Silence: A Thirteenth-Century French Romance (Medieval Texts and Studies)

I thought the story "Silence" was very good, surprisingly interesting and engaging given its age. Its plot was not unlike many modern tales, which I found interesting also.If I have one complaint, it is that the translator used some seemingly too modern vocabulary in her translation, like "hit the road," though I suppose there could be something quite similar in old French usage.The most amusing part is the introduction, that among other things, mentioned that the story shows a hatred for women. They describe insults from the story against women. As a woman, I thought "Yeah, seems about right for a book written in that time." But lo and behold, turns out, the writer threw only as many insults towards evil women as he lavished great praises upon the women of good virtue. And he even said as much at the end, almost as if he were speaking in reply to the introduction. Didn't do him much good, though, they didn't listen. ;)About the story, it was much better than I expected, with lots of excitement (never a dull moment) and strong characters. My main disappointment was the end, but I'll leave that to be discovered.Cheers!

Sarah Roche-Mahdi's brilliant dual-language edition of the old French romance called Silence is destined, I am certain, to stand out as a shining example of how all medieval texts should be brought before the general public's attention. Everything you need is here, and thankfully, in a concise and clear form - discussion of the text, the possible history of the text, and the invaluable presence of the original language of the poem. The story is amazing, and Ms. Roche-Mahdi is to be highly praised for a job so well executed. (I wish she would work on translating L'Estoire Merlin!)...

There are many aspects to this story of Silence.Parents overwhelming love for their daughter, concealing her sex in order for her not to loose her inheritance after the king's decree.A child's obedience to her parents, loyalty to the king, as well a a very humble servant of the poor.For the love of one, she/he became servant of all.Her sacrifice is beyond comprehension. I imagine it had to have been extremely difficult for her to supress and deal beautifully her feminine emotions and needs all for the restoration of the rightful inheritance of women. Her good and courageous deeds won her the reversal of the King's decree and the love of the king as well. A very easy and delightful read. I will read it again.

I had to read "Silence" for a Medieval Lit Class a couple semesters ago and have since loaned it to several people. It is a very interesting book that focuses on gender roles in Medieval Times and Silence is a compelling character. I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys reading and especially people who are interested in French/English translations.

Perfect, I got it for a class, but then I fell in love with it. Beautiful, funny story that everyone should read.

Wonderful medieval romance tale. Relatively newly discovered, now in English.

What interested me in reading this was the Masters Thesis by a friend "Negotiating kingly power in the Roman de Silence" by Doreen Ransom. I really enjoyed it and so wanted to read the text it critiqued. I would recommend our book group have a look if they get the chance.I especially enjoyed it because I, as most people probably, have never heard of the Roman de Silence but found it really charming considering when it was written. I wonder if it is comparable to Jean d' Arc. It seems to me there are lots of interesting similarities though it does not end with the heroine -- hmm. Actually, I better not say. That would be giving it away.

The text itself is fantastic, so interesting. Definitely worth the read, and this is by far the cheapest way to do that. However, the Roche-Mahdi could really benefit from a second edition, if only to correct the plethora of typos. It just reads like not one even read it after her original translation before it was published. Her actual translation work is decent, though there were several instances in which the professor who was teaching the course for which I used this text had to provide alternative translations to elucidate the meaning of the text. Perhaps a commentary would be useful as well?

The digital format of this book makes it unreadable. You will need to buy it in book form. I missed the return date as I had got it for a course and did not open it until recently.

The product arrived with a large bend the back cover page. I wouldn't mind but I paid almost £16 for it. I think it is Amazon's fault.I'll be getting a replacement. But the book itself is just what I needed and I have no critiques of it. Good product, shame about the damage.

The text is sideways and is scanned poorly, having the same lines repeat on each page.