Trubert

Dates Between 1253 (the wedding of Henry III of Brabant and Aléide, daughter of the duke of Bourgogne, referred to in the text) and 1273 (date of the manuscript)

Extant Manuscript Only one extant manuscript, and it is peculiar. Unlike most medieval texts which are bound into one book with several other texts (often a dozen or more), “Trubert” is in a single volume, all on its own. This manuscript is richly decorated with expensive paints and made of high quality vellum: it was most likely intended for a very wealthy patron.

Author The author identifies himself as Douin de Lavesne, which may be a pseudonym. The editors of the edition we are using hypothesize (but cannot really support the argument) that the author may be Baudoin d’Avesnes, lord of Beaumont. He was an illegitimate son who led a fairly debauched youth, became a talented politician, and then became a well known patron of historians and writers

Influences Some see the influence of Chrétien de Troyes (renowned poet famous for bringing Lancelot, Guinevere, the quest for the Holy Grail, and other hugely important—to medieval literature, at least—characters and themes to France during the 12th century Perceval ou le Conte du Graal, in particular, with its bumbling hero on a quest, is evident in “Trubert” Question of genre: the content points to fabliau, while the length points to romance

Brief Summary “ The ‘hero,’ Trubert, is a peasant, sly and sadistic, who hates those in power. He respects nothing and no one: using multiple disguises, he cheats the duke of Bourgogne, mistreating and beating him, then seduces his wife. Afterwards he disguises himself as a damsel named “Coillebaude” (Merryballs) and impregnates the duke’s daughter. Then Trubert marries a king, Golias, and on the wedding night, forces a young woman he has raped to replace him in the king’s bed.” (source)

Content Warning This is one of the worst we’ll read this semester in terms of troubling content. Rape Violence (particularly violence against women, but not exclusively) Language (both violent and vulgar)

Sources Rossi, Luciano. “Introduction.” Fabliaux érotiques: Textes de jongleurs des XIIe et XIIIe siècles.  Ed. and trans. Luciano Rossi.  Paris: Librairie Générale Française, 1992. 9-60. Wikipedia. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douin_de_Lavesne