The OF Roman de Thèbes: The Ancients vs. the Moderns

As the first vernacular adaptation of Statius’ story of the war between the sons of Oedipus, the OF Roman de Thèbes has attracted scholarly attention for what it has to say about the effects of civil war. Looking to the twelfth-century Norman political scene from which the poem emerged, scholars have...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Medieval Tradition of Thebes pp. 39 - 80
Main Author Battles, Dominique
Format Book Chapter
LanguageEnglish
Published Routledge 2004
Subjects
Ne Fu
Trojan War
Young Man
Theban War
Chronicle Tradition
Henry Ii Plantagenet
Roman De Troie
Chronicle Accounts
Gesta Francorum
Medieval Crusaders
Theban Legend
Translatio Imperii
Latin Source
Crusade Chronicle
Manuscript Witnesses
Famine Episode
Chanson De
Chanson De Geste
King Adrastus
Ancient Pagan
Ancient Trojans
Roman De
Fet Il
Romans Antiques
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Summary:As the first vernacular adaptation of Statius’ story of the war between the sons of Oedipus, the OF Roman de Thèbes has attracted scholarly attention for what it has to say about the effects of civil war. Looking to the twelfth-century Norman political scene from which the poem emerged, scholars have related the events of the poem to corresponding instances (or potential instances) of civil war in Anglo-Norman society.1The net result of these investigations is a pacifist reading of the poem which depicts the author as the voice of reconciliation amidst impending civil strife, either between Henry II Plantagenet and King Louis VII of France, or among Henry’s five sons. The poem becomes a warning against the dangers of civil war and a monument to the body of ancient art and learning threatened as a result. But in their preoccupation with civil war, these studies have overlooked an equally important model of warfare in the contemporary Norman political scene: the crusades, particularly the First Crusade, which represents not civil war, but rather the conquest of one foreign power by another.2 Not only was crusading a defining element in Norman political ascendancy, but the First Crusade, especially, formed the subject of the most prolific explosion of historical writing in the medieval West, a phenomenon centered in Henry II’s domain.3 Emerging from this same center of activity, the OF Roman de Thèbes incorporates the crusading ethos into its retelling of the Theban war. The OF poet transforms Statius’ ancient story of civil war into a medieval crusade, and draws upon contemporary chronicle accounts of the First Crusade to structure and develop the poem as a platform for war, not peace. In the process, Thebes becomes an eastern city besieged by an army of crusaders, while the army besieging Thebes includes veteran crusaders. But there is another contest of power at stake in the Thèbes, for the eastern city of Thebes also includes among its allies members of the ancient house of Troy, while its attackers include recruits from the ancient Greek army besieging Troy, a campaign which, chronologically, has not yet occurred. By overlaying the narratives of the First
DOI:10.4324/9780203502853-9