The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun

The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun ("The Song of Aotrou and Itroun") is a fictional lyrical short story by the British writer and philologist J. RR Tolkien , which he wrote in poetry in 1930 . It consists of 508 lines and was first published in the Welsh Review in December 1945 .

background

Aotrou and Itroun are terms from the Breton language and mean something like "Herr" and "Herrin" or English "Lord" and "Lady". The poem is written in the manner of a Breton layman , which was widespread in Middle English literature in the 12th century. Such a Lai can also be called a narrative lay (narrative Lai). The medieval tale of Sir Orfeo , translated by Tolkien, is also written in this form.

It is about the conflicts between the heroic, chivalric and the values ​​of Christianity, and their relationship or impact on the institution of marriage. A Lai is often performed by a bard and accompanied by harp music .

content

Aotrou and Itroun were a couple from Breton nobility, but their marriage remained childless. Therefore, Aotrou is looking for a sorceress to remedy the situation. Itroun actually becomes pregnant and gives birth to twins. The Corrigan asks Aotrou's love as payment for their service. But Aotrou breaks his word given out of chivalrous honor in favor of the Christian concept of marriage. The Corrigan is angry about this and casts a curse on Aotrou. The sad end of the story already tells of the dilapidation of this house, because the children grow up without parents.

The Lai begins with the verse

“In Britain's land beyond the seas the wind blows ever through the trees; In Britain's land beyond the waves are stony shores and stony caves. [...] ”

“In the land of Britain beyond the sea the wind blows forever through the trees; In the land of Britain behind the waves are stony coasts and stony caves. "

Here it becomes clear that this fictional story takes place on the Brittany peninsula . First, a description is given of the condition as it was found long after the events. An old, dilapidated building overgrown with plants, where a count and a countess once lived in a stately hall and where guards watched the sea on their towers. But a dark fate fell on the count, so the British harps proclaim.

The story

This is where the actual plot begins: At night, the count is increasingly plagued by nightmares that his kingdom will fall into the hands of strange masters if he did not have an heir to protect it and honor his grave and memory. There is a woman there who lives lonely in a remote valley in a dark cave that is avoided by humans and tamed animals.

After the first 38 lines, the introduction is taken up again: “In Britains land beyond the waves are stony hills and stony caves; [...] ". The count goes to this woman to take advantage of her arts, she recognizes his wish before he utters it and gives him a magic potion. But when he wants to reward her with gold, she says: “No, don't thank me yet, I will only choose my reward when your wish has been fulfilled, and then we will see what I choose, gold maybe or one of yours Guess. "

After that the new section is introduced again, “In Britain ways are wild and long, and woods are dark with danger strong; and the sound of seas is in the leaves, and wonder walks the forest-eaves. […] ”. The following night the Count has a wonderful dream in which he is walking through his gardens with his unborn children. Happy he wakes up and plans to have a celebration, to renew his love for his wife and to pray and hope that he will receive an heir.

The next transition heralds this: “In Britain's land across the seas the spring is merry in the trees; the birds in Britain's woodlands pair when leaves are long and flowers are fair. […] ”. The countess gives birth to two children, a boy and a maiden. The count is so happy about that that he wants to grant her a heartfelt wish, no matter how difficult it may be. She asks him to stay, but tells him that she craves cool water and the meat of a deer. But his closeness is more important to her than the fulfillment of this wish.

The fateful breach of word

“In Brittany beyond the seas the wind blows ever through the trees; in Brittany the forest pale marches slow over hill and dale. […] ”. The Count goes to the Brocéliande woods to steal something and find crystal clear water. Between the trees he sees a white doe, which he immediately chases after thoughtlessly. He loses track and when night falls he comes to a spring at a silver grotto. He drinks from the water and then sees the corrigan that was waiting for him. As a reward, she demands that he should marry her and stay with her. However, he refuses, whereupon she curses him, only three days should be left for him to live. The fateful words they then exchanged:

original	translation
“But three days then and thou shall die; In three days on thy beer lie! " "In three days I shall live at ease, and die but when it God doth please in eld, or in some time to come in the brave wars of Christendom."	“But only three days and death will get you; in three days you will be lying on the stretcher! ” “ In three days I will still be able to easily live in the world, and will only die when it pleases God in old age, or in a time that will come in the glorious days of Christianity . "

