Arthurian Romances (90 page)

After many additional adventures, including lifting the siege of Montesclere
(The Story of the Grail
,
p. 439
), all designed to show that Perceval is the worthiest knight in the world, he arrives at long last at the Grail Castle where he finally mends the notch in the sword and is to have the secrets of the grail revealed to him. Gerbert's presumed explanation is replaced, in both manuscripts that contain his poem, by the explanation in Manessier's continuation.

ARMED
, in the Middle Ages, meant wearing armour and had no reference to bearing arms. A man without armour was said to be ‘unarmed', though he might be carrying any number of weapons.

BAILEY
(OF
baile
), could refer either to the walls surrounding a castle's yard, or (more usual in Chrétien) to the yard itself. In the latter case, it separated the outer defensive walls from the
donjon
(‘tower keep') within, and was the scene of constant activity.

BARBICAN
(OF
barbacane
), a small, round blockhouse outwork to protect the main gate of the castle. It was generally approached by a wooden drawbridge that could be raised for further protection. A second bridge typically led from the barbican to the main gate.

BEZANT
(OF
besant
), a valuable Byzantine gold coin, circulated in Europe during the Middle Ages.

BOSS
(OF
bocle
), a circular protuberance or swelling in the centre of the exterior of the shield, covering the hand grip and designed to turn aside a direct blow.

BRATTICE
(OF
bretesche
), also called ‘hoarding', was properly a crenellated wooden defensive gallery erected in time of attack to cover ground at the foot of the walls and towers, but in Chrétien it seems rather to refer to the outermost fortifications of a town, without any particular implication that the place is or has been under attack.

BYRNIE
(OF
broigne
) see
HAUBERK
.

CANONICAL HOURS
– matins, prime, tierce, sext, nones, vespers, and complin(e) – were laid out by the Rule of St Benedict. In Chrétien's romances we find only
matines, prime, tierce, none, vespre(s
), and
conplie
, corresponding roughly to sunrise, 9.00 a.m., 3.00 p.m., sunset and 9.00 p.m. The sixth hour
(sext
) is referred to as
midi
(‘midday') by Chrétien.

CANTLE
(OF
arçon
), the raised rear portion of a saddle.

CAPE
(OF
chape, cape
), see
MANTLE
.

CARBUNCLE
(OF
escarboucle
), an imaginary stone that was reputed to cast light that could rival the sun's. Often described as bright red and compared to the garnet or ruby.

CARNELIAN
(OF
sardine
), a clear red variety of chalcedony; not to be confused with sardonyx (OF
sardoine
).

CASTLE
(OF
chastel
) could have the same meaning it does today, but often included everything within the outer walls of the city: town, streets, market, church. The town proper is referred to as the
bore
, while the most general word to include the entire agglomeration is
vile
. Stone castles were being constructed in France as early as the late tenth century, but wooden castles of the motte-and-bailey type remained more numerous well into the twelfth century.

CHRYSOLITE
, a transparent green gem, also called ‘olivene' because of its colour.

COIF
(OF
coife
) was either a heavy woollen skullcap or a mail hood worn under the helmet.

COMPLIN
(
E
) (OF
conplie
), see
CANONICAL HOURS
.

CONSTABLE
(OF
conestable
) was an officer of the court, originally in charge of the horses; in wartime he commanded the cavalry.

DENIER
, a small silver coin of varying value, current in France and in western Europe generally from the eighth century until the French Revolution. It was generally reckoned the twelfth part of a shilling
(sou
); and sometimes, like the former British penny, 1/240 of a pound
(livre
). In Chrétien's day it could purchase about two loaves of bread.

ELL
(OF
aune
), a unit of linear measure, equivalent to about four feet.

ENCEINTES
(OF
lices
), the walls encircling a fortified castle.

FALDSTOOL
(OF
faldestuel
), a portable, folding, backless chair, often covered by a cushion, and used for persons of distinction.

FEWTER
(OF
fautre
), a support to hold the butt end of the lance when lowered for charging, lined with felt and attached to the saddle.

GREAVES
(OF
chauces
), mail leggings worn to protect the leg from knee to ankle.

HAUBERK
(OF
hauberc
), the basic piece of twelfth-century armour, was a longsleeved skirt of mail extending to the knees. It was split from the waist down to facilitate riding. Similar to it, but made of scale (i.e., small, generally circular plates of mail sewn to leather), was the byrnie (OF
broigne
). It was often regarded as
synonymous with the hauberk. Under either the knight generally wore a quilted tunic
(gambison
or
auqueton
) for padding. Over them he often wore his tunic
(bliaut
) or a cloak
(mantel
).

HELMET
(OF
hiautme
) in Chrétien's period was pointed and covered the upper part of the head. It was not fully enclosed, but when attached to the coif and ventail covered nearly the entire face and could successfully hide a knight's identity.

HERALD
(OF
heraut
) proclaimed tournaments, regulated knightly functions, and kept a listing of the names and blazons of the knights.

JACINTH
(OF
jagonce
), a reddish-orange variety of zircon, also called ‘hyacinth'.

