The Hero's Place: Medieval Literary Traditions of Space and Belonging (review)

Arguing that the 'implacement' of literary works demands greater critical attention than it has hitherto received (p. 295), this study examines the diegetic functions of space in three texts from representative genres of early French literature: La Vie de saint Alexis (hagiography), La Chanson de Roland (epic), and Tristan et Iseut (romance). Kelly uses a synthetic approach to identify a common interest in how place is linked to the human construction of meaning in what she refers to as 'place studies' (p. 14). She proposes on this basis an analysis of two related conceptions of space: 'spatiality' (the physical space in which the narrative unfolds) and 'place' (the subjective experience of space and its significance). Kelly pursues this analysis through a series of close readings. In the Alexis, she suggests, Alexis's exile from earthly spaces is revealed though a series of relocations, which involves, among other things, the exploration of different characters' relationships to Rome as a place. Focusing next on the Roland, Kelly examines the spatial opposition of foreign territory and France, the latter being a place identified as significant by both Charlemagne's army and their Saracen opponents. Roland's 'double gaze' (p. 173) — focused at once on France and the lands of the enemy — is emblematic of his paradoxical relationship to and estrangement from place, a relationship that echoes that of Alexis to his home. Concentrating next on the French verse versions of the Tristan legend, with some reference to the Middle High German versions by Eilhart von Oberg and Gottfried von Straßburg, the final sections of the book argue that Tristan is even more radically detached from place than Alexis or Roland, this absence of belonging being common to all versions of the legend, despite variations in treatment. The final chapter further suggests that the 'courtly' and 'common' versions of the legend, which represent different developments of the story, also diverge in their representation of place: the courtly version, Kelly argues, shows the disintegration of all forms of belonging, whereas the common version depicts the gradual restoration of place from the moment the love potion ceases to be effective. This is an accessible study that interestingly explores how belonging is, in the case of all three protagonists, linked to exile and alienation: a feature of the book that gives it a potential relevance to literary discussions of these themes in other contexts. Where the discussion is weaker is in seeming to take for granted contextual locations such as 'France'. Though not always relevant to the literary analysis, this is more of a problem when it comes to the discussion of audience. For instance, in Kelly's consideration of the place of the audience in the Alexis, the relationship between 'France' as Rome's successor and the French-speaking community of English recluse Christina of Markyate is not made apparent (pp. 99-101). The problematization of France as a location is something that one might also have expected to find further developed in discussion of the Roland, particularly in light of the work of scholars such as Sharon Kinoshita. Kelly's study is nonetheless a methodical exploration of a little-studied theme in some canonical Old French texts and, as such, constitutes a useful resource both for undergraduate teaching and for further research on the medieval literary depiction of space.