“In Britain's land beyond the waves are forests dim and secret caves; in Britain's land the breezes bear the sound of bells along the air to mingle with the sound of seas for ever moving in the trees. […] ”The Count rides home quickly, collapses on the threshold and falls into a feverish sleep in which the Corrigan appears to him again. Now she is old and still demands her wages, which are now his death. Itroun happily awaits her husband's return, when she wakes up on the third day, it is still hidden from her that he is already dying in bed.

The tragic end

“In Brittany she heard the waves on sounding shore in hollow caves. The day wore on till it was old; she heard the bells that slowly tolled. […] ”. She hears the death knell ringing in amazement and when she finds her husband dead in the church, she is also taken to bed, stricken with grief, and dies. Together they lie in the grave and cannot see their children grow up.

“In Brittany beyond the waves are sounding shores and hollow caves; in Brittany beyond the seas the wind blows ever through the trees. […] ”. This closes the circle and the initial motif is taken up again. Now the story of the count and his wife and their dark fate has been told and the Lai concludes with the words:

original	translation
God keep us all in hope and prayer from evil rede and from despair, by waters blest of Christendom to dwell, until at last we come to joy of Heaven where is queen the maiden Mary pure and clean.	God protect our hopes and prayers from despair and from the evil speech, to dwell on waters blessed by Christianity , until the end we reach the blissful heaven, where the queen should be the maiden Maria so pure and pure.

reception

Jessica Yates says in her study The Source of "The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun" about the poem that she believes it has a certain "source." But first, in the analysis, she makes a comparison between such an origin and an analogy or cognate .

The often anonymous works from oral tradition (ballads, folk tales, folk songs), which are available in numerous variants and languages, are called analogues . Here it cannot be determined whether an individual invented a story such as Cinderella (in over 500 versions worldwide) or whether they were created independently of one another. These are therefore collected and compared with one another. As a result of the oral transmission, they are subject to regional change and also to the poetic freedom of the narrator. Cognates are stories that have "a common ancestor" so to speak.

“A source, however, is the version which the storyteller uses to recreate the story in his own words. I hope to show that 'Aotrou and Itroun' had a definite source which Tolkien consulted, and also that he was aware of the tale's many analogues throughout Europe. "

“A starting point, however, is the version the narrator uses to retell the story in his own words. I hope to show that 'Aotrou and Itroun' had a particular source that Tolkien consulted and also that he was aware of the many analogues of history across Europe. "

- Jessica Yates : The Source of "The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun".

She does not entirely agree with Thomas Alan Shippey , who said:

“Its kernel, interestingly, is also in Wimberly, who quotes the Breton song of 'Le Seigneur Nann et la Fee', about a childless lord who gets a fertility potion from a witch and promises her her own reward; later she leads him into the woods in the shape of a white hart, only to reveal herself and demand his love as payment. "

“Interestingly, its core is also quoted in Wimberly in the Breton song 'Le Seigneur Nann et la Fee', where a childless lord gets a fertility potion from a witch and promises her a reward for it; later she leads him into the forest in the form of a white deer, just to show herself to him and to demand his love as a reward. "

- Thomas Alan Shippey : The Road to Middle-earth.

Jessica Yates suspects the ballads collected by Francis James Child (entry: "Clerk Colvill", No. 42) as the source for Tolkien's work. The fourth Breton version is called Aotrou Nann hag ar Corrigan ("Lord Nann and the Corrigan"). The general plot of this story is briefly reproduced here:

