The main aim of this study of the second continuation of the Perceval of Chrétien de Troyes is to establish exactly what it consists of, where it begins and ends, whether it is a single unit — and if not to what extent it is not — and, having examined the question which which manuscripts appear best to represent the primitive text, to resolve any textual problems, firstly through this examination of the manuscript tradition, and secondly with the help of a glossary. The disputed attribution of the text to Wauchier de Denain is briefly examined, as are questions of literary influence.
This book, originally published in paperback in 1987 under the ISBN 978-0-947623-11-1, was made Open Access in 2024 as part of the MHRA Revivals programme.
Contents:
i-vii, 1-194
The Second Continuation of the Old French Perceval: A Critical and Lexicographical Study Corin F. V. Corley Complete volume as single PDF
Aims of this study - The Continuations - Redactions and Manuscripts - Authorship and division of the corpus - The orthodox view - Basis and validity of the orthodox view.
The aim of this necessarily brief examination of the manuscript tradition of the Perceval corpus is to establish where there are major shifts in the manuscript relations, and whether these generally appear to correspond to clearly defined sections of the text. Subsequently the manuscript tradition of C2 is examined in more detail, with a view to establishing which MSS seem to represent the most primitive state of the text. The method used is a comparison of the MSS, not on the basis of common errors, but of common additions, omissions and, to a lesser extent, inversions.
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31-41
Chapter 2: The Structure and Unity of C1 and the C1/C2 Break Corin F. V. Corley doi:10.59860/td.c053e8c
It is suggested that the text should be divided, or can be divided, at the end of C1 I (= C1 I/5, not I/10), at the end of C1 III/15, and at A 10268 (= E 20530) in C2. The episodic nature of C1, accurately reflected by Roach's division into six branches, has long been recognized. The very fact that the text consists of six separate adventures, or sets of adventures, featuring three different heroes, Gauvain, Caradoc, and Guerrehés, prompts the question of how many authors might be involved.
Having established that C2 can be divided into C2i and C2ii, with episodes 6-8 interpolated, we now study the structure and unity of the text, where the structure applies to the whole, but the unity, necessarily, applies only to episodes 9-35 (C2ii). We consider in effect whether, beyond the C2i/C2ii division, the text is a homogeneous unit, or the work of two or more authors, remanieurs, etc.
The fifth episode of C2, the one in which the SRed. comes to an end, is, from the point of view of the manuscript tradition, the most interesting in the text. It is also of particular interest because of the implications of that tradition for the remainder of the text. The sudden confusion in the manuscript relations, which, as we have seen, is one reason for locating the C1/C2 distinction at A 10268, as regards authorship, is such that we can justifiably discern three separate redactions of this one episode.
The question of the authorship of C2, hinging on lines 31421-23 which mention 'Gauchiers de Dondain', has been long and widely discussed, but since the article of F. Lot on the subject, the attribution to Wauchier de Denain, known as the translator of a series of Vies des Pères, has been abandoned, until G. Vial's recent re-establishment of it.
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68-77
Chapter 6: Sources, Influence(s) and Place in the Cycle Corin F. V. Corley doi:10.59860/td.c490b5c
The question of sources for C2 (episodes 9-35) is an interesting one, but one to which there are few positive answers. Nevertheless, we review the situation, and assess what answers there may be, positive or otherwise.
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Bibliography entry:
Corley, Corin F. V., The Second Continuation of the Old French Perceval: A Critical and Lexicographical Study, MHRA Texts and Dissertations, 24 (MHRA, 1987)
First footnote reference:35 Corin F. V. Corley, The Second Continuation of the Old French Perceval: A Critical and Lexicographical Study, MHRA Texts and Dissertations, 24 (MHRA, 1987), p. 21.
Corley, Corin F. V.. 1987. The Second Continuation of the Old French Perceval: A Critical and Lexicographical Study, MHRA Texts and Dissertations, 24 (MHRA)
Example citation: ‘A quotation occurring on page 21 of this work’ (Corley 1987: 21).
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