nés entre lesquels passe une sente, et où la poudriere s’est formée). Le mot croerre est la variante de raiere dans le ms. C (M: croere). Son rattachement à la famille de cr è ta ‘craie’ est convaincant, les sens qu’atteste l’article du FEW paraissent suffisamment larges; le détour par des coquilles concassées n’est pas nécessaire (croiere ‘terrain au sol crayeux’ etc., dès 1379, FEW 2,2,1330b, vient de Gdf 2,377a). La qualité stylistique et typographique est inégale. Le tout témoigne de la vie de la philologie au sein de l’université japonaise. Frankwalt Möhren ★ Ulrike Bethlehem, Guinevere: A Medieval Puzzle. Images of Arthur’s Queen in the Medieval Literature of England and France, Heidelberg (Winter) 2005, 441 p. As the title suggests, the present study offers an overview of the changing depictions of Guinevere in Arthurian literature from the Middle Ages. Its aim, according to the author, is «to investigate the queen’s characterization in the medieval Arthuriana of England and France, and further to look into her function in the contexts of the individual texts as well as the development of Arthurian literature as a whole» (4). The volume is divided into ten chapters, which include an introduction, complete with a summary of the state of research on the characterization of Guinevere, and a lengthy bibliography. The primary divisions of the literary works are as follows: chronicles and bruts, the Anglo-Norman and Old French romances, and the English romances. Each analytical chapter is followed by what Bethlehem refers to as «a retrospective summary» of key points made in those chapters. In addition, the study includes numerous charts and illustrations. Bethlehem’s textual analysis spans the entire medieval tradition, beginning with Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae (ca. 1136) where Guinevere is first mentioned and where her character takes shape, and ending with Malory’s Le Morte Darthur (1470). For each work discussed, the author offers background information and situates the texts within the larger framework of Arthurian literature, which is particularly useful for the lesser known works with which readers might not be familiar. Bethlehem then examines each author’s presentation of Guinevere, in an effort to «look beyond the ‹adulterous but barren queen›, concentrating on close scrutiny and detailed analysis of the individual texts, with an eye on their respective contexts and interdependence» (5). The first category of literature, chronicles and bruts, consists of twelve texts, including (along with Historia Regum Britanniae) Wace’s Roman de Brut, which «enhances the traditional image [of the queen], adding accomplishments while ousting Geoffrey’s fairy-tale hyperbole» (54), Layamon’s Brut, where we find a «counter-image to Wace’s queen» (65), Thomas Castleford’s Chronicum Britannicum, presenting Guinevere as «equal to the king» (81), and John Hardyng’s Chronicle from the Firste Begynnyng of Englande, casting Guinevere «in the mould of classical examples such as Helen of Troy» (100). Following Bethlehem’s discussion of these works and the remaining seven in this category is the first retrospective summary, which asks the question »Is there a chronicle tradition? » and points out both tendencies and differences among the various portraits of the queen in the chronicles. More extensive is the volume’s second category of literature, the Anglo-Norman and Old French romances, consisting of 29 narratives. In addition to the obvious choices, such as Chrétien deTroyes’s five romances, the Perceval Continuations, the Vulgate Cycle, and the Prose Tristan, Bethlehem also analyzes the depiction of the queen in more obscure works, including Robert Biket’s Lai du Cor, Le Chevalier à l’Épée, La Mule saunz Frain, Durmart le Galois, Gliglois, Floriant et Florete, and Claris et Laris, among others. This vast array of 212 Besprechungen - Comptes rendus texts and the author’s meticulous scrutiny of Guinevere in each one bring to the fore the diversity of the representations of this literary figure. As Bethlehem contends, «in the universe of human character, it would be hard to find a manifestation that is not covered by one or another of the profiles that Arthur’s queen assumes in the course of the French Arthurian tradition» (323). In the third and final category of the volume, the author discusses fourteen English romances. Among them are Of Arthour and of Merlin, Landevale, Ywain and Gawain, The Stanzaic Morte Arthur, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Alliterative Morte Arthure, The Weddynge of Sir Gawen and Dame Ragnelle, and, as previously noted, Malory’s Le Morte Darthur. Pointing out differences between the French and English traditions, Bethlehem maintains that «on the whole, the English approach to the dilemma of Guinevere and the entire Arthurian triangle appears to be governed by a traditional ecclesiastic rather than a liberal code of morality» (327). The author argues too that the English texts, more so than any of the others, tend to stray from the common notions typically associated with her character and that, in the English tradition, she «becomes a popular figure of identification - nationally and personally» (411). The volume closes with the author’s constructed biography of Guinevere, which encompasses elements from the various literary tendencies discussed throughout the work, and a short summary of the various traits associated with this character. Incidentally, this summary would be more useful if it were more detailed. Given the paucity of thorough studies devoted to character development in medieval literature, Bethlehem’s contribution to the subject is much needed. Moreover, the scope of the study and the number of texts discussed over the course of the work are impressive. Granted, certain texts were analyzed in more detail than others, but nonetheless, the author’s efforts here are certainly a step in the right direction. With each narrative, Bethlehem focuses on the ways in which every new depiction of Guinevere builds upon or alters previous ones, and this approach is especially helpful for anyone tracing the evolution of her character from the beginning of the Middle Ages to the end. At times, the English is awkward (and includes numerous typos), and English translations from French, German, and old English are often lacking. Still, Bethlehem’s work will be valuable to Arthurian scholars and to anyone interested in medieval character construction. Amy L. Ingram ★ Gabriel John Brogyanyi (ed.), Studies on the Romances of Chrétien de Troyes, édité par Bela Brogyanyi, Freiburg i. Br. (Wissenschaft und Öffentlichkeit) 2005, 48 p. (Kleine Schriftenreihe/ Freiburger Institut für Paläowissenschaftliche Studien 7) This slim volume, published posthumously after the author’s death, consists of three short essays on Chrétien’s romances, two of which were previously published in VRom 31 (1972) and Kentucky Romance Quarterly (n° 19) respectively. At the time of their original publication in 1972, these articles provided original and innovative insight into Chrétien’s works, at a time when scholarship on his narrative art was only beginning to develop into what it has since become. In his first essay, titled Plot Structure and Motivation in Chrétien’s Romances, Brogyanyi focuses on the plot junctures that tie together Chrétien’s romances and his heroes. According to Brogyanyi, the typical behavior of the romances’ protagonists can be explained by one shared principle, «Chrétien’s implicit conception of human will» (2). For each of the five romances, the author examines the hero’s fault and expiation, viewing the former 213 Besprechungen - Comptes rendus