Le Conte du Papegau: Roman arthurien du XVe siècle (review)

This is the first bilingual edition of a text that was first edited in 1896 by F. Heuckenkamp under the title Le Chevalier au Papegau, translated into modern French (with the same title) by D. Régnier-Bohler in 1989, and translated into English as The Knight of the Parrot in 1986. The title of this new edition is taken from the explicit of the text's single manuscript. As Victorin explains in the introduction, Heuckenkamp's choice of title suggests that the main character is King Arthur; the new title, conversely, gives the parrot pride of place, which draws attention to the issue of intertextuality, in the resonances between the Conte du Papegau and other texts. It also invites reflection on the narrative's specularity, since the Conte of the title refers not only to the narrative itself but also to the story the parrot tells King Arthur on his return to court. Indeed, intertextuality and specularity are two issues in which the editors are particularly interested. The introduction provides numerous references to romances that share the same motifs. The 'Dossier' gives a series of extracts from medieval French romances, each provided with facing-page translation; these chart the different roles of the parrot, from messenger of love and spokesman for the lover, to figure of wisdom and clergie, to the relationship between the papegau and the perroquet. This is also reflected in the bibliography, which lists many Arthurian romances and other medieval texts in whose mouvance the present work is to be situated, as well as a short section on the figure of the parrot and the dwarf in medieval literature. The edition follows the manuscript closely, as Heuckenkamp's did, and arrives independently at the majority of the earlier editor's readings. However, it is more interventionist on specific points of syntax, morphology and lexis. The interventions are sensible and justifiable, and the translation reads fluently and captures the sense of each phrase, aiming at being readable in its own right. On occasion it sacrifices accuracy for the sake of creating a vivid impression; for example, casser (§32.13), translated in the glossary as endommager or blesser, is translated in the text as entamer. In the creation of a logical structure, the rhythm of the original sentences is lost in translation. The glossary is helpful for those wishing to follow the original text closely. To sum up, this new edition in a well-known series at an affordable price will make the text more accessible to specialists, but thanks to the translation and the comprehensive introduction, it will also be of use in teaching undergraduate courses, as well as being of interest to the general reader unfamiliar with medieval French literature.