Sir
Orfeo
Sir Orfeo tells of the greatest harper that ever lived. Related to the Greek tale of
Orpheus and Eurydice, this tale of a husband's loving devotion takes a turn at the end
typical of the genial medieval English romances. The poem is rich in symbolism and a moral
ambiguity that allows the listener to explore the fundamental questions raised by the
romance. The combination of mundane details of everyday life with the mystery of the other
is as delightful today as it would have been in the fourteenth century. Together
with Orfeo, the listener struggles to understand and ultimately to find resolution, not in
logical coherence, but in melody and the rich interactions of music.
The tale survives in three manuscripts. This adaptation is based on the
oldest, the
Auchinleck Manuscript, dated 1330-40. The beginning, which is missing in that manuscript,
is incorporated from Harley MS. 3810, from the end of the fifteenth century.
