilation'', ''Parzival'' is also based on an earlier version of the Grail story. In this case, Gahmuret is Parzival's father, making the half-Saracen Fierefiz the Grail knight's brother rather than his nephew or son.
Notes
References
*
*
Lacy, Norris J. Norris J. Lacy (born March 8, 1940 in Hopkinsville, Kentucky) is an American scholar focusing on France, French medieval literature. He was the Edwin Erle Sparks Professor Emeritus of French and Medieval Studies at the Pennsylvania State University ...
(Ed.) (1991). ''The New Arthurian Encyclopedia''. New York: Garland. .
*
*
Weston, Jessie Laidlay (translator). (1901). ''Morien: A Metrical Romance Rendered into English from the Middle Dutch''. London: Nutt.
*Weston, Jessie Laidlay (translator). "Morien". Ancienttexts.org. Retrieved 16 July 2006.
*
Wolfram von Eschenbach
Wolfram von Eschenbach (; – ) was a German knight, poet and composer, regarded as one of the greatest epic poets of medieval German literature. As a Minnesinger, he also wrote lyric poetry.
Life
Little is known of Wolfram's life. There ar ...
;
Hatto, A. T. (translator) (1980). ''Parzival''. New York: Penguin Books. .
External links
*
Moriaen' (original text in Middle Dutch) 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 ...
*
Moriaen' (translation by Jessie L. Weston) a
In parentheses{{Authority control
13th-century books
Arthurian characters
Arthurian literature in Dutch
Black people in European folklore
Fictional African people
Knights of the Round Table
Middle Dutch literature