Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 5, 1894.djvu/129

 The Roman van Walezvein. - 121

THE ROMAN VAN WALEWEIN (GAWAIN).

BY PROFESSOR W. P. KER.

ThtRotiiofi van JJ'a/e7i'C2n,ed. A. Jonckbloet, Leiden, 1846 (cf. Gaston Paris, Ht'si. litt. de la France^ xxx), is the work of two authors, Pennine and Pieter Vostaert, the first of whom, at the beginning, seems to profess independence of a French orginal, while the second inconsistently refers to "the French book" {die ivalscc tale, 1. 11,141) from which the story is taken. The date is undetermined ; there may have been some interval between the first and the second author (Dr. Jan te Winkel, Geschiedenis der nederlandsche Letterku?ide^ i, p. 179). The manuscript (1. 11,201) is dated 1350.

Th2 story (anal)-sed by M. Gaston Paris, /. r.) is interest- ing as a rare example of an Arthurian romance which follows throughout, with little digression, though consider- able redundancy, the lines of a popular story. In other romances there is plenty of matter analogous to that of the fairy tales ; but it would be difficult to find another which corresponds so closely in its main plot from beginning to end with that of a common popular story. The story of " Walewein", told in 11,200 lines, is the story of Grimm's "Golden Bird" and Campbell's " Mac Iain Direach", a quest for one marvellous thing leading to the quest for another and another, till the series is wound up ; with the Fox as travelling companion of the hero.

WALEWEIN.

At the court of Arthur there appears, one day, coming in by the window, a magical chessboard of gold and silver, ivory, and precious stones, which rests for a little and then flies away. Gawain sets out to follow the chessboard and bring it back to the king.

He goes on till he comes to a high mountain that seems to block his way, but it opens for him as he comes, and closes after him. Here, within the mountain, he has to fight with dragons (four young ones and their dam) before he can get to an opening on the other side. There he finds