Les morts violentes de Darnant, Estonné et Bruyant dans Perceforest

Perceforest features three violent deaths in a row, building up to a vendetta. The narrative is enhanced by a clever conjointure that manages to renew the adventurous motif while avoiding repetitions and commonplaces. Even though modern readers may be surprised at the presence of merveilles, or marvelous elements, a Burgundian audience, and more particularly the Duke of Burgundy himself, Phillip the Good, would in fact have been interested in elements which could be seen to draw a parallel with contemporary historical events : indeed, the murder of John the Fearless at Montereau was seen as a deeply traumatic event, one that was often depicted in Burgundian literature. Such a reading throws an entirely new light on the three sequences, and especially on the third murder, this particular one being out of sync with History : baby Passelion, born with a bow in hand, appears as a kind of Cupid, who can be taken to represent the Duke of Burgundy, a great seducer – as Estonne’s own son would prove to be – and a conqueror who used his bastard sons as political pawns instead of instruments of revenge .