Silence: A Thirteenth-Century French Romance

by Heldris de Cornualles, Sarah Roche-Mahdi (Editor)

This bilingual edition, a parallel text in Old French and English, is based on a reexamination of the Old French manuscript, and makes Silence available to specialists and students in various fields of literature and women's studies.
     The Roman de Silence, an Arthurian romance of the thirteenth century, tells of a girl raised as a boy, equally accomplished as a minstrel and knight, whose final task, the capture of Merlin, leads to her unmasking.

Genres: Classics, Poetry, Medieval, Fiction, School, France, Arthurian

343 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1250

About the author

AKA

Cornuälle, Heldris de
Heldris de Cornouailles
Heldris de Cornuaille
Heldris de Cornuälle
Heldris de Cornvalle
Heldris di Cornovaglia
Heldris of Cornwall

Reviews

[Elle (ellexamines on TT & Substack) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Le Roman de Silence, a late-1200s medieval romance in French, follows Silence, AFAB but raised as a boy, as she fights through a multitude of obstacles in order to find a true self. There's a lot going on here, including some truly insane dynamics of consent—Silence is falsely accused of rape by Queen Eufeme, when in reality she essentially assaults Silence—and dialogue between personified love, nature, nurture, and most interestingly shame.

The question begged by medieval romance is once the king, either good or bad, dies, who will inherit the kingdom. This question of inheritance generally becomes attached to morality; who "deserves" to inherit the kingdom? The trans body puts the issues on the table, but these issues tend to be abruptly resolved.

Yet though I was originally tempted to call this text the Yde and Olive bad ending, I think its reality is far more complex. Though it features an AFAB character performing as a man, its lead character is propelled to select her nature as a woman over her nature as a man, after being raised as a man and taught to be a man. I think it's reasonable to read this text not simply as a transmasculine narrative, but as a transfeminine narrative. It is this element that compels and fascinates.

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[Elijah McLellan · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I found out that there was a thirteenth-century French Arthurian romance about a girl raised in the court as a man, I knew I would have to read it. Today, that mission has been accomplished. I found it a fascinating story, and I want to reflect deeper on what it can tell us about the medieval views of gender and gender roles. I was not a fan of the translation by Sarah Roche-Mahdi; it was far too prone to modernizing the wording, not to mention the numerous typos throughout the book. Obviously, a translator has to decide what exactly their goal is: an exact word-for-word translation, a looser translation that seeks to present the meaning as closely as possible to the original while remaining understandable to the modern reader, or a much more open translation; I suppose I would simply have preferred a translation that was slightly more faithful to the original text, especially as this is such a niche book, it's not as if there are going to be too many non-scholars looking to read this. A silly example of the stylistic choice was at one point toward the end of the book, when the Old French said something to the effect of, "Sire, it is about this affair that I am laughing," and the translator decided to write "Sire, I think this is really funny." So, it was an interesting story but not such an extraordinary translation.

[Mir · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a surprisingly modern twist, nurture overcomes nature in this thirteenth-century tale of a noble girl who is raised as a man and becomes an acclaimed knight.

Silence is her parents' only child; rather than be without an heir they decide to disguise the baby as a male and raise her as they would a son. Her martial accomplishments win her to the admiration of all, including, to her misfortune, the lustful queen. When Silence perforce rebuffs the queen, the vengeful woman accuses her of attempted rape. Rather than reveal her gender, she accepts the king's verdict and sets out on a dangerous quest.

[Hulda Kristín Hauksdóttir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frábær og ógeðslega fyndin, kom svo á óvart.

[La Tammina]

Peccato per la curatela del testo, per nulla filologica. Il saggio che lo accompagna, purtroppo, non tratta della contestualizzazione storica e letteraria del Romanzo, nonostante sia la prima traduzione italiana, si colloca invece nell'iperuranio dei gender studies applicandoli al testo medievale come se fosse stato scritto l'altro ieri.

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

"But when the time comes to ask for something, do you know what you will find? Very bad cheer and a sour face, that's what you'll always get from them. You greedy, nasty, pretty people, this world is but a transitory place: you have so robbed it of all pleasure that there is no play or laughter any more."

"Wealth only makes a man mean-spirited and makes him toil without profit. All he does is soil himself."

"and goshawk more than molted falcon, and falcon more that stagnant water, and bittern more than magpie..."

"For I feel a tremendous urge to begin to tell my story without a lot of fuss and bother."

"So many feet and haunches sliced"

"They took the Norwegian king's daughter and many black horses as well, and bears and fowlers and lions, too. I don't know what else to tell you."

"she makes him trot till he is dead."

"Now king Evan was really worried. The dragon killed thirty of his men."

"'Alas!' he said. 'Is that what comes of love? Such dreadful pain and bitterness?'"

"She seeks occasion to dishonor herself."

"But lovers who don't see each other or arrange to meet, except from year to year, never have enough of that sweet labor of being close and observing each other."

"You've really got me into a mess, traitorous heart!"

"I'm obviously completely out of control. Heart, I'm going to reign you in tightly."

"A wicked man burns more and grinds his teeth."

