In this episode, the mysterious maiden who had needed Jaufre’s help to deal with the wicked Felon d’Albarua reveals her identity as the Fada de Gibel. The word “Fada” means “fairy”, coming from the Latin word for “fate”, and Gibel, Mongibello or Mongibel is one of the names given to Mount Etna. There has been some scholarly discussion about just who this might be, but there is general agreement that she is Morgan le Fay. In the tale of “Florian et Florete”, Morgan is described as living under Mount Etna. Gervase of Tilbury, who lived and worked for a time at the court of William of Sicily (whose queen was Joan or Joanna, daughter of Alienor of Aquitaine and Henry II of England) tells the story of an escaped horse on the slopes of Mount Etna. When the men sent to find the horse followed it, they found themselves in an underground palace, where the mortally wounded King Arthur was lying on a richly covered bed, tended to by his sister, Morgan le Fay. There are of course echoes of these stories in “Jaufre”, with the underwater palace on the one hand and the overlord, Melian, lying cruelly wounded on his bed at the beautiful castle of Rogimon where Jaufre fights with Taulat. So although Jaufre asks for a name, all he is really given is her title. Because the fairy’s castle is named “Gibaldar” there are some theories that Gibraltar might be involved, but Sicily is far more likely, especially as some real events from history are also echoed in the tale – after William of Sicily’s death, Joan was besieged by a usurper, Tancred, and her brother, Richard Coeur de Lion, came to her rescue. The physical description of Jaufre in the first episode is very similar to descriptions of Richard (and indeed his grandfather, Geoffrey or Jaufre of Anjou). This may of course be pure coincidence.
The magical tent given by the Fada to Jaufre is comparable to a tent in the “Roman d’Alexandre”. The biggest mystery is why, with the powers she has, the fairy needed Jaufre’s help to defend herself from Felon, but this part of the tale is, of course, a fairy tale in every way and so logic has little to do with it. It is a task for Jaufre to achieve, for which he is now rewarded, and he has a powerful magical ally as a result. My own favourite gift is the reward for Brunissen, who has not been reproached for wanting to prevent Jaufre leaving on the rescue mission, but will now please everyone she meets, no matter what she says or does!
One small mystery is the name given to the Fada’s steward, Godentaur. I have not found his name anywhere else, but it is odd that Brunissen’s seneschal, who does so much within the story, is never named and yet this man (who does very little) is, so I wonder whether there would have been more stories of the Fada and her household which we no longer have.
Back then to the castle of Monbrun and some magnificent feasting, as well as an encounter with the mother of the giant brothers. When she first appeared it was clear she was of high rank, because of her beautiful clothing. Now she is “only” accompanied by ten knights, which is not exactly insignificant, but she is very worried that she is unprotected without her sons. Jaufre assures her of his protection as long as she removes the spell which invokes the demon knight. One further note about the feasting – the narrator is keen to tell us that the musicians and performers not only ate off silver plates, but were also well rewarded. This may have been a reminder that the entertainers need proper payment!
The final lines of the tale have been closely examined by some scholars. They only appear in one of the two surviving manuscripts, and they have given rise to the idea that there may have been more than one creator of the story: one who began the story, and one who ended it. I’m not convinced this is how it should be read, and my version tries to stay close to the original phrasing.
If you have listened to this podcast from start to finish you will be aware of the total length of this story. I have taken out some of the longer prayers and invocations, and reduced the discussions on love and status, but otherwise attempted to stay faithful to the tone and content of the original, and you will see that it would have taken between 5 and 6 hours to tell, with no breaks and no musical additions. I think it is unlikely that it was ever told in one continuous session, but the structure (and indeed the manuscripts) give us very few clues about where the narrator ended each episode. Possibly where I have done, but that makes 12 sessions – or possibly every three episodes. We simply don’t know and, as I’ve said, there are no obvious clues.
In any case, I hope you have enjoyed “The Tale of Jaufre”. I am looking into how to publish this adaptation in book form, and, indeed, a book about my research. Your comments would be most welcome.
David Yardley’s other music can be found on his website – www.davidyardleymusic.com – and I am very grateful for his wonderful collaboration on this project.
