''Sir Cleges'' is a medieval English verse

chivalric romance As a literary genre, the chivalric romance is a type of prose and verse narrative that was popular in the noble courts of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a chivalric k ...

Laura A. Hibbard, ''Medieval Romance in England'' p79 New York Burt Franklin,1963 written in tail-rhyme stanzas in the late fourteenth or early fifteenth century. It is clearly a minstrel tale, praising giving gifts to minstrels, and punishing the servants who might make it impossible for a minstrel in a noble household. Corrupt officials are central to it.

Synopsis

Sir Cleges became poor through his generosity. He prayed that God would spare him and his wife and children. He finds cherries ripening in his yard although it is Christmas, and sets out to bring them to

Uther Pendragon Uther Pendragon (Brittonic) (; cy, Ythyr Ben Dragwn, Uthyr Pendragon, Uthyr Bendragon), also known as King Uther, was a legendary King of the Britons in sub-Roman Britain (c. 6th century). Uther was also the father of King Arthur. A few m ...

in hopes of a reward. To admit him, the porter, the usher, and the steward all demand a third part of his reward. The king appreciates the cherries. Sir Cleges demands twelve blows as his reward and explains about the servants. Uther has him give them each four blows and then gives him a castle and many other gifts so that he and his family can live in comfort.

Manuscripts

''Sir Cleges'' is found in two 15th-century manuscripts, NLS 19.1.11 and the Oxford manuscript, Ashmole 61 and were compared by Treichel. Textual comparison points to a third, lost original.Sir Cleges: Introduction
, Edited by Anne Laskaya and Eve Salisbury

Motifs

The romance combined familiar motifs, original only in their unusual combination from different genres, which many authors have found striking. * The figure of the Spendthrift Knight shows probable influence of the romance

Amadas ''Amadas'', or ''Sir Amadace'' is a medieval English chivalric romance, one of the rare ones for which there is neither a known nor a conjectured French original,Laura A. Hibbard, ''Medieval Romance in England'' p73 New York Burt Franklin,1963 li ...

. * The miracle of unseasonable fruit appears in many Celtic saints' legends, the tale of

Joseph of Arimathea Joseph of Arimathea was, according to all four canonical gospels, the man who assumed responsibility for the burial of Jesus after his crucifixion. The historical location of Arimathea is uncertain, although it has been identified with several t ...

where his staff took root and flowered every Christmas, and ''

The Cherry Tree Carol "The Cherry-Tree Carol" ( Roud 453) is a ballad with the rare distinction of being both a Christmas carol and one of the Child Ballads (no. 54). The song itself is very old, reportedly sung in some form at the Feast of Corpus Christi in the early ...

''. * The "Blows Shared" motif is found in ''

Gesta Romanorum ''Gesta Romanorum'', meaning ''Deeds of the Romans'' (a very misleading title), is a Latin collection of anecdotes and tales that was probably compiled about the end of the 13th century or the beginning of the 14th. It still possesses a two-fold l ...

'' and many folktales about the world.Laura A. Hibbard, ''Medieval Romance in England'' p80 New York Burt Franklin,1963

References

Editions

Studies

* (dissertation) *

External links

''Sir Cleges''
a free translation and retelling in modern English of the story found in Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Ashmole 61 {{DEFAULTSORT:Cleges Romance (genre) Middle English poems 14th-century poems 15th-century poems Arthurian literature in Middle English Christmas poems Uther Pendragon