Hathaway, E. J.; Ricketts, P. T.; Robson, C. A.; Wilshere, A. D., eds., Fouke le Fitz Waryn (Anglo-Norman Text Society 26-28. Oxford) Read this source online
Text name(s): Fouke le Fitz Waryn
Number of pages of primary source text: 58
Author(s):
Dates: 1143 - 1203
Archival Reference: London, British Library, MS Royal 12. C. xii
Original Language(s):
- Anglo-Norman
Translation:
- Original language included.
Translation Comments:
Geopolitical Region(s):
- British Isles
- England
- Wales
County/Region: Shropshire
Record Types:
- Literature - Prose
- Genealogy
Subject Headings:
- Nobility / Gentry
- Family / Children
- War - Military History
- Historiography
- Literature - Epics, Romance
- War - Chivalry
- Law - Crime
- Women / Gender
Apparatus:
- Index
- Glossary
- Introduction
Comments:
Fouke le Fitz Waryn tells the story of the noble Norman Waryn family who settled in Shropshire on the Welsh Marches, focusing on their conflict with and outlawry under King John, and their struggle to keep their position against the Lacy family and the Welsh lords of Powys, over the second half of the twelfth century. The work was probably based on an earlier Anglo-Norman romance in verse, now lost, from which it was likely adapted in the mid-fourteenth century. It contains a mixture of verifiable historical fact with elements of romance. This is the first published edition of the work and does not include a translation, but has notes to the text (42 pp.), a selective but extensive glossary of Anglo-Norman (20 pp.), and an index of proper names (9 pp.).
Introduction Summary:
The extensive and helpful introduction (67 pp.) situates the work in its historical background, gives an overview of the action, and includes critical discussion of issues raised by the text such as its combination of historical matter and romance, and its portrayal of outlawry. Much of the introduction is, however, devoted to morphology and linguistic concerns.
Cataloger: EGK
