Trish and Sophia Talk Books: Le Roman de Silence by Heldris of Cornwall
An occasional collaboration in which mom Trish and twenty-something medievalist daughter Sophia read and discuss books!
Le Roman de Silence by Heldris de Cornuälle
Translated by Regina Psaki
Le Roman de Silence by Heldris de Cornuälle
Translated by Regina Psaki
***
The heart is a marvelous creature,
with a very strange nature:
for it often thinks very diversely, in truth,
turning and returning often
to the various thoughts it considers,
because of which it often grieves.
***
There’s nothing like a 13th century classic recommended by my medievalist daughter Sophia to disabuse me of stereotypes in that era. Le Roman de Silence (Silence) is an epic poem that reads like a novel in verse, written by a mysterious author named Heldris that tells the story of Silence, a girl born to a noble family without a male heir and so raised as a boy. This is a surprisingly relevant book that presents a gender-bending narrative with themes of Nature versus Nurture, the roles of women and men in society, social injustice and feminism, and abuse of privilege.Also, it’s a page turner, especially near the end. It’s safe to say I really loved this book and highly recommend it for everyone.
Sophia and I chatted about the book and examined some of the themes and features that made it a truly unique reading experience.
***
Trish: Okay, I’m going to attempt to summarise the plot, just so folks have an idea of what they’re getting into if they read the book. I’m not too concerned with spoilers because it’s several centuries old, and knowing the plot points doesn’t take away from the enjoyment of reading it.
The plot is hard to encapsulate, because it has twists and turns like nobody’s business. It begins with King Ebain, a good leader, who wed Euphemia, the daughter of the King of Norway. However, after a property dispute over land owned by their wives leads to the death of two of his Barons, he declares that “never again shall a woman inherit / in the Kingdom of England / as long as I hold this land. / This shall be my vengeance / for this wretched situation.” Later, his loyal knight Cador slays a dragon and is given the right to marry his love Euphemie, who loves him in return. They have a daughter but since she cannot inherit, they raise her as a boy. Silence carries out all manner of quests and acts of bravery, but as an adult must flee the advances of Queen Euphemia, leading to much misadventure and a scheme to capture the Arthurian wizard Morgan. In the end, the truth about Silence’s gender is revealed, and all is well as she marries the now single King Ebain (Queen Euphemia having met a nasty end). And that’s just a bare-bones summary.
I’m going to start by saying that this book totally absorbed me, and I really loved it. You read it before me and recommended it. How did you discover this book, and what did you think? Can you tell me a bit about Heldris of Cornwall?
Sophia: Of course! So the first time I read the book was actually for a university class on medieval to early modern romantic literature as part of my degree. That was actually one of the classes that convinced me to take Medieval Studies as my major, so I’m sure you can tell how much I enjoyed the reading list for that course. Then, I read it again last year just for fun. It is such a page turner, as you say!
Silence is actually the only work attributed to “Heldris of Cornwall”, which is a pseudonym. So with only a pen name and one known piece of work, we really have no clue who this person was. We read the English translation, but the work was originally written in Old French. Heldris of Cornwall is an Arthurian pseudonym, so perhaps the author was French, and not Cornish!
Trish: This work of medieval fiction has a fascinating backstory. Basically, the manuscript was lost and only discovered in the 1920s in a house, in a box full of other old papers. This fact makes the manuscript quite unique, because it’s not cited in any other works, presumably lost to history until it was rediscovered. And it’s the only copy.
What struck me was the author’s use of Nature and Nurture as characters, who spoke and even debated each other in the poem. It’s a debate that we continue to have today. In fact, it continues to be important with many gender issues and feminist theory as an ongoing discussion.
Anyone who saw him joust without a mantle,
carrying the shield on his left arm,
and set to the attack, lance on the lance-rest,
would say that Nurture
can do much against Nature,
when she teaches and trainsa tender, delicate woman in such behaviour.”
Sophia: Nature/Nurture was probably the main theme surrounding our class discussion of the book when I first read it. It's an interesting story, because Nature (and I’m speaking here in terms of the Medieval notion of Nature as a personified creatress of the natural world) is such a key theme in works from this period. She shows up in almost any courtly story or poem. So it’s so interesting to see Nurture take the reins for the majority of the story, even though Nature eventually wins!
It’s also so interesting to see a medieval take on gender. Of course, these authors didn’t have the same vocabulary to explore this theme that we do, but Silence still makes for a worthy addition to the category of stories which explore gender-diverse characters. Although Silence does eventually live as her biological sex (female), the majority of her story centers around Silence living, and being comfortable in a male identity.
