Storia, mito e rispecchiamento esemplare nel romanzo medievale in versi

This paper aims to show how the medieval verse romances throw open the door to the idea that more or less “anyone” can be the protagonist of a story worthy of being told, which becomes a typical feature of modern and contemporary novels. The discussion of some specific episodes from Thomas’ Tristan, Chrétien’s Cligès and the provençal romances of Jaufre and Flamenca shows that medieval verse romances maintain a precarious balance between estoire and fable, narrating events which can be understood as literally true, offering at the very same time an exemplum of some “universal truth”. Hence, the general “meaning” of the romances transcends the historical truth of narrated facts, so as to project itself into a somewhat “mythical” dimension.