• The clerk (young man) receives a warning from his wife to avoid the river where a pretty maiden can be found. The clerk promises not to visit them, but does not keep this promise. He then suffers from a terrible headache and tries to kill the maiden who takes refuge in the water. He returns home and dies. (Child suspects that he had an affair with the water nymph before his marriage, although this is not clear from the text and death is the punishment for breaking up this relationship).
• The Scandinavian versions, with titles like Elveskud or with a hero named Olaf, describe how Sir Olaf rides out just before his marriage and sees the elves dance. He refuses to dance with them as they are considered pagan and for this he is either cursed or wounded by them. He returns home and dies, sometimes his fiancée too. Olaf had no previous acquaintance with the elves, and a new element finds its way into the story - the cause of his death must be hidden from his bride.
• The French versions take up an element of the Breton, that the hero and his wife already had a child or children, but omit the fairy, elf or witch. The hero Renaud returns home mortally wounded from the war or the hunt. The story here focuses more on the situation of the young mother. When she learns of her husband's death, she almost always dies of a broken heart. The Italian versions are similar, there the hero has the name Rinaldo.

As a further source, Yates gives a text by Théodore Hersart de La Villemarqué "The Clerk of Rohan". ( Rohan is a real place in Brittany with no direct reference to Tolkien's Middle-earth ).

• The story is about a woman who has been slandered and whose husband believes these allegations. Only in this version do twin children appear, the knight pursues a white doe while hunting and, also only in this story, the term Korrigan is mentioned with a reference to gold.

«Et il trouva un petit ruisseau pres de la grotte d'une Korrigan, […] La Korrigan etait assisse au bord de sa fontaine, et elle peignait ses longs cheveux blonds, Et elle les peignait avec un peigne d'or (ces dames -la ne sont point pauvres). »

"And he found a small stream near the grotto of a Korrigan, [...] The Korrigan was sitting at the edge of a spring and combed her long blond hair, And she combed it with a golden comb (because these ladies are not poor)."

- Théodore Hersart de La Villemarqué : The Source of "The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun".

In the ballad "The Clerk of Rohan" the narrative is given as follows: Lord Nann's wife had twins, a boy and a girl. He asks her what she desires most and she replies, 'The meat of a deer'. He then rides into the forest and hunts a white doe that leads him to the well of a Korrigan. She demands his love and marriage and threatens him otherwise with death or painful illness. He refuses, returns home and asks his mother to prepare his deathbed, but to keep it a secret from his wife. Three days later , when she was about to go to church for the blessing (a traditional rite to which young mothers were subjected), her mother-in-law said she should wear a black robe for the occasion. When she sees her husband's tomb, she kneels and dies of a broken heart. It is laid to rest in the same grave and two oaks grow up there, from whose branches two white doves soar.

literature

• Théodore Hersart de La Villemarqué: The Clerk of Rohan. In: Théodore Hersart de La Villemarqué, Tom Taylor, Laura Wilson Taylor: Ballads and songs of Brittany. Macmillan and Co., London / Cambridge 1865, OCLC 2304220 .
• JRR Tolkien: The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun. In: Gwyn Jones : The Welsh Review. 4. Rees' Electric Press, Cardiff 1945, OCLC 824752530 , pp. 254-266.
• Jessica Yates: The Source of "The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun". In: Thomas Alan Shippey, Trevor Reynolds: Leaves from the tree: JRRTolkien's shorter fiction. The Society, London 1991, ISBN 0-905520-03-3 .

Web links

• The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun. on ae-lib.org.ua (The complete poem in English).
• Svetlana B. Likhacheva: about The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun. on nto-ttt.ru/sl/aotrou.shtml (English).
• Francis James Child: The English and Scottish Popular Ballads. on springthyme.co.uk.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Welsh Review on tolkiengateway.net, accessed on January 4, 2013.
2. ↑ Breton Lays on lib.rochester.edu, accessed December 3, 2013.
3. ^ ^{A b c} Jessica Yates: The Source of "The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun". Pp. 63, 66/67.
4. ^ Thomas Alan Shippey: The Road to Middle-earth . George Allen & Unwin, London 1982, pp. 182, 207-208, 224. and Folklore in the English and Scottish Ballads. LC Wimberley. University of Chicago Press, Chicago 1928.
5. ^ FJ Child: The English and Scottish Popular Ballads. Volume 1. Dover 1965. (Reprint).
6. ^ Théodore Hersart de La Villemarqué: Ballads and Songs of Brittany. (Translated from the "Barsaz-Breiz" by T. Taylor). MacMillan, 1865.