De Blanchefleur á Blanzeflor: de la jeune fille á la sainte reine
Résumé
This essay explores the changes made by the Scandinavian translators of Floire and
Blanchefleur to Blanchefleur’s characterization, emphasizing her role in Floire’s
conversion to Christianity. The translators probably were clerics and as such saw an
opportunity in Blanzeflor to push the Church agenda for married women. After cen-
turies of debate by Christian thinkers on how to manage female sexuality in marriage,
the Church of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries appeared to have settled the
question: married women should exploit their privileged positions to try and keep
their husbands away from sin. However, as a queen, Blanzeflor’s duties don’t stop
with her husband: she also has to keep her subjects in check and her husband’s realm
healthy.