The meaning of “ympe-tree” in Sir Orfeo

Abstract

My purpose in this brief article is to shed some light on the controversial meaning and interpretation of the word “ympe-tre(e)” in the English Medieval poem Sir Orfeo from the beginning of the 14!h century. The poem survives in three copies of some 600 verses and it is based on Orfeo and Euridice of the classical mythology, but it has been adapted, however, to the world of medieval chivalry. In my attempt at translating the poem into Spanish I came across some snags, like the mentioned ympe-tree, appearing five times in the text and which proves hard to comprehend, if only because it is deeply rooted in a myth that may go well beyond the boundaries of Greek mythology.