Add MS 38663

From the Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts in the British Museum (1969):

'LA CHANCUN DE WILLAME: a chanson de geste of the cycle of Guillaume d'Orange ("Willame al curbines le marchis"), narrating the invasion of France by the Saracen king Deramed and the great battle at Larchamp, in which the Saracens were at first victorious, putting Tedbald of Bourges and his nephew Esturmi to flight and killing Willame's nephew Vivien, but were ultimately vanquished with great slaughter by the French under Willame, largely through the valorous deeds of the scullion Reneward with his "tinel" (cudgel); concluding with the baptism of Reneward, who turns out to be the son of Deramed, shipwrecked and sold as a slave to King Louis. In 3,554 lines, mostly decasyllabic, in assonant tirades of varying length, with a refrain at irregular intervals, consisting of two assonant lines of unequal length, the second decasyllabic, the first usually "Lunsdi al vespre," seven times "Joesdi al vespre," twice "Lores fu mecresdi." In substance this chanson agrees in the main with the Covenans Vivien and Bataille d'Aliscans, extant in Royal MS. 20 D. xi (see H. L. D. Ward, Cat. of Romances, i, p. 644) and other MSS.; but it evidently represents an earlier stage in the development of the story. It is only known to exist in the present MS., the text of which (with the accidental omission of 1. 544) was printed privately [by G. Dunn, the then owner] at the Chiswick Press, 1903 (for critical notices see P. Meyer in Romania, xxxii, p. 597, R. Weeks in Modern Philology, ii, pp. 1, 231, and Romania, xxxiv, p. 240, H. Suchier in Zeitschrift für Romanische Philologie, xxix, p. 641, etc.). Suchier regarded it as composed of two distinct works, ll. 1-1980 (which he called La Chancun de Guillelme, and edited in 1911 as vol. viii of his Bibliotheca Normannica) and 1981-3554 (which he called the "Chancun de Rainoart"). The literature of the subject is already very extensive, e.g. see T. E. Hamilton, The Cyclic Relations of the Chanson de Willame (University of Missouri Studies, vol. ii, 1911), and J. Schuwerack, Charakteristik der Personen in der altfr. Chançun de Guillelme, 1913. Beg. "Plaist vus oir de granz batailles . et de forz esturs . . . Oimas comence la chancun de Willame." Ends "Bien vus ualui . mais plus vus eusse este aidant." Vellum: ff. iv + 25. 9 in. x 6 in. Middle of XIII cent., in a hand closely resembling that of Add. MS. 38662, but somewhat larger. Gatherings of 8 leaves (last⁹). Double colums of 34 to 42 lines. Sec. fol. "Dist uiuien." Large ornamental initial in red, white, blue, and green at the beginning; flourished initials in blue and red, or red and green, throuhout. Pencilled number (4) on f. 1 (cf. 38662). Edwardes sale, lot 566, Dunn sale, lot 436; bookplates as in 38662'.