Robert the Devil

Robert the Devil

", which has little in common with the legend except the name of the hero.

The legend

From the moment of his birth the boy shows his vicious instincts, which urge him, when grown to manhood, to a career of monstrous crime. At last the horror which he inspires everywhere causes him to reflect, and, having found out the awful secret of his birth, he hastens to Rome to confess to the pope. He undergoes the most rigorous penance, living in the disguise of a fool at the emperor's court in Rome. Three times he delivers the city from the assault of the Saracens, but, refusing all reward, he ends his life as a pious hermit. According to another version he marries the emperor's daughter, whose love he has won in his humble disguise, and succeeds to the throne.

Literature

The oldest known account of this legend is a Latin prose narrative by a Dominican friar, Etienne de Bourbon (c. 1250). Then it appears in a French metrical romance of the thirteenth century, also in a "dit" of somewhat later date, and in a miracle play of the fourteenth century. A French prose version was also prefixed to the old "Croniques de Normandie" (probably of the thirteenth century). But the legend owes its popularity to the story-books, of which the earliest known appeared at Lyons in 1496, and again at Paris in 1497, under the title "La vie du terrible Robert le dyable". Since the sixteenth century the legend was often printed together with that of Richard sans Peur; it was published in completely recast form in 1769 under the title "Histoire de Robert le Diable, duc de Normandie, et de Richard Sans Peur, son fils".

From France the legend spread to Spain, where it was very popular. In England the subject was treated in the metrical romance, "Sir Gowther", the work of an unknown minstrel of the fifteenth century. An English translation from the French chap-book was made by Wynkyn de Worde, Caxton's assistant, and published without date under the title "Robert deuyll". Another version, not based on the preceding, was written by Thomas Lodge in his book on "Robin the Divell" (London, 1591). In the Netherlands the romance of "Robrecht den Duyvel" was put on the index of forbidden books by the Bishop of Antwerp (1621). In Germany the legend never attained much of a vogue; not until the nineteenth century did it pass into the Volksbücher, being introduced by Görres. It was treated in epic form by Victor von Strauss (1854), in dramatic form by Raupach (1835) and in comic travesty (after the Myerbeer opera) by W. S. Gilbert in 1868 to open at the new Gaiety Theatre, London.

Robert the Magnificent

Robert the Magnificent (c. 1000 - 1035), Duke of Normandy and father of William the Conqueror, is often identified with the legendary Robert the Devil.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Robert the Devil (Gilbert) — Robert the Devil, or The Nun, the Dun, and the Son of a Gun is an operatic parody by W. S. Gilbert of Giacomo Meyerbeer s romantic opera Robert le diable , which was named after, but bears little resemblance to, the medieval French legend of the… …   Wikipedia

  • Robert the Devil (disambiguation) — Robert the Devil is a figure of medieval European legend.Robert the Devil can also refer to:*Robert the Devil (1000–1035), Duke of Normandy, sometimes identified with the character of legend * Robert le diable (opera), an 1831 opera by Giacomo… …   Wikipedia

  • Robert The Devil — ▪ legendary character French  Robert Le Diable,         legendary son of a duke of Normandy, born in answer to prayers addressed to the devil. He uses his immense strength only for crime. Directed by the pope to consult a certain holy hermit, he… …   Universalium

  • ROBERT THE DEVIL —    the hero of an old French romance identified with Robert, first Duke of Normandy, who, after a career of cruelty and crime, repented and became a Christian, but had to expiate his guilt by wandering as a ghost over the earth till the day of… …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Robert the Magnificent — Infobox succession combo subject name = Robert The Magnificent , Duke of Normandy image caption = Robert the Magnificent as part of the Six Dukes of Normandy statue in the town square of Falaise. date of birth = (June 22,1000) place of birth =… …   Wikipedia

  • The Devil's Rejects — Teaser poster Directed by Rob Zombie Produced by Rob …   Wikipedia

  • The Devil Wears Nada — The Simpsons episode Episode no. 446 Prod. code LABF17 Orig. airdate November 15, 2009[1][2] …   Wikipedia

  • The Devil Probably — The Devil, Probably Directed by Robert Bresson Produced by Stéphane Tchalgadjieff Written by Robert Bresson Starring Antoine Monnier …   Wikipedia

  • The Devil in Brisbane — is a 2005 speculative fiction anthology edited by Zoran Živković and Geoff Maloney. The project was born out of a masterclass held by the editor at the 2004 Brisbane Writers Festival. The theme of the anthology is a meeting between a writer and… …   Wikipedia

  • The Devil is an Ass — is a Jacobean comedy by Ben Jonson, first performed in 1616 and first published in 1631. [Chambers, Vol. 3, p. 373.] The Devil is an Ass followed Bartholomew Fair (1614), one of the author s greatest works, and marks the start of the final phase… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”