That being said, in medieval times, a lot of characteristics which were seen as exemplary in courtly knights (such as emotional depth, proficiency on a musical instrument, beauty…) are traits that we might see as more feminine today. In the medieval era, this was also true; knights had to be in touch with their feminine side as well, both to create mental harmony and be as well-rounded a person as they can be. Thus, it’s no surprise that Silence would have thrived as a knight! I think people have these rigid preconceptions of what gender meant in the medieval era, and it can be fun to subvert them.
I’m curious, since you’ve started reading the Medieval literature I recommend, what has been a stereotype that has challenged your expectations about the era?
Trish: Before you began to study the Medieval era and to discuss the literature of the time with me, I had never even thought that there would have been female writers of the time that were published and taken seriously, and even held in high regard. I guess I thought the patriarchal nature of society (that we experience even today) would have been rigid and oppressive then. It’s been eye opening to learn about the rich body of literature written by Medieval women. And not only that, but what strikes me is the absolutely clear feminist politics in the writing, vis-à-vis The Book of the City of Ladies by Christine de Pizan, or the playful yet satirical verse in response to male writers of the time, à la Gwerful Mechain.
Do you have a sense of how much censorship of female writers there was at the time? I suppose male writers may have been censored too, if social or religious norms were deemed violated. And too, I wonder if women had less access to education than men in any given social class, so that they had lower literacy rates and thus less opportunity to write.
Sophia: I wouldn’t say “censorship” is the right word, exactly, when it comes to medieval female authors. Anyone could be censored, mainly if your writing went against the Church. For example, Marguerite Porete (who wrote in the early 1300s) was wildly influential, and her book “The Mirror of Simple Souls” was akin to a bestseller. But, the church wasn’t very enthused by her view of Christianity and how much traction Marguerite was getting, so she was burnt at the stake in 1310 for heresy. That's not because she was a woman, but because she went against the church.
And it’s not really about education either. Sure, men had more access to education, but one didn’t have to be literate to “write” a book - scribes were extremely commonplace, and a lot of medieval texts were “written” by dictation (for example, medieval Catholic anchoress Julian of Norwich’s “Revelations of Divine Love”).
As you say, there are plenty of medieval female writers! I think that the presumption of there being so few is because of the way we are taught about that period of history. It is only recently (perhaps in the last 20 years) that women in the medieval period have sparked scholars’ interest. Most medievalists (who until recently were mainly men) cared about men’s roles and lives. So why on earth would they choose to study, translate, and recommend women’s Medieval literature? The supposed “lack” of female medieval authors isn’t fact, it’s a result of modern misogyny within scholarship, that is only just beginning to shift. We actually discussed this phenomenon in a class: As wild as this claim may seem, it was brought up by my professor.
Trish: One thing I love about reading classics is the way I continually learn not only about the differences between that time and our own time, but also about how relevant concerns of the past are relevant today. Some things, including human nature, don’t change much. This was one of my favourite lines, spoken directly by the narrator Heldris, about how court–the political centre of power– has changed for the worse:
It’s also so interesting to see a medieval take on gender. Of course, these authors didn’t have the same vocabulary to explore this theme that we do, but Silence still makes for a worthy addition to the category of stories which explore gender-diverse characters. Although Silence does eventually live as her biological sex (female), the majority of her story centers around Silence living, and being comfortable in a male identity.
That being said, in medieval times, a lot of characteristics which were seen as exemplary in courtly knights (such as emotional depth, proficiency on a musical instrument, beauty…) are traits that we might see as more feminine today. In the medieval era, this was also true; knights had to be in touch with their feminine side as well, both to create mental harmony and be as well-rounded a person as they can be. Thus, it’s no surprise that Silence would have thrived as a knight! I think people have these rigid preconceptions of what gender meant in the medieval era, and it can be fun to subvert them.
I’m curious, since you’ve started reading the Medieval literature I recommend, what has been a stereotype that has challenged your expectations about the era?
Trish: Before you began to study the Medieval era and to discuss the literature of the time with me, I had never even thought that there would have been female writers of the time that were published and taken seriously, and even held in high regard. I guess I thought the patriarchal nature of society (that we experience even today) would have been rigid and oppressive then. It’s been eye opening to learn about the rich body of literature written by Medieval women. And not only that, but what strikes me is the absolutely clear feminist politics in the writing, vis-à-vis The Book of the City of Ladies by Christine de Pizan, or the playful yet satirical verse in response to male writers of the time, à la Gwerful Mechain.
Do you have a sense of how much censorship of female writers there was at the time? I suppose male writers may have been censored too, if social or religious norms were deemed violated. And too, I wonder if women had less access to education than men in any given social class, so that they had lower literacy rates and thus less opportunity to write.
