Di rumore e di luce. Valenze sinestesiche delle ierofanie arturiane

The paper aims to discuss the phono-luminous synesthetic values of hierophany in Arthurian Old French literature. Conceived as an extra-ordinary stimulation of the senses, hierophany consists of a son et lumière spectacle in which the relationship between light effects and acoustic manifestations is more often characterised by contradiction than by complementarity. In Old French fiction, the sound is usually frightening, while the visual effects dazzle and seduce. The episode that triggers Perceval’s adventure in Chrétien de Troye’s Conte du Graal is played out in the space and time of a perturbation involving the sense of hearing and sight. In the epiphanies that can be assimilated to the wild hunt type, not only is the narrative articulated in a noisy crescendo as well as a supernatural glow, but also acoustic mirabilia alternate with luminous marvels. In the later incarnations of the beste glatissant, a brutal cry breaks the silent spell of light. If Chrétien’s five knights are first perceived as demons and then as angels, the beast of Perceforest conceals a diabolical nature behind a deceptively glowing appearance. The substantial angelic-demonic ambiguity of the beast is also revealed at lexical level.