Samuel N. Rosenberg, one of the premier translators of Old French,
presents in this volume the first modern English-language version
of the thirteenth-century French romance Robert le Diable, a tale
of supernatural birth and spiritual redemption. Robert is born
after his mother, a childless noblewoman, secretly calls upon Satan
to help her conceive. His wicked behavior as a boy and, later, as a
destructive young man is so brutal that one day Robert prevails
upon his mother to reveal the secret of his birth and thus the
source of his wickedness. Upon learning the truth, he leaves his
privileged home in Normandy to seek salvation. Robert's lengthy
penance-under the aegis of the Pope and a pious hermit-begins with
his acting as a mute fool in the Roman Emperor's court and ends
with his sainthood. In between he plays the hero's role in
defeating the Turks in battle and turns down the hand of the
Emperor's daughter in marriage, choosing instead to return to the
hermit's abode. The legend of Robert le Diable was extraordinarily
influential in the seven hundred years after its creation,
generating new versions and adaptations in various languages,
ranging from sixteenth-century English adaptations by Wynken de
Worde and Thomas Lodge to Giacomo Meyerbeer's esteemed 1831 opera.
Framed by a thoughtful introduction and thorough bibliography, this
accessible translation renders the original octosyllabic rhymed
couplets of the metrical Old French romance in energetic free
verse.
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