Patronage of the poetic Mélusine romance: Guillaume l'Archevêque's confrontation with dynastic crisis

► A re-examination of Guillaume l'Archevêque's patronage of the Roman de Parthenay. ► The study combines historical and textual analysis to investigate Guillaume's interest in this text. ► Conventional arguments that Guillaume commissioned the text to support his one-time English allies are refuted. His long-term loyalty to the French crown at the time when the romance was commissioned is demonstrated. ► The l'Archevêque-Parthenay dynasty was threatened with extinction. ► The romance was a response to Guillaume's anxiety that his lineage would die out.