CHEVALIER AU BARISEL
. Also known as Le conte du barril, this pious tale from the early 13th century is
transmitted to us in three versions. In a little more than 1,000 octosyllabic couplets, the
poet tells of an evil knight who has nothing but disdain for his fellow man, who has no
interest in religion, and who has been in a state of sin for thirty years. Prodded by his men
into accompanying them to visit a saintly hermit, he finds himself telling his sins. The
hermit suggests a number of penances. The knight turns them all down as too
troublesome. He does accept an easy one—to fill up a bowl (barisel ‘keg, cask’) with
water. But the task turns out to be difficult; indeed, no water will stay in the container. At
the end of a year of effort, transformed into a haggard, poverty-stricken man, he
reappears at the hermit’s dwelling. The hermit is filled with grief at the thought that the
knight will go to Hell, and this compassion causes the knight to repent and weep. One
tear falls into the barisel and fills it up. In conclusion, the poet reminds us that God is
always ready to forgive repentant sinners. The tale is told with economy, yet with lively
dialogue and craftsmanlike presentation of the transformation of the hero.
Paul Barrette
Bates, Robert Chapman, ed. Le conte dou barril, poème du XIIIe siècle par Jouham de la Chappele
de Blois. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1932.
Lecoy, Félix, ed. Le chevalier au barisel, conte pieux du XIIIe siècle. Paris: Champion, 1967.
LeMerrer-False, Madeleine. “Contribution a une étude du ‘Chevalier au Barisel.’” Moyen âge
77(1971):263–75.
Payen, Jean-Charles. “Structure et sens du ‘Chevalier au Barisel.’” Moyen âge 77(1971):237–62.
CHEVALIER AU PAPEGAUT
. Found in a single manuscript (B.N. fr. 2154), the early 15th-century prose romance Le
Chevalier au Papegaut contains a series of adventures from a number of earlier
romances, here assigned to Arthur. Arthur leaves his kingdom in the hands of King Lot to
answer the call of a distressed damsel. Traveling incognito, his first adventure is to win a
parrot, which will be a comic presence throughout the romance. After a series of
complicated and amazing adventures on both land and sea, Arthur rescues the princess
Flordemont and returns home. This complex but humorous romance appears to have had
no influence on subsequent Arthurian literature.
Joan B.Williamson
Heuckenkamp, Fernand, ed. Le chevalier au Papegau nach der einzigen Parisen Handscrift zum
ersten Mahl herausgegeben. Halle: Niemeyer, 1896.
Vesce, Thomas E., trans. The Knight of the Parrot (Le chevalier du Papegau). New York: Garland,
1986.
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