Loving and Writing Metalepsis and Possible Worlds in a Few Romances of the 12th-13th Centuries

This article looks at the metalepses, i.e. the interferences between the internal and external worlds of the text, in Le Bel Inconnu, Partonopeu de Blois, and Joufroi de Poitiers, in order to identify their medieval specificity. It lies in their performativity: unlike the disruptive metalepses of modern novels, medieval metalepses, because they really achieve what they say, do not hinder narrative development by transgressing the boundaries of fiction, but rather promote it.