''Protheselaus'' is a verse

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 ...

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 ...

at the end of the 12th century. Hue lived 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 ...

, according to his earlier poem ''

Ipomedon ''Ipomedon'' is a romance composed in Anglo-Norman verse by Hue de Rotelande in the late 12th century at Credenhill near Hereford. In the sequel '' Protheselaus'', which must have been composed slightly later, Hue acknowledges as his patron Gilber ...

''. ''Protheselaus'' is dedicated to Hue's 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 died in or just before 1191: that date is a

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 ...

for the completion of ''Protheselaus''. It is a sequel to ''Ipomedon'' in the same sense in which sequels were composed to the

chansons 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 ...

: Protheselaus is introduced as the son of Ipomedon, he has adventures that are similar to his father's, and faces similar problems. He is deprived of his inheritance. He is in love with Medea and believes (wrongly, it appears) that she hates him. With the help of Dardanus and Melander he attempts to conciliate her and travels through distant lands to prove his knightly prowess, then returns and enters her service in disguise. He travels to

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

, defends Ismeine, is made prisoner by the "Maiden of the Isle" (''Pucele de l'Isle''), finally escapes, recovers his inheritance and marries Medea. Although ''Protheselaus'' is a continuation of the story of ''

'' it has a different atmosphere In ''Ipomedonte'' auctor. In place of the satire, burlesque and occasional eroticism of ''Ipomedon'' the characters in ''Protheselaus'' -- especially the hero himself and his friends Dardanus and Melander -- are virtuous, selfless, and motivated by concern for the wellbeing of others.Spensley (1972) By contrast with ''Ipomedon'', ''Protheselaus'' attracted relatively few readers in later times and was not translated into other languages.

Notes

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Bibliography

; Editions of the Anglo-Norman text *Franz Kluckow, ed., ''Hue de Rotelande: Protheselaus''. Göttingen, 1924 *A. J. Holden, ed., ''Protheselaus by Hue de Rotelande''. London:

Anglo-Norman Text Society The Anglo-Norman Text Society is a text publication society founded in 1937 by Professor Mildred K. Pope. The founding aim of the society was to promote the study of Anglo-Norman language and Anglo-Norman literature by facilitating the publicat ...

. 3 vols ; Further reading * William Calin, "The Exaltation and Undermining of Romance: Ipomedon" in Norris J. Lacy and others, eds, ''The Legacy of Chrétien de Troyes'' * Walther Hahn, ''Der Wortschatz des Dichters Hue de Rotelande''. Berlin, 1910 * F. Lecoy, "Un episode du ''Protheselaus'' et le conte du mari trompé" in ''Romania'' vol. 76 (1955) *

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) pp. 86-95 * André de Mandach, ''Naissance et développement de la chanson de geste en Europe, IV: Chanson d'Aspremont'' (Geneva: Droz, 1980) pp. 18-27 * R. M. Spensley, "Form and Meaning in Hue de Rotelande's ''Protheselaus''" in ''Modern Language Review'' vol. 67 (1972) pp. 763-774 Anglo-Norman literature