"Nay, that folly, as you term it, and as hell will always term it, is alike the riddle and the masterword of the universe," the old king replies....
And Nicolas whole-heartedly believed that this was true. We do not believe this, quite, but it may be that we are none the happier for our dubiety.
I. LES AMANTS DE MELICENT, Traduction moderne, annotée et procedée d'un notice historique sur Nicolas de Caen, par l'Abbé. * * * A Paris. Pour Iaques Keruer aux deux Cochetz, Rue S. Iaques, M. D. XLVI. Avec Privilège du Roy. The somewhat abridged reprint of 1788 was believed to be the first version printed in French, until the discovery of this unique volume in 1917.
II. ARMAGEDDON; or the Great Day of the Lord's Judgement: a Parcenesis to Prince Henry--MELICENT; an heroicke poeme intended, drawne from French bookes, the First Booke, by Sir William Allonby. London. Printed for Nathaniel Butler, dwelling at the _Pied Bull_, at Saint Austen's Gate. 1626.
III. PERION UNO MELICENT, zum erstenmale aus dem Franzôsischen ins Deutsche ubersetzt, von J. H. G. Lowe. Stuttgart und Tübingen, 1823.
IV. Los NEGOCIANTES DO DON PERION, publicado por Plancher-Seignot. Rio de Janiero, 1827. The translator's name is not given. The preface is signed R. L.
V. LA DONNA DI DEMETRIO, Historia piacevole e morale, da Antonio Checino. Milan, 1833.
VI. PRINDSESSES MELICENT, oversat af Le Roman de Lusignan, og udgivna paa Dansk vid R. Knôs. Copenhagen, 1840.
VII. ANTIQUAe FABULAe ET COMEDIAe, edid. G. Rask. Göttingen, 1852. Vol. II, p. 61 _et seq_. "DE FIDE MELICENTIS"--an abridged version of the romance.
VIII. PERION EN MELICENT, voor de Nederlandsche Jeugduiitgegeven door J. M. L. Wolters. Groningen, 1862.
IX. NOUVELLES FRANCOISES EN PROSE DU XIVE ET DE XVE SIÈCLE, Les textes anciens, édités et annotés par MM. Armin et Moland. Lyons, 1880. Vol. IV, p. 89 et seq., "LE ROMAN DE LA BELLE MELICENT"--a much condensed form of the story.
X. THE SOUL OF MELICENT, by James Branch Cabell. Illustrated in colour by Howard Pyle. New York, 1913. This rendering was made, of course, before the discovery of the 1546 version, and so had not the benefit of that volume's interesting variants from the abridgment of 1788.
XI. CINQ BALLADES DE NICOLAS DE CAEN, traduites en verse du Roman de Lusignan, par Mme. Adolpe Galland, et mises en musique par Raoul Bidoche. Paris, 1898.