From Heldris de Cornwall’s Le Roman de Silence to Gian Francesco Straparola’s Le Piacevoli Notti. New Insights into a Significant Reception Process Across Centuries, Languages, and Genres

Authors

Albrecht Classen, University of Arizona

Publication Date

2023

Keywords

reception process, Anglo-Norman literature

Abstract

Although we assume that the thirteenth-century Anglo-Norman romance Roman de Silence by Heldris de Cornwall experienced no reception at all apart from one manuscript containing the text, there is a considerable likelihood that the sixteenth-century Venetian author Gian Francesco Straparola somehow gained access to the medieval text and adapted it for one of the stories contained in his famous collection, Le Piacevoli Notti (1550 and 1553). Even though we cannot yet determine the exact process of reception, the strong similarities between both works go far beyond global archetypal themes. Straparola’s work hence demonstrates that Heldris’s work was known even long after the thirteenth century, or was simply rediscovered in the sixteenth century and put to good use in literary terms.

Recommended Citation

Classen, Albrecht (2023) "From Heldris de Cornwall’s Le Roman de Silence to Gian Francesco Straparola’s Le Piacevoli Notti. New Insights into a Significant Reception Process Across Centuries, Languages, and Genres," Quidditas: Vol. 44, Article 7.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/rmmra/vol44/iss1/7