Archétypes pluritextuels et formation des vulgates. Sur l’environnement cyclique des romans arthuriens en prose (ca 1200–1250)

The use of the term “cycle” in Arthurian studies dates back to at least the 1830s and it has been accepted as an established fact. However, it is only recently that a more precise portrayal was developed. In the first part of this contribution, we will explore the notion of “cycle” by highlighting the questions that led to its adoption. We will emphasize, alongside the traditional notion, the more recent concepts of “cyclicity” and “cyclification”. In the second part, these concepts will be reconsidered in the light of text transmission by analyzing the mechanisms of formation of pluritextual archetypes and vulgates, the interaction between external and internal cyclification, and the activation of intercyclical dynamics. We will refer to this complex reality, both actual and virtual, as a “cyclical environment”.