Ombre totemiche negli animali magici della letteratura francese medievale

(eng) In this paper the author investigates the configurations of the narrative motif of the animal as friend and helper of the knight, in three texts: Chrétien's Chevalier au lion, Tristan de Nanteuil and Le Chevalier au cygne. This research aims to acknowledge the different layers of meaning bestowed to this motif, and in particular aims to demonstrate the existence of a mythical-totemic stratum. This totemic layer survives in Medieval texts, although scattered and profoundly re-elaborated, and contributes to their complexity.