the narrator of Robert Henryson's Moral fables

235 Pages·2017·9.06 MB·English

by  Rosemary Greentree

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I
I
REÀDER' TELLER ÀND TEACEER
The Narrator of Robert Eenryson's Dloral Fables
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by
RosemarY Greentree B.A. (Hons')
Submitted as a thesis for the degree of M'A' in the
of English, University of Adelaide'
Department
Juner 19 86.
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CONTENTS
I
I Introduct ion
II The Narrator gains his audience 13
III Truth and the Narrator 33
IV The moralitates of the Fables 52
The wolfts progress as a sYmbol 82
V
The place of the Narrator 105
VT
VTI Language, mood and order L47
VIII The journey of life 175
Appendix: Order in manuscript witnesses for the
Moral Fables 188
Abbrevi at ions 208
Bibliography 2r0
SUMI,TARY
the thesis describes the role of the Narrator of
Robert Henryson's I'lora1 Fables, as he giveS a reading of
Aesoprs Fables and teaches their lessons, directly in
the moralitates and indirectly in the telling of the
tales. The Narratorrs presence is a constant and
unifying influence on the work, in which he i s the guide
to his audience, his readers, to whom he gives a picture
of life, their duties and expectations. This is achieved
through direct addresses and by manipulation of the
audience's responses to the tales through the style of
the te1ling.
An important aspect of this style is the order in
which the Fables are told, and the presence of the
Narrator and his changing mood form part of the thematic
evidence presented for accepting the order which is used
in the Bassandyne Print, a Source which presents the
thirteen Fables in a formed, complete and balanced work.
His presence and mood are revealed by a varying use of
language and recurring metaphors; and the site of his
activities is seen to vary as the Sequence progresses.
The themes of the work are introduced in the early
taIes, repeated with variations in others, and
summarised in the last fable which concÌudes the
Narratorrs relationship with his audience.
This thesis contains no material which has been
accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in
any university. To the best of my knowledge and belief'
it contains no materiaÌ previously published or written
by another personr êXcept where due reference is made in
the text.. I consent to its being made availabl-e for
photocopying and loan if applicable if it is accepLed
for the award of the degree.
I am happy to acknowledge the help r have received
during the preparation of the thesis. It has been
produced using the word processor in the Department of
English; and I am grateful for this and for the
assistance and encouragement of members of the
Department, particularly Dr À. T. Brissenden and my
supervisors, Dr T. L. Burton and Mr P. J. Wa1dron. Miss
Liz Lee in the Barr Smith Library has helped me; and I
have been encouraged by Dr R. J. Lyall and Prof. W. A.
Ringler and the constant support of my family.
I: Introduction
CHÀPTER
A narrator is essential to the telling of a storyt
and may be as conspicuous or as imperceptible as the
author desires. In seeking to influence members of an
audience, a narrator may address them directly or try to
affect them merely by the style of narration- The
narrator of Henryson's Mora1 Fables, whom I shalI call
the Narrator, uses techniques of persuasion both direct
and indirect as he tells the tales he attributes to
Aesop and teaches the lessons he finds in them. He acts
as reader, teller and teacher; and my thesis wiIl
concern his performance in these three capacities.
As reader and teller, the Narrator serves as the
window through which the audience may gain an experience
of the fanciful world of the tales. He links this world
with that of his audience, bringing the fantastic tales
of the reasoning, speaking beasts to the reasoning,
speaking people who attend to him; and he moves between
their worlds. He must find the truth within the patent
fiction of the fables, and deliver it in the moralitates
which foIIow the tales. As a teacher, he demonstrates
and juggles with the truth, and arranges the moral
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lessons which he gives to erring man.
The Narrator of the Moral Fables is the device
Henryson uses to transmit the tales and their l-essons to
his chosen audience, and it is tempting to look for
some traces of the author in his creation.l We mây,
therefore, briefly consider what we know of Henryson and
his times to see whether such traces are to be found-
Any specific biographical criticism of the Mora1 Fables
would necessarily be very specuÌative, and I shall not
attempt it. We can be sure of very little that is
written of Henryson's life; but v¡e can probably safely
accept that he was master of the Àbbey School at
Dunfermline and that he flourished in the latter part of
the fifteenth century, during the reigns of James III
