The Story of Attila in Prose: A Critical Edition and Translation of the Estoire d'Atile en prose

The Story of Attila in Prose is the first critical edition and translation of the thirteenth century Franco-Italian prose text the Estoire d’Atile en prose. Preserved in two anonymous and untitled manuscripts composed between the last quarter of the thirteenth century and the beginning of the fourteenth century, the story recounts the fictional founding of Venice after the invasion of Aquileia by Attila the Hun. The manuscripts, located in Zagreb and Venice, detail Attila’s pagan mother, her union with a dog, and his feral birth, as well as his unusual death during a chess match and the origins of the Holy Grail. This edition and translation are based on the Zagreb manuscript, which was only recently discovered. The book includes a full critical apparatus containing rejected readings and variants from the Venetian manuscript, and a thorough introduction that discusses the literary value of the text, its possible sources, and its influence on later literature. It is important reading for both historians of medieval Europe and literary critics.

About the Author

Roberto Pesce is Assistant Professor of Italian at the University of Oklahoma, USA. His research focuses on medieval literature, especially chronicles and historical works in Italian vernacular and Latin.

Logan E. Whalen is Professor of French at the University of Oklahoma, USA. His primary research interests include romance, fable, fabliaux, and chansons de geste.