Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index


  • Record Number: 46845
  • Author(s)/Creator(s): Kelly , Douglas and Glyn S. Burgess
  • Contributor(s):
  • Title: The Roman de Thèbes and The Roman d'Eneas
  • Source: The Roman de Thèbes, and, The Roman d'EneasGlyn S. Burgess, translator, and Douglas Kelly, translatorExeter Studies in Medieval Europe, 19.  Liverpool University Press, 2021.  Pages 28 - 351.
  • Description: The two romances translated in this volume, the Roman de Thèbes and the Roman d’Eneas, form, along with the Roman de Troie by Benoît de Sainte-Maure, a group of texts that are of considerable importance within French and European literature and culture. Composed between c. 1150 and c. 1165, these romances create a bridge between classical tales (the Thèbes is based on the Thebaid of Statius, the Eneas on the Aeneid of Virgil) and the burgeoning vernacular romances, represented especially by Chrétien de Troyes. As a group, these three works are frequently known as the romances of antiquity (romans d’antiquité) and they introduce into French literature the dominant contemporary themes of chivalry and love. They are set against a feudal and courtly background in which themes such as war, prowess inheritance and the possession of land are crucial. As they adapt their Latin sources, these romances, especially the Eneas, exploit the works of Ovid, especially in the presentation of the theme of love, and they also make use of the principles of rhetorical composition as studied in the schools (both romances contain remarkable examples of descriptions of both people and objects). [Reproduced from the publisher's website: https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/9781800348615]
  • Article Type: Translation
  • Subject (See Also): Classical Influences Ovid, Ancient Poet Roman de Thebes, Prose Romance Roman d'Eneas, Epic Romance, Literary Genre Statius, Ancient Latin Poet Virgil, Ancient Poet
  • Award Note: Feminae Translation of the Month, November 2023
  • Geographic Area: France
  • Century: 12
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  • Author's Affiliation: University of Liverpool [Burgess- Professor Emeritus]; University of Wisconsin-Madison [Kelly- Professor Emeritus]
  • Conference Info: - , -
  • Year of Publication: 2021.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN/ISBN: 9781800348615 (print- hbk) 9781802073706 (print- pbk) and 9781800858817 (online)