Floire and Blancheflor and the European Romance

This comparative study examines a medieval love story, Floire and Blancheflor, and shows how writers from Spain, France, Italy, England and Scandinavia reworked the story from the twelfth to the sixteenth century to develop and emphasize social, political, religious and artistic goals, while maintaining its entertaining qualities. It shows the importance of a little-known medieval Spanish version to the development of the story throughout Europe, and especially as a precursor to Boccaccio’s Il Filocolo, and examines important issues of the development of prose fiction in medieval and Renaissance Europe. This study is unique for its breadth of coverage of one story and for its inclusion of Spain as a significant participant in the development of medieval narrative.

• Comprehensive approach to medieval literature and medieval literary theory • Comparative study of relevance to students of English and European literatures • Medieval literary genres are the subject of much current interest

Preface; Introduction; Part I. Floire and Blancheflor as Peregrinus: 1. Texts and origins; Part II. The Road to Conversion: 2. Cunning and ingenuity or divine intervention?; 3. Signs, wonders and the telling of the tale; 4. Routes of conversion: time and space; 5. Generic crossroads; Epilogue: poetics of communication; Appendices; Bibliography; Index.

‘[Grieve’s] summary of the origin and diffusion of Floire and Blancheflor throughout Europe, her account of the different families of texts and their witnesses are faultlessly presented, and they constitute, together with the bibliographic information, a useful guide to the textual history of Floire and Blancheflor in medieval Europe. This is a study of the greatest importance … an impressive survey of all European versions of Floire and Blancheflor marked throughout by fine critical acumen … a true landmark in Floire and Blancheflor scholarship.’ Bryn Mawr Classical Review

‘… a welcome addition to Floire and Blancheflor scholarship.’ Medium Aevum