"They are so carried away by this that they cannot prevent themselves from putting their mouths together."

"A person deeply in love is filled with doubt and cannot keep things straight."

"They are both prey and youth and folly"

"Truth is shaved so close it's not worth a strawberry"

"Honor isn't worth a piece of string."

"but let the pregnancy progress safely, and let the child have proper limbs, and let Nature have neglected nothing when she molded this fruit into human shape."

"ill-used in the one who treats the ill."

"the other little heap."

"riff-raff from the coarse"

"Nature's hand is so steady. She attaches the hear to the head: you won't have to look for the part, whether you comb it or braid it, for Nature will set it perfectly straight."

"With uncertainty, hope was mingled, and with hope, uncertainty."

"...and she came holding the infant with its head dangling from the crook of her arm, drooping as if the child were dying, for the lady was letting it wobble on purpose, which was very clever of her indeed. She was quick to learn deception."

"who lay mouldering"

"He lived in a forest near the sea."

"And his heart of coarse clay holds sway over him and soils his fine apparel"

"A little tumbler-full of gall would harm a measure of honey more than a measure of honey could improve a quart of gall, if you poured it in."

"Don't worry the least little bit"

"I have a mouth too hard for kisses and arms too rough for embraces."

"And the human heart is a creature that has a strange and peculiar nature: it thinks a great deal, turns the deep thoughts it harbors over and over again, far too often and causes itself a great deal of grief."

"The winter was cruel:he was lovely and noble"

"Nightfall surprised them in a stretch of open country."

"They shouted from below, "Who's in there?' The answer came, 'The people inside!'"

"If you don't know a single way to entertain your companions, they won't want to spend their time with you."

"They wrenched the rings from off their fingers with the wringing they did."

"They kept of fainting and being revived."

"He was the mirror of the world."

"Our misfortune doesn't come drop by drop, it falls upon us all at once."

"no-good, no-talent nobody."

"pity seemed hard to them and mercy bitter and sour."

"Like an inferior piece of cloth powered with chalk, that looks good but isn't."

"When a woman is dominated by anger, she is completely out of control."

"(But he will enter it again, at terrible cost to himself, even though he swore that he wouldn't go there again for a whole month, not even for a basketful of money.)"

"Her heart was on fire; she was aflame."

"The king's heart was so heavy, he couldn't say a word without rolling his eyeballs."

"The more you stir it up, the more it stinks."

"and when he saw what it contained -- that it condemned the youth to death -- he was so stricken with grief he nearly died."

"He was so angered by what he had heard that he could scarcely utter a word."

"It would be like honey hiding two sharp thorns."

"You have invested too much in the past to lose your honor in such a way."

"He was pained to think that the king of France could think him enough of an imbecile as to even imagine anything that crazy."

"And do you know what I really think? One should behave properly every day. Proper behavior is the sign of a good life and of moral refinement."

"This kind of love is very bitter; this love is bitterness itself."

"The nose-piece held a deep red ruby."

"Fearlessly daring, eager to attack, driven by the urge to close and fight, they are out of control, it seems to me."

"The countryside was very beautiful. The armies closed upon each other."

"He dealt the king a blow that was no joke."

"He didn't want to stop fighting: he kept on slicing off enemy legs and feet and fists."

"She changed color a thousand times in one day."

"evil, rotten advice."

"It wasn't the man who hammered the nail home: the priest helped him do it, may God punish him."

"Seated in the carved and gilded hall, Merlin, who sees and knows everything, is preparing a sauce so spicy that it will give several people indigestion before nightfall."

"That's how it goes: he who plots to harm others seeks his own undoing."

[Nicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silence is the story of a woman raised as a man, who becomes a minstrel and a knight, highly accomplished at everything he does. It plays out a conflict between Nature and Nurture. Though Nature seems to win at the end, it's ambiguous: she only does so through Merlin revealing Silence's identity. It's somewhat unsurprising that at that point in the poem, Silence loses all agency and the story grinds to a halt.

As a story, it's a fun one -- it's an expansion of the kind of story told in part of the Vulgate Cycle, the story of Grisandole. Parts are very like it, along with a sort of Potiphar's wife situation/Life of St. Eugenia...

It's an important text in terms of the exploration of gender in the Middle Ages, and it isn't a bad read, either. The introduction is good, and the translation fairly clear. For whatever my French is worth (B at A Level in Modern French), the translation seems accurate, too.

[Bryn Hammond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous. An introspective hero in she/he identity crisis. Good fight scenes, good ethical debates; with a sidelight on the persecution of musicians, and a chatty authorial voice. Going for most fun medieval romance.

A pity I can't enjoy the rhymed Old French, but at least you can see the original lines. These short Old French lines, as she explains, are hard to translate, as deceptively simple and succinct. Translation is adequate, probably -- and she even rhymes when she can. But this poor poem needs the care and attention of a proofread.

