Madness in Yvain" Re-reconsidered ": a Comparative Study of Yvain Ou Le Chevalier Au Lion" by Chr¿tien De Troyes and Its Medieval Translations"

This work focuses on the madness scene from the romance Yvain ou le Chevalier au Lion by Chr¿tien de Troyes and its translations into Middle High German, Old Norse, Old Swedish and Middle English. It argues that while basic differences between the wild man and the civilized man, such as body position, nutrition and clothes remain the same regardless of region, the passing of time and translator, the elements of material culture and the decisive values of noble society such as love, loyalty, various levels of honor are subject more diverse. Both the parts of the romance that the translators changed and the parts they preserved are read as clues about the audience and its values at a given time and place. The author hopes that by highlighting the differences between the descriptions of the madman, the environment he lives in and the values he appears to represent, this work offers a substantive approach to understanding medieval society.