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BYU Studies Quarterly

BYU Studies Quarterly

Authors

Thomas H. Brown

Keywords

Partenopeus de Blois

Abstract

The anonymous Old French poem Partonopeus de Blois borrows from many sources, but its links with the myth of Cupid and Psyche (as told by Apuleius in Metamorphoses or The Golden Ass) are at once obvious. With the exception of the role reversal of the sexes of the main characters, the stories appear almost identical. However, some scholars have asserted that Apuleius's work was unknown in France until after Partonopeus was composed and instead point to Celtic and Byzantine sources. The author discounts these theories and argues for a connection between Partonopeus and Apuleius's myth through the writings of Fulgentius Planciades.

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