Bilingual Edition of Couldrette’s Melusine - Le Roman de Parthenay

“There is a clear need for this work which fills a significant void among English translations of Medieval French literature. This remarkable translation of the late fourteenth-century Roman de Parthenay (better known as Le Roman de Mélusine) by the cleric Couldrette represents a most recent example of Matthew W. Morris’ almost three decades of research, presentations, and publications of the myth of Mélusine and Mélusinian materials. From among the twenty extant manuscripts of Couldrette’s Mélusine, Morris has selected B.N. MS. Fr. 19167 (French Bibliothèque Nationale), because of its completeness and clarity, as base manuscript for the Middle French text of his line-for-line, en face bilingual edition….As a translator, he superbly combines gracefulness with accuracy of meaning….Morris’ fine translation maintains the impetus of Couldrette’s story-line, keeping the reader’s interest at a high pitch while retaining the flavor of the Middle French language. His transposition of Middle French dialogue is especially note-worthy…. finally makes an extraordinary work accessible to students, scholars, and the wider readership. The scholarly introductory materials add a dimension for those not previously familiar with Couldrette’s poem. This edition is major contribution not only to Mélusinian studies but to medieval literary scholarship.” – Judith Rice Rothschild, Appalachian State University

Table of contents:
Foreword by Judith Rothschild
Preface
Introduction
Dissemination
The Fairy Christianized
Universal Appeal
Power of the Legend
Patronage
Summary of Couldrette’s Poem
The Spirit of Truth
The Clear Fountain
Le Roman de Parthenay ou Le Roman de Mélusine in Middle French with its English Translation
Bibliography; Index of Names; Glossary