“A mule without a bridle” ( French La Demoiselle à la Mule , another name La Mule sans Frein , where the Russian translation comes from) is a chivalrous novel by a certain Payen de Maisières , written between 1190 and 1210.
| Mule without reins | |
|---|---|
| La demoiselle à la mule | |
| Genre | romance |
| Author | Payne de Mezieres |
| Original language | |
| Date of writing | between 1190 and 1210 |
Perhaps the name of the author ( Fr. Païen - 'pagan') is a travesty decrease in the name of the great Chretien de Troyes ( Fr. Chrétien - 'Christian').
Elizaveta Dmitrieva ( Cherubina de Gabriak ) performed the Russian translation of the novel.
Content
Story
The novel begins with the appearance at the court of King Arthur on a festive day (on the Trinity) a certain girl who appeals for sympathy and help. She asks to help her regain the lost bridle from the harness of her mule. The Seneschal Sir Kay is the first to decide on the feat. His attempt ends in shameful failure. Then comes the turn of Gawain . He passes all the tests with honor, the degree of danger of which is growing: first, the warrior must drive through the forest, teeming with wild animals (but they do not touch the traveler), then cross a field full of disgusting creeping reptiles, then cross a turbulent stream along a very narrow wobbling board, thrown from one coast to another. A no less serious test awaits the hero when entering the castle, whose magical walls rotate all the time. Finally, Gauvin's endurance is checked even when he is offered to voluntarily give his head chopped off, promising that it will then grow again. Then there will be fights - first with an angry lion, then with a mighty knight, in the end - with a snake. Gauvin wins everywhere, receives a bridle, but does not marry a lady, the mistress of an enchanted city. Thanks to the victory of the knight, the magic is dispelled, and the just deserted city begins to live a full-blooded life.
Notes
Literature
- Mikhailov A.D. French knightly novel. M., 1976, p. 235-236.
Editions
- Payen from Mezieres. Mule without reins. (Girl on a Mule) / Transl. with old man. E. Vasilyeva. Ed. article and comment. A. A. Smirnova . - M .; L .: Academia , 1934. - 92 p.: Ill. - (Literature of the Middle Ages).
- Payen de Mezier. Mule without reins // Two Old French Tales. - M., 1956.