and James IV, a time of political turbulence and some
social changes, followed by a more peaceful period-
Dunbarrs'Lament for the l'lakars'SuggeSts that his death,
or at least a serious ill-ness, had occurred before the
death of Stobo, in 1505.2 rh" record of admission of a
Robert Henryson to the senate of the University of
Glasgow in t 462 and the occurrence of this name a s a
witneSs to documents, aS a notary public of Dunfermline,
in L477 and L47B' are accepted as evidence of the poet
by Denton Fox, in his edition of Henrysonrs works.3
These f indings are more cautiously regarded by W. Ì4.
l'letcaIfe, who accepts only the record of admissionr âDd
by c. Gregory Smith' H. Harvey Wood, Charles E1liot and
2
Douglas Gray.4 The work and these details suggest an
author of liberal education, accustomed to a certain
authority, and with a wi sh to teach- I{e may apply such
a description to the author and to his Narrator. Sir
Francis Kinastonrs translation of The Testament of
fmerry,
Cresseid into Latin verse includes a though
Somewhat unsavoury tale' of Henryson's death becl, which
has its appeal and is frequently quoted, but we may
probabty only hope that it is true.S
we may assume his great familiarity with Aesoprs
Fables, among the f irst exercises in transl-ation from
the Latin which were given to school pupils, and also
that his works we re likely to be read by individuals'
rather than be read to groups, as \'¡as the case for
earlier poets. In sty]e, they are well suited to oral
delivery and, indeed, the Narratorrs presence seems
always to be that of a speaking voice: recounting'
cajoling or admonishing, sharing thoughts of amusement
or despair. we may also be tempted to think of the
Narrator as a persona with a pedagogical outlook; but
this i s not sufficient reason to assume that he i s doing
no more than stating the views to be expected of the
school-master of Dunfermline. Henryson could write, wi th
apparent ease, in several styles, a proposition we can
verify by reading such varied works as rThe Testament of
Cresseid', 'Orpheus and Eurydice', 'Robene and Makynel
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and rsum Practysis of Medecyne'.6 The MoraL Fables have
applications beyond the lessons of the schoolroom, and
are to be appreciated by adults, already acquainted with
Aesop and his maxims, and prepared to accept that such
tales will be accompanied by moralitates. The presence
of these appendages has disturbed some thtentieth-century
readers of the work.
In consÍdering the telling of the Fablesr we must
also consider the order of the telling, including
the question of whether there is a particular order
which is to be preferred. If v¡e think of the t"loral
Fables simply as a collection of stories which may not
be complete, then any order is possible and none is
necessary./ The witnesses which give all the fables --
the Bassandyne Print, the Charteris Print, the Harleian
Manuscript, the Hart Print and the Smith Print -- give
them in the following order, which is considered
tradi t ionaL :
The Prologue
I The Cock and the JasP
II the Two Mice
III The Cock and the Fox
IV The Fox and the Wolf
Trial of the
V The Fox
VI The Sheep and the Dog
VII The Lion and the Mouse
VIII The Preaching of the SwaIlow
IX The Fox, the Wolf, and the Cadger
X The Fox, the Wolf, and the Husbandman
XI The Wolf and the Wether
XII The Wolf and the Lamb
XIII The Paddock and the l'louse
this is the order used in the editions of Metcalfe'
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Smith, Harvey Wood, (the first editor to consult the
Bassandyne Print), EIliot' and Fox.
There are three other witnessesr the Bannatyne,
Asloan and Makculloch Manuscripts; and none gives alI
the fables. The Bannatyne Manuscript has more of these
than the other two; and some of its readings are
preferred to those of any other witnesses. However, it
supplies only ten of the fables, and there are several
interpolations in the fifth part of the Manuscript'
I contenyng the fabiltis of Esop with diuer{s uþir
fabillis and poetical workis maid & compyld be diuers
lernit menr .8 Bu.,rr.tyne arranged these works as
follows, after his ovùn address 'To the redar':
Henryson The Preaching of the Swallow
Holland the Buke of the Howlat
Henryson The Cock and the Fox
Henryson The Fox and the Wolf
Henryson The Tria1 of the Fox
Henryson Orpheus and EurYdice
Henryson The Bludy Serk
Henryson The Prologue
Henryson The Cock and the JasP
Henryson The Paddock and the Mouse
Henryson The Two Mice
Henryson The Sheep and the Dog
Henryson The Wolf and the Lamb
Henryson The Lion and the Mouse
the Thrissil and the Rois
Dunbar
Dunbar The Go1dyn Targe
Anon. The Three Friars of Berwick
doubtfully attributed
( sometimes
to Dunbar)
Cockelbie
Ànon. Sow
Henryson Robene and MakYne
BeIlenden The Second Prologue or Proheme of
the History of the Chronicles of
Scotland
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