What's it all about?
Raoul Lefevre was a French chaplain to Philip III, Duke of Burgundy. He wrote Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye in 1460, as a romance. An English translation created in 1475 was the first book ever printed in English.
Some Extracts
Extract One:
“...that yf he might retorne from the viage that he had enprised that he shold yet ones again destroye Troyes and that he shold not leue oon stone vpon another. Wyth this conclusion Hercules and lason departed fro troyes...”
“...that if he might return from the voyage he had undertaken that he should yet once again destroy Troy and that he should not leave one stone upon another. With this conclusion, Hercules and Jason departed for Troy...”
“...that if he might return from the voyage he had undertaken that he should yet once again destroy Troy and that he should not leave one stone upon another. With this conclusion, Hercules and Jason departed for Troy...”
Extract Two:
“And did so moche that they defcended t the porte of troyes with so grete an Oost that laomedon durst not defsende hem the porte.”
“And then Hercules held so well his hand in their exercises that at the day set among them, they entered into the sea and did so much that they landed at the port of Troy with so great an army that Laomedon dared not defend the port”
“And then Hercules held so well his hand in their exercises that at the day set among them, they entered into the sea and did so much that they landed at the port of Troy with so great an army that Laomedon dared not defend the port”
What does it all mean?
You know what the drill is by now. See how you go answering these questions!
- According to extract one, why are Hercules and Jason sailing to Troy? What does this tell us about the site of the city?
- In extract two, what geographical clue are we given to the whereabouts of the city? (hint: how did they get to Troy?)
- Do the two extracts back up or challenge other sources about the Trojan War? Why do you think this is?