The (very literal) Middle English 15th-century translation of the Old French text survives in only one manuscript exemplar (Cambridge, U.L. The romance is densely structured by the interlace pattern which allows the narrative both to sprawl and to maintain a formal structure, but iconographic insertions are rarer and vary according to the manuscripts.
HOW TO OPEN MERLIN PROJECT ON OLD MERLIN SERIES
What kind of narrative style is chosen for the development of this love affair and what does the use of manuscript illumination tell us about its importance within this romance? The discontinuity or uneven pacing which characterises the narration of Merlin and Viviane's relationship is apparent through the series of meetings they have, but the narrative techniques give coherence to the love plot and lend drama to its conclusion. They are patterned along similar lines and contrast with the more usual succession of battle scenes and political episodes in the romance.
The story of Robert de Boron and, more precisely, the Suite Vulgate section, or Vulgate Sequel 3, which treats events leading to the final imprisonment or "enserrement" of Merlin, is punctuated by these rendez-vous. 2 The text originates in 13th-century Old French manuscripts and was translated into the Middle English Prose Merlin in the 15th century. In the Estoire de Merlin 1, Viviane and Merlin's love affair is illustrated and narrated intermittently through the use of manuscript illumination and the technique of interlace, with formulas indicating a change in the characters and/or in the spatiotemporal situation, allowing the narrative to switch from one episode to another and to return to previous sections. "Even in laughter the heart may ache, and joy may end in grief"
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