Roman de Fergus

The Roman de Fergus is an Arthurian romance written in Old French probably at the very beginning of the 13th century, by a very well educated author who named himself Guillaume le Clerc (William the Clerk). The main character is Fergus, the son of Soumilloit (a name corresponding to Sorley or Somerled; Scottish Gaelic: Somhairle), a rich but old-fashioned farmer and a noble Arthurian woman who rises to become the best knight of King Arthur.

If the Roman is based upon a historical figure, it is probably Fergus of Galloway. The Roman has been upheld by many modern critics for its highly sophisticated use of parody, parody directed at the whole genre of Arthurian romance. It had been suggested by earlier scholars such as Dominicia Legge that the work was produced under the patronage of Alan, Lord of Galloway, but this idea is now rejected by most scholars, for a variety of reasons, including the Roman's satirisation of Fergus (Alan's great-grandfather). Recently, it has been proposed by D.D.R. Owen that it was written for the entertainment of the Scottish court of William I, and that the author was none other than William Malveisin, a royal clerk who rose to hold both the Bishopric of Glasgow and St Andrews. Also noted by scholars is the Roman's extensive knowledge of the geography of southern Scotland, which is in general depicted in an exceedingly accurate manner. This is in contrast to most other works of the genre, in which geography is vague and unrealistic.

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