Anastasis: Research in Medieval Culture and Art (May 2015)
Le Rocher de la Résurrection dans la littérature du XIIe siècle / The Rock of Resurrection in twelfth Century French Literature.
Abstract
In 12th century French literature, the rock is a sign of the divine : Béroul’s description of Tristan’s leap into the other-world of the Morrois (in Le Roman de Tristan by Béroul) as well as Marie de France’s depiction of Bisclavret’s metamorphosis into a wolf (in the lai Bisclavret) require an adequate scenery for a supernatural act in need of legitimization. The presence of a cliff in the first context and of a stone cavity in the second serve in both cases as indications of God’s secret will, manifesting itself in the proximity of a chapel. Our paper focuses on the literary representations of the sacred in connection to the image of the rock as a symbol of resurrection.