Sophia: I wouldn’t say “censorship” is the right word, exactly, when it comes to medieval female authors. Anyone could be censored, mainly if your writing went against the Church. For example, Marguerite Porete (who wrote in the early 1300s) was wildly influential, and her book “The Mirror of Simple Souls” was akin to a bestseller. But, the church wasn’t very enthused by her view of Christianity and how much traction Marguerite was getting, so she was burnt at the stake in 1310 for heresy. That's not because she was a woman, but because she went against the church.
And it’s not really about education either. Sure, men had more access to education, but one didn’t have to be literate to “write” a book - scribes were extremely commonplace, and a lot of medieval texts were “written” by dictation (for example, medieval Catholic anchoress Julian of Norwich’s “Revelations of Divine Love”).
As you say, there are plenty of medieval female writers! I think that the presumption of there being so few is because of the way we are taught about that period of history. It is only recently (perhaps in the last 20 years) that women in the medieval period have sparked scholars’ interest. Most medievalists (who until recently were mainly men) cared about men’s roles and lives. So why on earth would they choose to study, translate, and recommend women’s Medieval literature? The supposed “lack” of female medieval authors isn’t fact, it’s a result of modern misogyny within scholarship, that is only just beginning to shift. We actually discussed this phenomenon in a class: As wild as this claim may seem, it was brought up by my professor.
Trish: One thing I love about reading classics is the way I continually learn not only about the differences between that time and our own time, but also about how relevant concerns of the past are relevant today. Some things, including human nature, don’t change much. This was one of my favourite lines, spoken directly by the narrator Heldris, about how court–the political centre of power– has changed for the worse:
But now Dissemblance has taken hold
and Baseness is esteemed.
Flattery has a honeyed tongue
and Truth is chased out of court,
valued no more than a berry.
Love and Valor go begging.
Alas, I don’t know what else to say about it:
Honor is worth no more than a fig.
That’s kind of a gut punch, and speaks keenly to what’s happening today in some political arenas.
Sophia: Yes, times haven’t changed. Over 600 years ago, Christine de Pizan said:
Trish: Me too!
The author, Heldris, often breaks the fourth wall and speaks directly to the reader, which is so entertaining, and made me laugh a few times. He comes off as a bit pompous, often frustrated with the dismal state of society as he sees it, and a bit of a rambler. He is in many ways such a vocal part of the book, opinionated and almost a character in himself. So as a last discussion point, I’m just going to put it out here: I wonder if Heldris could possibly be a woman? We know that women wrote literature similar to this in the middle ages, and I’d like to think it’s a possibility. What do you think?
Sophia: We’ll never know! I think it’s not impossible. With the comedic, slightly satirical nature of the narrative, I could definitely imagine a woman having a lot of fun with this story. Using a male pen name too, keeps the author’s identity somewhat anonymous. There are some great female authors from the Middle Ages, and whatever the gender of Heldris, I think Silence fits right in with other expectations and gender-defying medieval works.
Trish: An excellent book all round. Thanks for chatting all things Silence with me, and more: how it fits into the cannon of medieval lit. Until next time!
Sophia: Yes, times haven’t changed. Over 600 years ago, Christine de Pizan said:
“...The greatest causeLove her.
in the world for man’s deception
is the desire to reign
over one another and govern.”
Trish: Me too!
The author, Heldris, often breaks the fourth wall and speaks directly to the reader, which is so entertaining, and made me laugh a few times. He comes off as a bit pompous, often frustrated with the dismal state of society as he sees it, and a bit of a rambler. He is in many ways such a vocal part of the book, opinionated and almost a character in himself. So as a last discussion point, I’m just going to put it out here: I wonder if Heldris could possibly be a woman? We know that women wrote literature similar to this in the middle ages, and I’d like to think it’s a possibility. What do you think?
Sophia: We’ll never know! I think it’s not impossible. With the comedic, slightly satirical nature of the narrative, I could definitely imagine a woman having a lot of fun with this story. Using a male pen name too, keeps the author’s identity somewhat anonymous. There are some great female authors from the Middle Ages, and whatever the gender of Heldris, I think Silence fits right in with other expectations and gender-defying medieval works.
Trish: An excellent book all round. Thanks for chatting all things Silence with me, and more: how it fits into the cannon of medieval lit. Until next time!
Can you not often find
a base and low heart, and a fair body
which is a rough garment outside?
The body is nothing but another rough garment.
The body may well be made of noble matter;
but if the heart is made of coarse as well as fine,
then it is not worth a bean.
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