This paper is concerned with the transformation in the Middle English Partonope of Blois of French place-names that appear in its source, Partonopeus de Blois. Six of the twenty-two French toponyms in the version of Partonopeus drawn upon by Partonope appear at least once in the English text in a different form. At first sight these divergences seem either to be insignificant substitutions or else to arise from common scribal errors. Closer consideration suggests, however, that they are in at least some cases intentional. The principal effect of these alterations, which has escaped the attention of previous scholars, is to shift the location of the Somegur episode from the Vexin to Ponthieu. Given the probable dating of Partonope to the second quarter of the fifteenth century, this relocation may have been designed to avoid a transfer to the Lancastrians of the implicit criticism in Partonopeus of Henry II's possession of Normandy.

This paper offers an introduction to the anonymous Catalan Historia de I'Esforgat Cavalier Partinobles; the author discusses some of the principal differences between the Historia and the Old French Partonopeus de Blois. She notes that the opening episodes of the Catalan text are marked by a strong element of fantasy and provide an alternative version of the family history of Melior and her sister; also that in Partonopeus the character of Gaudin is already a Christian when he first appears, but that in the Historia his conversion forms part of the main story. These and other changes, including the introduction of a Moorish sorceress and a mysterious sword which may be wielded only by a Christian, are related to the historical context of Christian / Muslim conflict in northern Spain against which the text was composed. The author also considers questions of cultural transmission, concluding that the Catalan adaptation is not simply a re-telling of the Partonopeus story, but also serves as a means of preserving an endangered language,

This paper provides a summary of the fourteenth-century Italian cantare Bel Gherardino, and examines the similarities and differences between it and the Old French Partonopeus de Blois. In many of the passages where Bel Gherardino differs from Partonopeus — notably in the characterisation of the heroine, in a simplification of the passage concerning the hero's return home, and in the location of the rescue of the hero by the heroine's sister — the Partonopeus version appears to be the result of a clearly identifiable intervention on the part of an author. It may be concluded that Bel Gherardino does not derive from the text we now know as Partonopeus de Blois, but rather from an earlier story, which may be termed Ur-Gherardino. The existence of an Ur-Gherardino poem would also help to shed light on the problematic relationship between Partonopeus, Ipomedon and Lanzelet.

This paper is a comparative study of the continuation of both the Middle Dutch Pardionopeus van Bloys and the Old French Partonopeus de Blois. The author argues that, contrary to the opinions of some previous scholars, Parthonopeus van Bloys is not an unquestioning translation of the French text; rather it represents a subtle reworking of the continuation. The Dutch tale also contains a unique episode which has little in common with the French tradition, which appears to be an original composition rather than a translation of a lost Old French version. The author observes that the Middle Dutch adaptation differentiates more clearly between Christians and Muslims than the Old French version, and notes the narrator's use of humour and irony, particularly in the portrayal of the sultan. She concludes that the writer of Parthonopeus van Bloys was no simple translator, but rather a critical adaptor who analysed his original carefully and then produced a modified text which was popular among the medieval Dutch-speaking public

This paper explores the relationship between Partonopeus de Blois and other contemporary Old French texts. Among the numerous reworkings of literary material recognisable within the narrative, the author focuses on how the narrator of the Old French text rewrites elements from the romances of antiquity, particularly material related to Thebes and to the story of Troy. He argues that the skillful integration of these elements and the inherent intertextuality of the structure of the romance informs our reception of the text, and contributes to a complex reading of what is a superbly-architectured piece of work. He goes on to argue that it is only by understanding the subtle nuances of the literary interplay within Partonopeus de Blois that we will be able to further our knowledge of the place held by this particular romance in the pantheon of medieval literature.

Forgotten in France for many centuries, the romance of Partonopeus de Blois was resurrected in the eighteenth century and enjoyed a certain notoriety which culminated in Massenet's opera Esclarmonde, a nineteenth-century adaptation of the tale by the librettist Alfred Blau. This paper reveals the story of the rediscovery and the dissemination of Partonopeus de Blois through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and explores the motivations of the early philologists for choosing this romance. The author then focuses on the sources of the opera Esclarmonde and on the possible inspirations and influences affecting its creators

This paper focuses on the prologue of the Old French Partonopeus de Blois. The author analyses the narrator's style of writing and argues that he puts the receivers at the very centre of the experience, relying on them to analyse the material with his subtle help. The author argues that it is therefore not the intrinsic nature — good or bad — of the story which is important, but what the receivers may gain from it. Via a series of reworkings, the creator of Partonopeus orients the reception of the story and establishes his narrative style by an innovative use of literary tradition.