The Conception of Galien: Recalling Constantinople in the Cheltenham Galien

Abstract

While most versions of the adventures of Galien recreate the events in Constantinople that lead to his conception, the fifteenth-century Cheltenham poet omits the episode altogether. This paper explores the treatment of Galien’s parentage in light of this lacuna. I conclude that the poet sought to reshape the memory of the events in Constantinople by first eliminating them. Then, in a game of complicity with an audience familiar with the missing story, Galien’s versifier constructs a series of nuanced allusions which recast Oliver’s relationship with Jacqueline as a long-distance love affair, thereby bringing dignity to his conception.