Anonymous, Amis and Amiloun

Mary Bateman (University of Bristol)

Ed. by Jamie McKinstry, University of Durham
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.02: English Writing and Culture: High and Late Medieval, 1066-1485.
Vol. editors: Kate Ash-Irisarri (University of Edinburgh), Rory Critten (Université de Lausanne), David Fuller (University of Durham), Natalie Hanna (University of Liverpool), Hugh Magennis (Queen's University Belfast), Jamie McKinstry (University of Durham), Sarah Peverley (University of Liverpool), Sebastian Sobecki (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. 1330 - c. 1330

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poetry (any)

Resources

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Amis and Amiloun

is a Middle English romance spanning 2,508 lines of twelve-line rhyming stanzas. It dates to the late thirteenth century, and was evidently popular throughout Europe, as a large number of witnesses survive in various different versions – almost every language of Europe is covered. It probably originates from a fusion of various folk tales, as the relatively compact text is packed densely with folklore motifs: the chastity test, the evil steward, the disguised leper. The immediate source of this particular Middle English version is unclear, but the original version was likely a French

chanson de geste,

which probably had its distant origins in folklore (Leach 1937, p. xxxii; Foster 1997, p. 1).

Amis and Amiloun

was evidently a popular text, and the Middle English version…

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3666 words

Citation: Bateman, Mary. "Amis and Amiloun". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 March 2018 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=38764, accessed 03 December 2024.]

Anonymous, Amis and Amiloun

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