[Emily M · Rating 4 out of 5]

This thirteenth century semi-Arthurian romance* featuring a female (or at least AFAB) knight contains some truly fascinating takes on gender for the period. Besides the titular knight, Silence, it also contains their parents’ love story, which is unusually sweet and well-balanced between the parties, even by today’s standards. All that, of course, only makes the “happy” ending more of a gut-punch! I was of course expecting that Silence would either die or go back to living as a woman, because that’s the kind of ending a medieval audience would accept. Silence doesn’t die, but…the person they ARE effectively dies, and more abruptly than was really necessary. However, one could easily adapt this as a more positive feminist and/or queer tale by tweaking the very end, and I’d quite like to see that done (indeed, I’m somewhat tempted to do it myself!).

If you want to avoid further spoilers…just stop here and go read it! But I’d say it is still worth experiencing the work itself even if you DO know what happens. For some sample quotes, an outline of events, and possible alternate endings, check out the full review: https://ajungleoftales.blogspot.com/2...

* Merlin appears in it, but Arthur does not.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like I have been looking for this story my entire life. The translation was a bit funny in places, but the story was awesome (except for the ending, maybe.)

[Hails · Rating 2 out of 5]

homophobic, transphobic, gross! but alas, it is a medieval text. feels like it would be more interesting if i could read it translated to modern french since it was written in old french - maybe ill give that a shot one day (no i wont)

[Maria]

This was one of my most enjoyable experiences with a medieval text!

[Drew Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Annoying read through and through. It’s only redeeming quality is the introspection on societal roles it brings on.

[t · Rating 4 out of 5]

genderqueer hottie with an enemy named Merlin ? sounds familiar (lol jk love u merlin)

[Nidhi Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[em · Rating 4 out of 5]

ce livre est tellement woke et moderne i was truly taken aback so many times. vive la transidentité, we’ve always existed <3

[RG · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I did not read this editionn--I read the modern French prose translation in Récits d'amour et de chevalerie but I couldn't figure out how to cite it thusly.

WOW. What an absolutely wild story, and I think my favorite medieval text I've yet to encounter (or perhaps tied with some of Marie de France's lais; ô, Bisclavret, que je t'adore). It feels like a writer's room for a K-drama put this thing together (except more European and weirdly theological). A young daughter raised with a boy's education in the woods crosses the English channel to become a minstrel and later a celebrated knight who saves the king of England from ruin along with a retinue of French knights? Allegorical embodiments of Nature and Culture showing up to duke it out over whether or not this daughter raised as a son shall be a man or a woman? A hunt for Merlin that is abruptly halted by said allegorical embodiments of Nature and Culture engaging in a hearty theological debate over which of them brought about original sin? Fascinating, too, to consider its implications for one medieval author's conceptions of gender, gender performance, and sexuality (and Heldris's tone throughout the entire work was so unbelievably entertaining). My very least favorite bit was the penultimate paragraph, mais bon. Can't always get what you want.

There were, at times, intense The Horse and His Boy vibes, which I quite adored. It is the sort of story I would have loved to have read as a young'un, but reading it as a twenty-something will have to suffice.

[sarah wertis · Rating 4 out of 5]

For class; cute in some parts and wild in others. Easy to forget it’s from the 13th century. Standout quotes include:

“Heart, why do you want me to love? Do you want me ruined altogether?” (Lines 850-1)

“Shame is an old spinster; there’s no girl on earth who, if she was kept at court as long as Shame has been, wouldn’t be grey, ugly to see and to know. But everyone wants Shame: they have Shame and Shame keeps them, to live with whom a thousand marks are nothing. It is better to die than to live so, for Shame is death for whoever gets drunk on it” (Lines 1568-74)

“She did not behave wisely, for never could she have true solace from him in any way but kissing.” (Lines 3738-9)

“For one kiss I will give you two” (Line 3760)

(Read on the floor of a sunny Diana Center hallway and while sitting on Low steps with very cold hands)

[honor · Rating 3 out of 5]

a really interesting look at medieval transness and gender! this isn’t my fav period of literature and i wasn’t really a fan of the weird uptick in misogyny right at the end but this is an easy to read medieval story, with a really interesting narration style!

[Maggie]

~read for my Medieval Literature class~

[Hailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

long but pretty interesting

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

merlin is lactose intolerant? vibes.

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

allegories for the win💪🏼

[Diego Carvajal Núñez]

Surprisingly interesting and romantic, felt myself being swooned by so many lines in this

[Caroline Nieto]

Read for class - was pleasantly surprised by this! Had a lot to say about gender, class, and power. I'm quite shocked to see these kinds of queer themes in such an old text. There were also some gorgeous lines about love that I underlined. I do need to say that there was clearly no editor for this book, as there were several spelling errors LOL.

[Sinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This makes an interesting argument against the sex/gender binary, as well as Gayle Rubin's theory that gender is merely performative. I love the interplay between Nature and Nurture.

[charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worst ending to anything ever. Heteronormativity is a disease. Fuck King Evan

[Neve · Rating 5 out of 5]

queer people have always been here

[autumn ☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The concept of a 13th century romance having a genderqueer main character... I LOVE ITTT

The ending complicates things, but honestly I can't see any other socially acceptable ending for the time.

[grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

heldris so woke