Fenice
The daughter of the Emperor of Germany, wife of Alis, and beloved of Cligés. She is one of the central heroines of Chrétien de Troyes' Cligés.
Introduction#
Fenice was the daughter of the Emperor of Germany, the wife of Alis, Emperor of Greece and Constantinople, and the beloved of Cligés.
Title | Empress of Constantinople
A Princess of the Empire#
In Chrétien de Troyes’ Cligés, she becomes the centre of a romance that deliberately echoes the legend of Tristan and Isolde while seeking a different moral outcome. Although compelled into a political marriage, Fenice refuses to surrender either her love or her honour, becoming one of Chrétien’s most complex and memorable heroines.
Daughter of the Emperor of Germany, renowned for her extraordinary beauty, and sought by the Duke of Saxony, but her father instead arranged her union with Alis, strangthening the alliance between the German and Byzantine empires.
When Alis arrived in Cologne accompanied by his nephew Cligés, Fenice fell in love not with the emperor but with the young knight.
Love and Honour#
Fenice is one of the clearest examples of Chrétien’s engagement with the ideals of courtly love. Although she loved Cligés, she refused to become another Isolde, whose love for Tristan was consummated while she remained the wife of King Mark.
Determined to preserve both her chastity and her love, Fenice enlisted the aid of her faithful nurse Thessala, who prepared a potion causing Alis to believe each night that he had shared his wife’s bed, while in reality the marriage remained unconsummated.
The Feigned Death#
When secrecy could no longer protect them, Fenice and Cligés devised a bold plan. Thessala prepared another potion that placed Fenice into a death-like sleep, allowing her to be buried before Cligés secretly rescued her.
Their scheme nearly failed when three physicians from Salerno doubted that Fenice had truly died. Subjecting her to increasingly cruel tests in an attempt to awaken her, they inflicted painful injuries before being thrown from a window by Fenice’s loyal attendants.
After Cligés recovered Fenice from her tomb, Thessala healed her wounds, and the lovers lived together in hiding within a secluded tower.
Empress of Constantinople#
The lovers’ refuge was eventually discovered, forcing them to flee to Arthur’s court. Cligés prepared to reclaim the empire by force, but before war became necessary, Alis died.
Fenice and Cligés returned peacefully to Constantinople, where they were crowned emperor and empress.
Literary Significance#
Fenice is one of Chrétien de Troyes’ most original heroines. While her story consciously recalls that of Isolde, Chrétien repeatedly distinguishes the two women. Fenice seeks neither deception for its own sake nor an adulterous relationship. Instead, she insists that her marriage to Alis should remain unconsummated, allowing her love for Cligés to remain, in her own view, morally defensible.
By reshaping one of the best-known love stories of the Middle Ages, Chrétien presents Fenice as an alternative to Isolde—one whose loyalty to her beloved is matched by her determination to preserve her honour.
Sources#
Cligés | Chrétien de Troyes, late 12th century
