The Marvels of Rigomer: Tales of the Knights of King Arthur

by Thomas E. Vesce

This is a revised update of my original 1988 copyrighted translation of Les mervelles de Rigomer (the companion edition of the Medieval French text also available). It includes public domain art and book design not found in the first edition. The main story of Lancelot and Gawain is supplemented with adventures performed by many other knights, some only found in this romance which is from the unique manuscript in the Mus

Genres: Arthurian

262 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1988

Reviews

[Peter]

The Marvels of Rigomer is one of those Arthurian oddities, somewhat outside the mainstream of the legend. The action is focused in Ireland, and especially on the Castle of Rigomer, which seems to lie somewhere in the west, maybe around West Cork or Galway. First Lancelot, then Gawain and finally most of Arthur's court travel to Ireland to seek adventure. (There's an amusing scene of them leaning out of the windows while waiting for news of an adventure before they can eat, as is the usual custom.)

The action consists of a long series of adventures, starring various knights in turn. One of the charms of the romance is that, as well as Lancelot and Gawain, others such as Engrevain (Agravain) and Waheries (Gaheris) have their own stories. (Lot's sons figure importantly.) These are often bizarre and original to start with, but almost invariably result in a violent resolution. The violence here is not sanitised at all, frequently resulting in the loss of limbs.

It takes a very long time to reach Rigomer, and the constant refrain that no-one should go there assumes an almost Pythonesque quality after a while. Rigomer, maybe unsurprisingly, turns out to be an Arthurian Death Castle, ruled over by the Lady Dionise (a feminine Dionysus?) which no visitor can escape, though at the same time apparently full of dancing. The name maybe connects it to Caer Rigor in Preiddeu Annwn.

One gets the impression that the author had a fund of bits of Arthurian (and maybe Irish) stories that he put together in a rather haphazard way. Lancelot encounters three knights who are seriously injured and can only be healed by the best knight in the world, recalling the story of Sir Urry in Malory, but he does nothing about them (and nor does anyone else). There are five or six Yvains, most of whom play little part in the action. The Arthur of the French: The Arthurian Legend in Medieval French and Occitan Literature calls the plot "weak but coherent", which is fair, and maybe a bit generous.

There is a doctoral paper suggesting that the author knew about the geography of Norman Ireland, and there are clear hints of this such as Dessemoume (Desmond) and Corque, and also took motifs from Gaelic sources, but unfortunately only the abstract is available.

It's also difficult to know how to read this romance. Almost certainly, not at face value. There are episodes that seem to be intended humorously but even more often it reads like satire. The behaviour of Arthur's knights, and the king himself, strays far from chivalric ideals, or even more pointedly, exaggerates romance conventions almost to the point of absurdity. Lancelot, in particular, seems always to be spoiling for a fight, even when it is unnecessary or ill-advised. To a modern reader, this almost feels like a sly critique of Norman colonialism, and the romance form that reflects the medieval order.

The Marvels of Rigomer is hardly Parzival or Gawain and the Green Knight and as it's quite long, it's probably for the Arthurian enthusiast, but it does have points of interest and even charm.