Telling the Tale of Jaufre

Dr Anne Purbrick


Region:
Anywhere
Notice Period:
Short (maybe less than one month's notice)
Type:
Professional
Fee:
Paid: Depending on timings, distance and group size.
Category:
History
Updated:
20th September 2023

This is a story, and it's also the story of the story. "The Tale of Jaufre" is a 13th century tale of one of King Arthur's knights which is relatively little known outside Spain. It was written for a king of Aragon in the Occitan language, and contains some unusual elements. Its close cousins today would be Monty Python and the Holy Grail, or the Marvel superheroes, and it's lively, engaging and at times very funny. I'm telling it in English, and endeavouring to keep it as entertaining as the original text. Audiences so far for this talk have ranged from specialist academics to the WI, and from children to retired folk.

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About Dr Anne Purbrick

Under my maiden name of Anne Lister, I am a songwriter, singer and storyteller, and I've performed in front of many different audiences, from small, intimate groups to main stages at festivals. My best known song, "Icarus", has been taken around the world by a number of professional folk performers, and it, like many of my songs, was inspired by myths and folk tales. I have recorded a number of albums of my songs, the most recent of which "Astrolabe", was released in December 2019. However, since retiring from the day job, I have completed a PhD focussed on a medieval tale of King Arthur's court which was written for a king of Aragon in Occitan, and my approach was to treat it as a piece of oral storytelling which I took to a wide variety of audiences. This was probably the first time the story has been told in English, and it has proved very popular. In the research I undertook I uncovered some fascinating historical stories, connecting this tale (The Tale of Jaufre) to Alienor of Aquitaine and Henry II of England, and to other European sources. I have written an English adaptation of the story and have recorded this as a podcast. The English adaptation, together with a book about my research, has now been published by Trivent. I am currently writing a fantasy novel which draws on my knowledge of medieval tales, folklore and history. My website is at www.annelister.com


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