AMADAS ET YDOINE
. The original version of this anonymous Anglo-Norman romance was written between
1190 and 1220, perhaps earlier. Considerable fragments have survived in two Anglo-
Norman manuscripts and a complete version (7,912 lines) in a Picard manuscript from
Arras (MS P; B.N. fr. 375), dated 1288. Amadas was relatively popular, especially in
England; it was alluded to in subsequent texts and its hero was cited in lists of famous
lovers.
Ydoine is the daughter of the Duke of Burgundy; Amadas, the son of the duke’s
seneschal. Ydoine sends her suitor out into the world to win martial renown, but when the
duke marries his daughter to the Count of Nevers, Amadas falls into insanity. However,
with the assistance of three sorceresses, Ydoine conserves her virginity. The countess
cures the young man of his madness, and he rescues her after she has been abducted by a
demon. Ydoine then arranges for her marriage to be annulled so she can wed her true
love.
Amadas et Ydoine is filled with fine speeches, courtly elegance and descriptions of
contemporary life. The author takes a number of themes or conventions literally—
lovesickness, love madness, death and rebirth, woman’s manipulation and deceit,
enchantments, the supernatural—and, extending them to their extreme limits, explores
what, both as fact and metaphor, they imply. Following in the tradition of the Tristan
romances and Chrétien, the Amadas poet seeks to provide ideals of courtly conduct in
order that the social code be respected and that true love flourish.
William C.Calin
[See also: ANGLO-NORMAN LITERATURE; ANTIFEMINISM; IDYLLIC
ROMANCE]
Arthur, Ross G., trans. Amadas et Ydoine. New York: Garland, 1994.
Reinhard, John R., ed. Amadas et Ydoine, roman du XIIIe siècle. Paris: Champion, 1926.
Calin, William. “Amadas et Ydoine: The Problematic World of an Idyllic Romance.”
Continuations: Essays on Medieval French Literature and Language in Honor of John
L.Grigsby, ed. Norris J.Lacy and Gloria Torrini-Roblin. Birmingham: Summa, 1989, pp. 39–49.
Reinhard, John R. The Old French Romance of Amadas et Ydoine: An Historical Study. Durham:
Duke University Press, 1927.
AMALARIUS OF METZ
(ca. 775–ca. 850). The most influential and controversial liturgist of the Carolingian age
and the major western Christian propagator of an allegorical understanding of the liturgy.
Born near Metz and educated in the school of Alcuin, Amalarius held many positions of
importance: archbishop of Trier (811–13), Charlemagne’s ambassador to Constantinople
(813), and archbishop of Lyon (835–38). It was in this last position, which he held for
only three years, that Amalarius became a controversial figure. His highly allegorical
liturgical writings, which stressed a polyvalent, many-tiered understanding of ritual, were
Medieval france: an encyclopedia 54