Chivalry

The Biography of Manuel #6

by James Branch Cabell

Inasmuch as it was by your command, illustrious and exalted lady, that I have gathered together these stories to form the present little book, you should the less readily suppose I have presumed to dedicate to your Serenity this trivial offering because of my esteeming it to be not undeserving of your acceptance.

Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fiction

184 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1909

About the author

James Branch Cabell was an American author of fantasy fiction and belles lettres. Cabell was well regarded by his contemporaries, including H. L. Mencken, Edmund Wilson, and Sinclair Lewis. His works were considered escapist and fit well in the culture of the 1920s, when they were most popular. For Cabell, veracity was "the one unpardonable sin, not merely against art, but against human welfare."

Reviews

[Wreade1872 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reread:

Continuing my reread of the Biography of Manuel, now in hardcopy.

First Read: [4/5]
So this is like the 3rd or 4th of these historical short story collections. I'm not sure if the quality actually varies that much or whether its simply a matter of mood.
This one started off great but the three connected tales surrounding Richard II weren't as good but it picks up again towards the end.
Overall i'm being a bit generous, a low 4-stars but i wanted to separate it from those collections i gave 3-stars.

Its still Cabell, still beautifully written with those so often surprising bursts of humanity amidst the high medieval events.

FYI: Each chapter is prefaced by a quote from a medieval troubadour, untranslated from the original occitan. There are also other untranslated elements in occitan or latin.

While it is entirely possible to enjoy this work without knowing or by only guessing, what all this stuff means, i found it in this case more annoying than in other Cabell works.
So i found out... held HERE,
you will find an annotated version of the Gutenberg.com illustrated epub. Aswell as a pdf version of the same material, designed to be booklet printed.

In addition, in trying to translate the quotes used in Chivalry, i found it almost always necessary to track down the entire original source. And so for my own edification i created a separate file in epub and pdf which has the full/extended versions of the quotes used by Cabell, for those who might find them of interest.

[Kerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

These ten early works by James Branch Cabell concern chastely romantic historical fiction featuring the royalty and nobility of France and England in the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. The stories were originally published in Harper's Magazine from 1905 to 1909, and then gathered together as Chivalry by Harper and Brothers Publications in 1909. Chivalry, subtitled "Dizain des Reines," consists of eight short stories and two "novelettes." Each piece is accompanied by a glossy painted illustration, and these also, I think, come from their original magazine publication.

Ostensibly, Cabell is the translator and arranger of works by Nicolas de Caen, who wrote Dizain des Reines in 1470. Chivalry includes a prologue by de Caen, written to his patroness, Isabella of Portugal, and an epilogue written by de Caen to his little book itself. Off course, this is all pure Cabell. As far as I can determine, someone called Nicolas de Caen actually existed, but this person didn't write anything like Chivalry. The versifying in medieval French as a prelude to each story is no doubt down to Cabell, as well, who thereby demonstrates considerable erudition. The book operates under a remarkable disguise, pretending to be something that it is not.

The writing is urbane and complex. This is definitely Cabell's style, though without the sardonic sense of humour or the fantastic imagination of his later work. I found the scattering of medieval French and Latin to be somewhat self-indulgent. Why doesn't Cabell "translate" this, too? Nevertheless, here is some typical Cabell writing that foreshadows Beyond Life and some of the language in his later fantasies:

Yet more clearly do I perceive that this same man, like all his fellows, is a maimed god who walks the world dependent upon many wise and evil counsellors. He must measure, and to a hair's-breadth, every content of the world by means of a bloodied sponge, tucked somewhere in his skull, which is ungeared by the first cup of wine and ruined by the touch of his own finger. He must appraise all that he judges with no better instruments than two bits of colored jelly, with a bungling makeshift so maladroit that the nearest horologer's apprentice could have devised a more accurate device. In fine, he is under penalty condemned to compute eternity with false weights and to estimate infinity with a yardstick: and he very often does it. (pp. 93-94)

Cabell later edited Chivalry to include references to Manuel and republished it in 1928 as the fifth volume in the Biography of the Life of Manuel, after Domnei and before Jurgen. However, the illustrated first edition is a lovely book, and this is the version I chose to read. In addition to the painting with each of the ten stories, the frontispiece and the epilogue also have painted illustrations. Most are by Howard Pyle, Cabell's main illustrator in his early work, but two are by William Hurd Lawrence and one by Elizabeth Shippen Green.

Cabell pulls off well the joke of an invented historical pedigree, and the writing is excellent, though somewhat difficult in places. However, these factors are not enough to carry the whole book. Chivalry may appeal to fans of historical-romantic fiction depicting the Late Middle Ages, but it doesn't compare to the masterpieces of Cabell's middle career, from Jurgen in 1919 through to The Way of Ecben in 1929. On the other hand, the book is beautifully printed and a pleasure to read for this reason alone. No doubt Chivalry is essential reading, too, for Cabell completionists captivated by works such as Figures of Earth, The Silver Stallion, and Jurgen.

[The Usual · Rating 3 out of 5]

Up until now the vein of James Branch Cabell I’ve been tapping has been one of, well, not pure fantasy exactly, but of ironic fantasy: fantasy that is stylish, erudite and not necessarily entirely serious. It’s a vein that I have thoroughly enjoyed and that I hope I might explore further. Frankly, it fits my nature better than your standard high fantasy.

Chivalry does not belong in that mode: it is a set of historical romances - almost, bar the odd, rare, deadpan Cabellism, entirely serious, allegedly translated from the work of one Nicholas de Caen, with one or two quite well integrated pieces of poetry set in each one. Presumably it’s good poetry, presumably in authentic mediaeval form – I wouldn’t presume to judge on either score. Don’t expect a Jurgen or a Figures of Earth, you won’t get one.

Now that doesn’t mean it isn’t well-written, which it is for the most part, nor clever. I don’t think Cabell was capable of writing anything that wasn’t at least in some way clever, and what he’s going for here is drama in earnest. Personally, I miss his slyness, his light juggling of learned references, but that’s me. You may be more serious-minded.

Of course, if you are serious-minded there is a slight problem with Cabell’s scheme. In theory the book is a Dizain (Cabell liked the word) des Reines: specifically it looks like it was conceived as a run of ten tales featuring (starring or co-starring) a chronological sequence of queens of England running from Eleanor of Provence (Mrs Henry III) to Catherine of Valois (Mrs Henry V), dealing with themes of love, honour, duty and pride. There is, for the historically aware and anyone else nerdy enough to look this up, a slight snag with the setup in that that’s actually nine queens, not ten. It might have been interesting to read Cabell’s version of Margaret of Anjou (Mrs Henry VI); instead he inserted a different lady in the sequence.

There is a second snag, if you happen to like neat patterns (I like things neat sometimes): Anne of Austria is a mere mention in one of the stories, not a character in her own right. I don’t pretend to know why this is the case, but it irks me. And I have to say that the best of the stories give at least equal billing to the queen. They are, I think, enhanced a little if you know something of the history he’s taking liberties with.

I think I’ll call this one a moderate-to-high three.

[David Burkam · Rating 3 out of 5]

An early collection of loosely linked stories, not yet the brilliance of Cabell's later masterpieces: Figures of Earth, Jurgen, and Cream of the Jest.

[mkfs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not really a Manuel the Redeemer story - these are fanciful takes on medieval British and French history. Each of the ten tales illustrates a point of Chivalry, though often this is eclipse by the telling, Cabell being Cabell and all.