Le Roman de Silence
Le Roman de Silence is an octosyllabic verse Old French roman in the Picard dialect, dated to the first half of the 13th century. It is the only work attributed to Heldris de Cornuälle (Heldris of Cornwall, an Arthurian pseudonym). Due to the text's late discovery and editing in 1927 and 1978, as well as its discussion of nature vs. nurture, transvestitism, sex and gender, and gender roles, the roman has attracted considerable interest both from medievalists and the field of Anglo-American gender studies. Manuscript The single manuscript holding the text was found in 1911 in Wollaton Hall in Nottingham, in a crate marked "unimportant documents". The same crate also contained a letter written by Henry VIII. The manuscript is now part of the Wollaton Library Collection (WLC/LM/6), held by the Manuscripts and Special Collections, The University of Nottingham. Silence is one of a collection of 18 stories, including seven romances and ten fabilaux, illustrated with 83 miniatures. The discovery that the manuscript held a previously unknown Old French roman was made in 1927. Synopsis The narrative concerns the adventures of Cador, the heir of the Earl of Cornwall, and then of his daughter Silence, who is raised as a