Genevieve of Brabant

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Adrian Ludwig Richter

Genevieve (also Genoveva or Genoveffa) of Brabant is a heroine of medieval legend. The story is told in the "Golden Legend" and concerns a virtuous wife falsely accused of infidelity.

Legend

Her story is a typical example of the widespread tale of the chaste wife falsely accused and repudiated, generally on the word of a rejected suitor.

roe.[2] Siegfried, who had meanwhile found out Golo's treachery, was chasing the roe when he discovered her hiding-place, and reinstated her in her former honour.[3]

Her story is said to rest on the history of

Count Palatine of the Rhine. Marie of Brabant was suspected of infidelity and subsequently tried by her husband, found guilty and beheaded on 18 January 1256. When the verdict was shown to be mistaken, Louis had to do penance for the beheading. The change in name from Marie to Genevieve may be traced back to a cult of St Genevieve, patroness of Paris.[3]

The Genevieve tale first obtained wide popularity in L'Innocence reconnue, ou vie de Sainte Genevieve de Brabant (pr. 1638) by the

René de Cerisiers (1603–1662), and was a frequent subject for dramatic representation in Germany.[3] Starting in the mid-18th century, it became very popular among traveling puppet companies.[4]

Variants

Genoveffa 's history may be compared to the Scandinavian ballads of Ravengaard og Memering, which exist in many recensions. These deal with the history of Gunild, the wife of Henry

St Cunigund, the wife of the Emperor Henry II.[3]

In the

Judith, second wife of Louis the Pious[3]—who were indeed charged with adultery and purged themselves by an oath and an offer for trial by combat, although the historical situation has been embellished with romantic incident.[5]

Adaptations

Literary references

In Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time (1913–27), the narrator remembers a magic lantern he had in his room, in Combray, that showed the image of Golo riding his horse towards Genevieve's castle. He says: "... and I would fall into the arms of my mother, whom the misfortunes of Geneviève de Brabant had made all the dearer to me, just as the crimes of Golo had driven me to a more than ordinarily scrupulous examination of my own conscience."[8]

In Chapter II of Volume One of his Reminiscences (1907–09), Carl Schurz recalls the puppet play of "Die Schöne Genovefa" (lit. 'The Beautiful Genevieve') which he used to see performed in his youth. Its plot is an adaptation of the tale of Genevieve of Brabant.

Notes

  1. ^ Margaret Schlauch, Chaucer's Constance and Accused Queens, New York: Gordian Press 1969 p 106-7
  2. ^ Max Lüthi, Once Upon A Time: On the Nature of Fairy Tales, p 76, Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., New York, 1970
  3. ^ a b c d e Chisholm 1911.
  4. ^ "Geneviève de Brabant". April 25, 2016.
  5. ^ Laura A. Hibbard, Medieval Romance in England. p. 39. New York. Burt Franklin, 1963.
  6. IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  7. IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  8. ^ Proust, Marcel. "Overture Archived 2008-02-13 at the Wayback Machine", Remembrance of Things Past, 1913. Retrieved on 30 January 2008.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Genevieve of Brabant.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Genevieve_of_Brabant&oldid=1220512906"