Partonopeus de Blois is one of the most important works of twelfth-century French fiction; it shaped the development of romance as a genre, gave rise to adaptations in several other medieval languages and even an opera (Massanet's Esclarmonde). However, partly because of its complicated transmission history, and partly due to the fact that it has been overshadowed by the works of Chretien de Troyes, it has been unjustly neglected. This first full-length study of the romance brings together literary, historical and manuscript studies to explore its making as it evolved through seven medieval...