FLORE AND BLANCHEFLEUR

This article appears in Volume V10, Page 528 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

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FLORE AND BLANCHEFLEUR , a 13th-century romance. This tale, 'generally supposed to be of oriental origin, relates the passionate devotion of two children, and their success in over-coming all the obstacles. put in the way of their love. The romance appears in differing versions in French, English, German, Swedish, Icelandic, Italian, Spanish, Greek and Hungarian. The various forms of the tale receive a detailed notice in E. Hausknecht's version of the 13th-century Middle English poem of " Floris and Blauncheflur " (Samna. eng. Denkmd'ler., vol. v. Berlin; 1885). Nothing definite can be stated of the origin of the story, but France was in the 12th and 13th centuries the

chief

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

market of romance, and the French version of the tale, Floire et Blanchefleur, is the most widespread. Floire, the son of a Saracen king of Spain, is brought up in constant companion-ship with Blanchefleur, the daughter of a Christian slave of noble birth. Floire's parents, hoping to destroy this attachment, send the boy away at fifteen and sell Blanchefleur to foreign slave-merchants. When Floire returns a few days later he is told that his companion is dead, but when he threatens to kill himself, his parents tell him the truth. He traces her to the tower of the maidens destined for the harem of the emir of Babylon, into which he penetrates concealed in a basket of

flowers

FLOWERS, ARTIFICIAL

. The lovers are discovered, but their constancy touches the hearts of their judges. They are married, and Floire returns to his kingdom, when he and all his people adopt Christianity. Of the two 12th-century French poems (ed. tdelestand du Meril, Paris, 1856), the one contains the love story with' few additions, the other is a romance of

chivalry

CHIVALRY (O. Fr. chevalerie, from
Late
- LATE
Lat. caballerius)

, containing the usual battles, single combats, &c. Two lyrics based on episodes of the story are printed by Paulin Paris in his Romancero francais (Paris, 'x883). The English poem renders the French version without amplifications, such as are found in other adaptations. Its author has less sentiment than his

original

ORIGINAL

, and less taste for detailed description. Among the other forms of the story must be noted the prose romance (c. 1340) of Boccaccio, Il Filocolo, and the 14th-century Leggenda delta reina Rosana e di Rosana sua figliuola (pr. Leghorn, 1871). The similarity between the story of Floire and Blanchefleur and Chance fable of Aucassin et Nicolete 1 has been repeatedly pointed out, and they have even been credited with a common source.
See also editions by I. Bekker (Berlin, 1844) and E. Hausknecht (Berliq, 1885) ; also H. Sundmacher, Die altfr. and mittelhochdeutsche earbeitung der Sage von Fiore et Blanscheflur (Gottingen, 1872) ; H. Herzog, Die beiden Sagenkreise von Flore and elanscheflur (Vienna, 1884); Zeitschriftfilr dent. Altertum (vol. xxi.) contains a Rhenish version; the Scandinavian Flores Saga ok Blankiflllr, ed. E.Kolbing (

Halle

, 1896) ; the 13th-century version of Konrad Fleck, Fiore and Blanscheflur, ed. E. Sommer (

Leipzig

LEIPZIG

, 1846); the Swedish by G. E. Klemming (Stockholm, 1844). The English poem was also edited by Hartschorne (English Metrical Tales, 1829), by Laing (Abbotsford Club, 1829), and by Lumly (Early Eng. Text Soc., 1866, re-edited G. H. McKnight, 19o1). J. Reinhold (Floire et Blanchefleur, Paris, 19e6) suggests a parallelism with the story of Cupid and Psyche as
' Ed. H. Suchier (Paderborn, 1878, 5th ed. 1903); modern French by G. Michaut, with preface by J. Bedier (Tours, 1901); English by Andrew Lang (1887), by F. W. Bourdillon (Oxford, i$96), and by Laurence Housman (Igoe).told by Apuleius; also that the oriental setting does not necessarily imply a connexion with Arab tales, as the circumstances might with small alteration have been taken from the Vulgate version of the book of Esther.
FLORENCE; WILLIAM JERMYN (18311891), American actor, of Irish descent, whose real name was

Bernard

Conlin, was born on the 26th of July 1831 at Albany, N.Y., and first attracted attention as an actor at Brougham's Lyceum in 1851. Two years later he married Mrs Malvina Pray Littell (d. 1906), in association with whom, until her retirement in 1889, he won all his successes, notably in Benjamin Woolf's The Mighty Dollar, said to have been presented more than 2500 times. In 1856 they had a successful London season, Mrs Florence being one of the first American actresses to appear on the English stage. In 1889 Florence entered into partnership with Joseph Jefferson, playing Sir Lucius O'Trigger to his Bob Acres and Mrs John Drew's Mrs Malaprop on a very successful tour. His last appearance was with Jefferson on the 14th of November 1891,
as Ezekiel Homespun in The

Heir

HEIR (Lat. heres, from a root meaning to grasp, seen in heres or erus, master of a
house
- HOUSE
- HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in Gothic it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)
, Gr. xeip, hand, Sans. hat ana, hand)

-at-law, and he died on the 18th of November in Philadelphia.

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