Robert the Devil: The First Modern English Translation of Robert le Diable, an Anonymous French Romance of the Thirteenth Century trans. by Samuel N. Rosenberg (review)

In describing this text, translator Samuel N. Rosenberg describes it as 'basically the tale of a boy born to a childless noble couple only after the mother has secretly called on Satan to help her conceive' (p. 1). This dark start, the reader soon learns, is borne out by a week-long labour. While handsome, Robert is a violent child. He is prone to biting while nursing, frightening his teachers, and attacking the poor. The naughty boy grows into a troublesome man, causing the Pope to deny Robert communion and ultimately leading Robert's father to boot him out of home. Robert then takes to the forest and a career in highway robbery.

As knighthood is seen as a potential cure of his wicked ways, Robert is knighted. Yet while he then tourneys with brutal effectiveness, he remains a malevolent force. Evidencing this is the fact that he does not pray, and a shocking event where he massacres a house of nuns. Only then, with a moment of self-reflection, does Robert question his path in life. Seeking answers, Robert threatens his mother before heading to Rome. There the Pope redirects him to a hermit in the mountains where, with tears and mass, Robert seeks salvation and is put under a strict penitential regime.

Robert must play at being mad, be silent, and fast. And so he does, all the way to the Emperor's palace, where he becomes a court fool. Which proves just as well, for from there he three times rescues Rome. Incognito, Robert turns the tide of each battle, riding a fine white horse and slipping back into penitential disguise afterwards, observed only by a mute princess whose tale of Robert's heroics is disbelieved. Throw in a side story of a scheming and disloyal seneschal, and you have the gist of the narrative arc, leading ultimately to a decidedly medieval twist.

Translations should be measured against their purpose, and Rosenberg easily meets his declared intentions. This is 'a work suitable for recitation, a work whose rhythms and sonorities bespeak the presence […] of a storyteller' (p. 5). Whether as teaching aid or pleasure read, this translation of Robert's tale brings medieval Europe to life with aplomb.