Authorial interventions in Wace's "Roman de Rou"

Ilkyung Chung Lim, Purdue University

Abstract

Authorial interventions have for some time been an area of interest among medieval scholars since they provide a means to understand the theme, structure, sources, and narrative techniques of medieval texts. This dissertation, in its turn, investigates several types of authorial interventions in the twelfth-century vernacular history, Le Roman de Rou by Wace. Chapter One studies the importance of authorial interventions for establishing the correct order, the date, and the authorship of Le Roman de Rou, as well as for understanding Wace's Norman sympathies within Le Roman de Rou. Chapter Two investigates truth claims, selecting those which are relevant to his Norman patriotism. The study shows that the truth claim is often an indicator of Wace's political bias rather than of truth. Chapter Three examines various types of authorial interventions: the ignorance claim ("je ne sai"), direct address to audience ("veissiez," "oissiez," "oez"), invocations of God, abridgement formulae, and vague references to sources. All these interventions, deriving from oral tradition, allow Wace to give authenticity to the narrative, add interest to the story, and, especially, reinforce Wace's Norman loyalties, which do not always mesh with his patron's need for a history of his ancestors. In Wace's Le Roman de Rou, authorial interventions are devices by which Wace demonstrates his narrative skills and manipulates his audience to a certain point of view: Norman patriotism.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Beer, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Literature|Middle Ages|Middle Ages

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