Aucassin and Nicolette

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For the 18th century French 'comédie mise en musique', see Aucassin et Nicolette (opera).

Aucassin and Nicolette, 19th century oil-on-canvas by Marianne Stokes

Aucassin et Nicolette is a medieval French chante-fable, or combination of prose and verse (literally, a "sung story"), similar to a prosimetrum. It is the only known chantefable from what was once a very popular literary tradition, and it is from this work the term chantefable was coined in its concluding lines: “No cantefable prent fin” ("Our chantefable is drawing to a close"). Stylistically, the chantefable combines elements of the chanson de geste (e.g., The Song of Roland), lyric poems, and courtly novels—literary forms already well-established by the twelfth century. The work probably dates from the early 13th century, and is known from only one surviving manuscript dating from the later part of the century. The work's authorship is unknown. It is generally considered a roman d'adventure, or a romantic work of action and adventure.

[edit] Plot summary

The major characters are Garin, Count of Beaucaire, his son Aucassin, and Nicolette, a Saracen slave girl. Aucassin and Nicolette desperately want to marry, but Garin forbids it and imprisons the lovers, though they both eventually escape. After many romantic and occasionally farcical adventures, the young lovers are wed. Nicolette is revealed to be a Saracen princess of the noblest ancestry.

Many incidents in the story are clearly meant to be humorous, such as an encounter with a pregnant king, though there are occasional serious passages. At one point Aucassin participates in a ridiculous "war" in Torelore, which is fought with rotten crabapples, cheese, eggs, and mushrooms. On the other hand, Nicolette frequently faces real danger in the search for her lover. Perhaps comedy and seriousness merge most notably in Aucassin's speech that he would prefer hell to heaven because hell's inmates are likely to be more entertaining.

[edit] Major themes

From the chanson de geste, the author borrows the themes of Christian knighthood and feudal warfare. From the courtly romance tradition, he draws on the widespread theme of a young Christian in love with a saracen slave girl.

Some critics have seen the story as something of a satire on such genres as the epic, the romance, and the saint's life. But often the tale seems interested only in comedy for comedy's sake, as a pleasing entertainment for those who read the story or saw it performed. Nicolette has been praised as a proto-feminist heroine for her brave escape from imprisonment and her resourcefulness in her search for Aucassin. Indeed, the text associates Aucassin with speech (in pining for his beloved) and Nicolette with action (in trekking through the forest, in tending to Aucassin's wounds, etc.).

Some have found the verse portions, which were meant to be sung, to be more skillful in construction than the prose sections, which were recited. The story was included in Mortimer Adler's Gateway to the Great Books collection, which called it one of the freshest and most delightful "springtime flowers of literature."