LEAGUE
(OF
lieue, liue
), a measure of distance varying from about two and a half to four and a half miles, but usually reckoned to be about three miles. As a measure of time in the romances, it refers to the amount of time needed to travel that distance.

MANGONEL
(OF
mangonel
), a military engine used for hurling stones and other missiles at an enemy's position.

MANTLE
(OF
mantel
), a loose, usually sleeveless cloak made of fine materials and worn over other clothing. As opposed to the
cape
, which was a utilitarian garment worn to protect against the cold and rain, the mantle was considered an integral part of ceremonial dress. Both were generally joined at the throat by a clasp or ribbon.

MARK
, a measure of gold or silver equal to half a pound (8 oz); a gold or silver coin of that weight.

MATINS
, see
CANONICAL HOURS
.

NASAL
, a piece of metal riveted to the bottom front of early medieval helmets to protect the nose and middle of the face.

NONES
, see
CANONICAL HOURS
.

ORPHREY
(OF
orfrois
) was an elaborate embroidery with gold thread, or material so embroidered or woven.

PALFREY
(OF palefroi
), a saddle horse reserved almost exclusively for women.

PELISSE
(OF pelice, peliçon
), a long cloak or robe, usually of fur or fur-lined, worn by both sexes. It could be an outer garment, a dress, or an under-dress.

PRIME
, see
CANONICAL HOURS
.

QUINTAIN
, a dummy used for jousting practice; originally it consisted simply of a shield set up on a post, but later was mechanized with an arm designed to fell the charging horseman if he did not land his blow properly.

SAMITE
was a heavy silk fabric, often interwoven with gold or silver threads.

SCARLET
(OF
escarlate
), a fine woollen broadcloth, rivalling the better silks in price and luxury appeal. It might be red, or another colour altogether. In
The Knight with the Lion
, p. 298 for example, it appears to be the deep blue-green of the peacock's feathers.

SENESCHAL
, an official at a medieval court with responsibility for overseeing domestic arrangements, servants, feasts and ceremonies, and the administration of justice.

SHIFT
(OF
chemise
), an undergarment worn by both sexes. Since it was worn next to the skin, the material was often soft and fine. It had long sleeves and was laced at the sides. A woman's
chemise
was long, extending to the feet; a man's (which we have generally translated ‘shirt') was shorter. Though one was not considered improperly attired in only a
chemise
, a
bliaut
(‘tunic') or
mantel
was generally worn over it.

SHILLING
(OF
sou
), the twentieth part of a pound (OF
livre
). A
sou
typically comprised 12
deniers
(q.v.).

SURCOAT
(OF
sorcot
), a loose cloak-like garment, often worn over armour.

TUERCE
, See CANONICAL HOURS.

TUNIC
(OF
bliaut
), the usual court dress of the nobility, both male and female. ‘The lady's
bliaut
was an elaborate dress, of the costliest materials, with bands of embroidery at the high neck and at the wrists of the long sleeves, often lined with fur, cut in two parts as a rule, with skirt
(gironée
) very long and full, and longwaisted bodice
(le cors
), adjusted closely to the figure by means of lacings
(laz
) at the sides' (Goddard: 47–48). The man's
bliaut
was long-sleeved and knee-length, also frequently of expensive materials and fur-lined, but not so tightly fitted. Both were fastened at the neck with a brooch.

VAIR
and
MINIVER
(OF
menu
or
petit vair, gris
) were both furs, highly prized for trim on medieval garments. Their exact origin is uncertain, though they probably came from different types of squirrel.

VAVASOUR
, the vassal of an important noble, rather than of the king. Although he might serve at court, his role there was traditionally occupied by the seneschal. The vavasour generally held an outlying fief and lived in the sort of manor house that formed an important stop along the routes of itinerant knights.

VENTAIL
(OF
vantaille
), a detachable triangular or rectangular flap of mail, laced by leather thongs to the mail hood or coif to protect the lower face.

VESPERS
, see
CANONICAL HOURS
.

The numbers given in square brackets at the end of each note refer to the line(s) in the Old French text.

1
. Exotic locations were undoubtedly prized as sources of fashionable materials, but this particular name was probably chosen to rhyme with
noble.
[98]

2
. Hunting with hawks was one of the most important pastimes of the medieval nobility, and as such is frequently evoked in Chrétien's romances. The sparrow-hawk was the smallest of the hunting birds. The term ‘hawk' could refer to either the long-winged falcons or the short-winged birds known commonly today as hawks, and might include either sex. When one wishes to distinguish between the sexes, ‘falcon' is used for the female of all long-winged hawks, and ‘tercel' for the male (but the male sparrow-hawk is called a ‘musket'). The goshawk is a short-winged hawk, about six times the size of the sparrow-hawk, and was the most prized, as well as the most independent of hunting hawks. The largest and swiftest of medieval hunting birds was the gyrfalcon. To moult is to go through the annual process of shedding old feathers and acquiring new plumage. This does not happen during the hawk's first year; a red hawk (also called a ‘sorehawk' or ‘sorrel hawk') is less than a year old and still has its first reddish-brown plumage. [352–4]