“Beautiful Home”
Belrapeire, Belrepèire, Belrepiere, Biaurepaire
A town in the land of Brobarz, ruled by the lady called Blancheflor in Chrétien’s Perceval and Condwiramurs (Kondviramur) in Wolfram’s Parzival.
The lady had inherited it from her father, Tampenteire. It was attacked by Clamadeu of the Isles and his seneschal, Anguiguerron (Anguingueron), and was on the verge of defeat when Perceval arrived and agreed to act as the lady’s champion. Perceval defeated Clamadeu and his seneschal and saved the town. Chrétien says that he turned down Blancheflor’s offer to rule the town and departed; Wolfram claims that he married Condwiramurs and became lord of Brobarz. The incident receives little attention in the Post-Vulgate version.
In the third Continuation of Chrétien’s Perceval, Beaurepaire is attacked a second time by Lord Caridés of Escavalon and is again saved by Perceval. In Heinrich von dem Türlin’s Diu Crône, it is named as the home of an Arthurian knight named Joranz.
D.D.R. Owen uses “Beaurepaire” in his translation, Ruth Cline “Belrepeire.” One might guess that Chrétien intended to bring Percivale back eventually to help Blancheflor rule this place.
A footnote of Cline’s quotes Hilka is noting that Belrepeire is the name of the castle of Morcads (Morchades), Gawaine’s mother in the Enfances Gauvain, which Ronan Coghlan’s Encyclopaedia of Arthurian Legends tells me is a French poem of the thirteenth century (thus postdating Chrétien’s work).
Sources
Perceval, or Le Conte del Graal | Chrétien de Troyes, late 12th century
Second Continuation of Chrétien’s Perceval | Attributed to Wauchier of Denain, c. 1200
Parzival | Wolfram von Eschenbach, 1200–1210
Third Continuation of Chrétien’s Perceval | Manessier, c. 1230
Diu Crône | Heinrich von dem Türlin, c. 1230
Post-Vulgate Suite du Merlin | 1230-1240