James Cabell: Domnei. A Comedy of Woman-Worship

Yet instances were not lacking in the service of domnei where worship of the symbol developed into a religion sufficing in itself, and became competitor with worship of what the symbol primarily represented—such instances as have their analogues in the legend of Ritter Tannhäuser, or in Aucassin's resolve in the romance to go down into hell with "his sweet mistress whom he so much loves," or (here perhaps most perfectly exampled) in Arnaud de Merveil's naïve declaration that whatever portion of his heart belongs to God heaven holds in vassalage to Adelaide de Beziers. It is upon this darker and rebellious side of domnei , of a religion pathetically dragged dustward by the luxuriance and efflorescence of over-passionate service, that Nicolas has touched in depicting Demetrios.

4

Nicolas de Caen, himself the servitor par amours of Isabella of Burgundy, has elsewhere written of _domne_i (in his Le Roi Amaury ) in terms such as it may not be entirely out of place to transcribe here. Baalzebub, as you may remember, has been discomfited in his endeavours to ensnare King Amaury and is withdrawing in disgust.

"A pest upon this domnei !"[1: Quoted with minor alterations from Watson's version] the fiend growls. "Nay, the match is at an end, and I may speak in perfect candour now. I swear to you that, given a man clear-eyed enough to see that a woman by ordinary is nourished much as he is nourished, and is subjected to every bodily infirmity which he endures and frets beneath, I do not often bungle matters. But when a fool begins to flounder about the world, dead-drunk with adoration of an immaculate woman—a monster which, as even the man's own judgment assures him, does not exist and never will exist—why, he becomes as unmanageable as any other maniac when a frenzy is upon him. For then the idiot hungers after a life so high-pitched that his gross faculties may not so much as glimpse it; he is so rapt with impossible dreams that he becomes oblivious to the nudgings of his most petted vice; and he abhors his own innate and perfectly natural inclination to cowardice, and filth, and self-deception. He, in fine, affords me and all other rational people no available handle; and, in consequence, he very often flounders beyond the reach of my whisperings. There may be other persons who can inform you why such blatant folly should thus be the master-word of evil, but for my own part, I confess to ignorance."

"Nay, that folly, as you term it, and as hell will always term it, is alike the riddle and the masterword of the universe," the old king replies….

And Nicolas whole-heartedly believed that this was true. We do not believe this, quite, but it may be that we are none the happier for our dubiety.

EXPLICIT

I. LES AMANTS DE MELICENT, Traduction moderne, annotée et procedée d'un notice historique sur Nicolas de Caen, par l'Abbé. * * * A Paris. Pour Iaques Keruer aux deux Cochetz, Rue S. Iaques, M. D. XLVI. Avec Privilège du Roy. The somewhat abridged reprint of 1788 was believed to be the first version printed in French, until the discovery of this unique volume in 1917.

II. ARMAGEDDON; or the Great Day of the Lord's Judgement: a Parcenesis to Prince Henry—MELICENT; an heroicke poeme intended, drawne from French bookes, the First Booke, by Sir William Allonby. London. Printed for Nathaniel Butler, dwelling at the Pied Bull , at Saint Austen's Gate. 1626.

III. PERION UNO MELICENT, zum erstenmale aus dem Franzôsischen ins

Deutsche ubersetzt, von J. H. G. Lowe. Stuttgart und Tübingen, 1823.

IV. Los NEGOCIANTES DO DON PERION, publicado por Plancher-Seignot. Rio de Janiero, 1827. The translator's name is not given. The preface is signed R. L.

V. LA DONNA DI DEMETRIO, Historia piacevole e morale, da Antonio

Checino. Milan, 1833.

VI. PRINDSESSES MELICENT, oversat af Le Roman de Lusignan, og udgivna paa Dansk vid R. Knôs. Copenhagen, 1840.

VII. ANTIQUAe FABULAe ET COMEDIAe, edid. G. Rask. Göttingen, 1852. Vol. II, p. 61 et seq . "DE FIDE MELICENTIS"—an abridged version of the romance.

VIII. PERION EN MELICENT, voor de Nederlandsche Jeugduiitgegeven door

J. M. L. Wolters. Groningen, 1862.

IX. NOUVELLES FRANCOISES EN PROSE DU XIVE ET DE XVE SIÈCLE, Les textes anciens, édités et annotés par MM. Armin et Moland. Lyons, 1880. Vol. IV, p. 89 et seq., "LE ROMAN DE LA BELLE MELICENT"—a much condensed form of the story.

X. THE SOUL OF MELICENT, by James Branch Cabell. Illustrated in colour by Howard Pyle. New York, 1913. This rendering was made, of course, before the discovery of the 1546 version, and so had not the benefit of that volume's interesting variants from the abridgment of 1788.

XI. CINQ BALLADES DE NICOLAS DE CAEN, traduites en verse du Roman de

Lusignan, par Mme. Adolpe Galland, et mises en musique par Raoul

Bidoche. Paris, 1898.

XII. LE LIURE DE MÉLUSINE en fracoys, par Jean d'Arras. Geneva, 1478.

XIII. HISTORIA DE LA LINDA MELOSYNA. Tolosa, 1489.

XIV. EEN SAN SONDERLINGKE SCHONE ENDE WONDERLIKE HISTORIE, die men warachtich kout te syne ende autentick sprekende van eenre vrouwen gheheeten Mélusine. Tantwerpen, 1500.

XV. DIE HISTORI ODER GESCHICHT VON DER EDLE UND SCHÖNEN MELUSINA.

Augsburg, 1547.

XVI. L'HISTOIRE DE MÉLUSINE, fille du roy d'Albanie et de dame Pressine, revue et mise en meilleur langage que par cy devant. Lyons, 1597.

XVII. LE ROMAN DE MÉLUSINE, princesse de Lusignan, avec l'histoire de

Geoffry, surnommé à la Grand Dent, par Nodot. Paris, 1700.

XVIII. KRONYKE KRATOCHWILNE, o ctné a slech netné Panne Meluzijne.

Prag, 1760.

XIX. WUNDERBARE GESCHICHTE VON DER EDELN UND SCHÔNEN MELUSINA, welche eine Tochter des König Helmus und ein Meerwunder gewesen ist. Nurnberg, without date: reprinted in Marbach's VOLKS BÜCHER, Leipzig, 1838.