Author Description

Although largely forgotten today, the story of Amys and Amilioun was one of the most popular legends of the Middle Ages. Initially recounted in Latin, it quickly passed into most European vernacular languages. It has therefore rightly drawn the attention of both single-language specialists and comparativists interested in medieval languages and literature. The Anglo-Norman version of the story found in Karlsruhe, MS. 345 is edited here for the first time. The text presented is significantly different from the other Anglo- Norman versions of the tale, and in these differences it often shows a particular affinity with the Middle English redactions. It therefore provides something of a ‘missing link’ between the French-language tradition and the Middle English accounts, as well as between the continental and insular versions of the legend.