Medieval Romance
The Middle English (Arthurian) Breton Lai of Sir Cleges
15th century, Middle English: National Library of Scotland, Bodleian Library Oxford.
'This can’t be dear Sir Cleges, he died a long time ago.’
‘It is a very simple story,’ said Miranda. ‘Found in two manuscripts written in the early 1400s. It’s often included with the Middle English Breton lays.’
‘But it's Arthurian,’ said Quintin.
‘Medieval Breton lays can be Arthurian,’ she replied. ‘Quite a few of them are set in the world of King Arthur. Marie de France wrote a short tale in the twelfth century called Chevrefoil recounting an episode in the story of Tristan and Isolde, showing that this was all part of the tradition. And in her tale of the knight Lanval the climax of her story takes place in King Arthur's court before Lanval is taken off to the Isle of Avalon. Even the werewolf Biclarel seeks refuge with King Arthur in a non-Marian Medieval Breton lai. And in this fifteenth century English tale, Sir Cleges is a splendid knight at the court of King Uther Pendragon, King Arthur’s father. As Uther Pendragon says near the end of this tale: I had hym lever than knyghtes thre
- I would rather have had him with me than three other knights, he was so good in battle.
‘Sir Cleges fell on hard times though, and after many years of entertaining generously and giving sumptuous Yule banquets he faced a Christmas in destitution at his last-remaining small manor near Cardiff. Then on Christmas Day he discovered some ripe cherries miraculously growing on a tree in his orchard. He tried some of them, found that they were lovely to eat, and brought a bushel-load to the king who was, very conveniently, staying at Cardiff Castle nearby. But in order to see the king at all he has to promise away a third of the reward he might receive for bringing these cherries to the king, promise this third to each of the three people he has to get past to get to the throne! So when the king asks Sir Cleges what he would like in return for these cherries, he asks for twelve beatings with a stick! - which he then shares between the porter, the usher and the steward! The king, however, seems to have no idea who he is.’
‘Despite being once his best knight?’
‘Despite once being his best knight. He has to ask his harpist who the man is and on being told he replies: This is not he in dede, it is long gon that he was dede, that I lovyd paramour
- this can’t be dear Sir Cleges, he died a long time ago!’
‘Spooky,’ said Quintin.
‘But defocus the story a little,’ replied Miranda. ‘A knight riding high on the Wheel of Fortune then plunges to its lowest point where eating some magic fruit, apples in some stories, cherries in this one, returns him back into the world and to the high point of the wheel once again. The story is an allegory for a grander cycle – life, then death, the eating of the fruit of immortality, and back to life again. A man who was thought to be dead is now very much alive, because of the fruit. The king restores to him all of his possessions, along with Cardiff Castle, and makes him his steward.’
