Romance of Chivalry - Romance of Chivalry

Japanese: 騎士道物語 - きしどうものがたり（英語表記）roman courtois

A story about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, a typical theme of European medieval court literature. The original meaning is "court tale." It was produced in French, the language of the Middle Ages, from about 1155, translated into German from about 1170, and translated into English in the mid-13th century and other European languages (there is also a medieval Hebrew-Czech translation), and flourished until the end of the 13th century (→ Romance). Its influence in England continued from T. Malory in the 15th century and even later (23 English translations, about 40 German translations).
In French literature, following the epic poems (such as Chanson de Roland), stories with Eastern (Greek, Roman) themes (romances, English romances) first appeared, coupled with interest in the East and changes in living conditions after the First Crusade (1096-99). From the mid-12th century, interest shifted to new themes, and myths, legends, and folk tales that had been passed down orally among the Celtic peoples who had been driven to the western edge of Europe were first romanticized in French (romantic also had the meaning of slang in contrast to Latin). The authors of chivalric romances were clergymen, and they were mainly popular among the knight class (lower nobility) whose literacy rate was close to zero. Since they also lived in the court, the general way of enjoying chivalric romances was to listen to them being recited in circles (silent reading was the exception and was usually the work of clergymen). In an era when the royal court functioned as a training ground for self-training, knights were expected to hone their martial arts skills while also providing refined service to their lord's wife. The theme of chivalric romance also focuses primarily on the synergistic relationship between "spiritual infidelity" and chivalry (→ courtly love).
The chivalric romances were determined by the works of the great 12th century author Chrétien de Troyes, who was inspired by "Breton material" rather than Latin writings such as those by Geoffrey of Monmouth, including Érec et Énide, Cligés, Lancelot ou le Chevalier de la Charette, Yvain ou Chevalier au Lion, and Perceval (The Tale of the Holy Grail). The characters that appear in these five works are the same, centering around King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. "Erec and Enid" deals with the conflict between love and adventure, "Cliges" is an antithesis to "Tristan and Iseult", "Lancelot" deals with the affair between Lancelot and his master's (Arthur's) wife (Gnievre), which is called "courtly love", "Yvain" deals with the same theme as "Erec and Enid" from a different angle, and "Perceval" deals with the visit to the Holy Grail Castle and the quest for the Holy Grail. In the 13th century, Chrétien wrote five works (in verse), and "Lancelot and the Holy Grail" and "Tristan and Iseult" in particular had a great influence on later generations. The chivalric romances were not merely literary events, but also stamped the knightly/aristocratic culture on the entire range of cultural customs, including sports, spectacles, and naming. It was the pillar of the knightly class until the beginning of the 16th century, when Cervantes had Don Quixote, who had fallen ill after a series of fantasies and wanderings, say, "Burn the tales of chivalry that have led me astray." This "medieval dream" disappeared with the dissolution of the knightly class, but was reborn in the form of Wagner's operas with the rise of Romanticism.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

ヨーロッパ中世の宮廷文学の代表的な主題，アーサー王と円卓の騎士を扱う物語。原義は「宮廷風物語」。中世を代表する言語であるフランス語で 1155年頃より制作され，1170年頃よりドイツ語訳，13世紀なかばに英訳などヨーロッパの各国語 (中世ヘブライチェッコ語訳もある) に翻訳され，ほぼ 13世紀末まで隆盛をみた (→ロマンス ) 。イギリスでの影響は 15世紀の T.マロリーからさらにのちまで及ぶ (英訳数 23，独訳数約 40) 。
フランス文学では，叙事詩 (『ローランの歌』 Chanson de Rolandなど) のあとを受けて，第一回十字軍遠征 (1096～99) 後の東方への関心や生活状況の変化と相まって，東方 (ギリシア，ローマ) 主題の物語 (ロマン，英語のロマンス) が最初に現れる。 12世紀中頃より新しい主題に興味が移り，ヨーロッパの西端に追われたケルト民族の間に口承で伝わってきた神話，伝説，民話が，最初にフランス語でロマン化される (ロマンとは，ラテン語に対して俗語の意味もあった) 。騎士道物語の作者は聖職者で，実際には識字率ゼロに近い騎士階級 (下層貴族) におもに広まる。彼らは，同時に宮廷生活者であったのでサークルで朗読を聴く (黙読は例外的で通常は聖職者の行為であった) のが騎士道物語の一般的な享受形態であった。宮廷が自己鍛練の道場として機能した時代にあっては，騎士は武芸を磨くと同時に，主君の妃への洗練された奉仕が求められた。騎士道物語のテーマもまず「精神的な不倫」と騎士道の相乗関係に集中する (→宮廷風恋愛 ) 。
騎士道物語はモンマスのジェフリー等のラテン語記述よりも，「ブルターニュの素材」に発想をえた 12世紀の大作家クレチアン・ド・トロアの作品『エレックとエニード』 Érec et Énide，『クリジェス』 Cligés，『ランスロ』 Lancelot ou le Chevalier de la Charette，『イヴェン』 Yvain ou Chevalier au Lion，『ペルスヴァル (聖杯物語) 』 Percevalにより，その流れを規定されたことになる。登場人物はこの5作品に共通してアーサー王を中心に円卓の騎士が現れる。『エレックとエニード』は愛と冒険の相克を，『クリジェス』は『トリスタンとイズー』のアンチテーゼを，『ランスロ』は「宮廷風恋愛」と呼ばれる主君 (アーサー) の奥方 (グニエーブル) とランスロとの不倫を，『イヴェン』では異なる角度から『エレックとエニード』と同様のテーマを，さらに『ペルスヴァル』では聖杯城訪問，聖杯探究を扱っている。 13世紀，クレチアンの5作 (韻文) が書かれ，特に『ランスロ＝聖杯』，『トリスタンとイズー』は後世への影響が大きい。騎士道物語は，単に文学上の事件にとどまらず，スポーツやスペクタクル，命名などにまで及ぶ文化風習全領域に騎士＝貴族文化を捺印することになる。 16世紀初め，セルバンテスが幻想と放浪のはてに病に伏すドン・キホーテをして「余を迷わせた騎士道物語を焼却せよ」と言わしめ否定するまで，騎士階級の支柱であった。その後，騎士階級の解体とともに消えうせたこの「中世の夢」はロマン主義の台頭によりワグナーの歌劇という形で再生することになる。

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