Chanson De Geste And French Epic Research Papers (original) (raw)

À propos de Rappeler Roland (2013), son dernier livre paru, Frédéric Boyer évoque le travail de « translateur » qui a été le sien quand il a traduit une chanson de geste, La Chanson de Roland, dans la langue d’usage de notre présent. Cette chanson est-elle une chanson de vétérans qui témoigne d’un rapport vivant à un passé épique ? En quoi sa traduction enrichit-elle notre langue aujourd’hui ? Qu’est-ce qu’une bataille perdue par Roland dans un très lointain Moyen Âge raconte lyriquement aujourd’hui ? La traduction est un art d’affrontement volontaire et positif ; qui mobilise des outils très spécifiques : ceux de la transposition, de la trans- ou de la télédéportation au sein même de la langue.

- by and +1
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- Chansons De Geste, Chanson De Geste And French Epic, Contemporary Poetry, Epic poetry

L'extrait qu'on va analyser est tiré par Le Couronnement de Louis, chanson qui appartient au Cycle de Guillaume d'Orange, l'un des cycles les plus importants et célèbres de la littérature médiévale, datant du XII e siècle. Il s'agit d'un passage très emblématique du fait que l'exploit, ici représenté, est systématiquement rappelé dans tout le cycle, notamment quand on fait l'éloge du héros Guillaume, loyal vassal du roi.
Après avoir permis le couronnement du fils de Charlemagne, Guillaume part en pèlerinage vers Rome, laquelle est, au même temps, menacée par les visées destructrices du roi sarrasin Gallafre. Celui-ci propose au pape que le sort de la cité soit décidé par un combat entre deux champions: le roi Corsolt, un géant terrifiant, d'un côté, et Guillaume, choisi par le pape lui-même, de l'autre.

En el Cantar de mio Cid, principal representante de la épica medieval hispánica, confluyen varias tradiciones. En la presente monografía se analizan las relaciones y la influencia que la épica francesa ejerció en el poema castellano en los niveles de los motivos y del formulismo. A partir de un amplio corpus de veinticinco chansons, y desde una perspectiva comparatista, se lleva a cabo un estudio pormenorizado de ambos niveles, para determinar tanto el influjo ultrapirenaico en el Cantar como las particularidades que, pese a ello, este sigue manteniendo respecto de sus modelos franceses.

- by Pablo Justel
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- Comparative Literature, Aesthetics, Medieval Literature, Medieval French Literature

In Neogeografia (Milieu 2019), Matteo Meschiari apre una questione fondamentale a partire da premesse necessarie: se la geografia nasce come scienza militare, come mappatura del mondo allo scopo di conquistarlo, e presto si trasforma in antropologia attraverso la fusione con la storia, chi è oggi in grado di fare geografia, cioè di narrare il mondo cogliendone gli aspetti contemporanei? Se le mappe non corrispondono più alla nostra conoscenza del mondo, in quale modo si possono aggiornare, e con quale obiettivo?

- by Claudia Boscolo
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- Philology, Geography, Anthropology, Italian Studies

The transfer of Saracen arms into Frankish ownership is a leitmotif of many chansons de geste, but one whose significance for inter-imperial translation or translatio imperii has yet to be elucidated. In this essay, I focus on the Chanson d’Aspremont, a twelfth-century epic set in Calabria that narrates the pre-history of Durendal, Roland’s sword of Song of Roland fame, as an object inherited by Roland from its former royal Muslim owner. Drawing on cultural history and object-translation models derived from material and spolia studies, I read the sword’s symbolic transfer as evidence of Norman desire for and appropriation of former Fatimid imperium in Sicily.

This is a conference paper I presented at The Animal/Human Bond in Oxford Summer 2014, excerpted from a larger work. Now available in "Who's Talking Now? Multispecies Relations from Humans and Animals Point of View" at http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/publishing/product/whos-talking-now-multispecies-relations-from-human-and-animals-point-of-view/
My research is on the development of the horse as a status symbol in western Europe during the Middle Ages. Horses throughout history have often been restricted to the upper classes in non-nomadic societies simply due to the expense and time required of ownership of a 1,000lb prey animal. However, between 1000 and 1300 the perceived social value of the horse far surpasses the expense involved. After this point, ownership of quality animals begins to be regulated by law, such that a well off merchant or a lower level noble would not be legally allowed to own the most prestigious mounts, despite being able to easily afford one. Depictions of horses in literature become increasingly more elaborate and more reflective of their owners’ status and heroic value during this time. Changes over time in the frequency of horses being used, named, and given as gifts in literature from the same traditions, such as from the Waltharius to the Niebelungenlied, and the evolving Arthurian cycles, show a steady increase in the horse’s use as social currency. Later epics, such as La Chanson de Roland and La Cantar del Mio Cid, illustrate how firmly entrenched the horse became is the trappings of aristocracy.

- by Katrin Boniface
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- Medieval Literature, Medieval History, Medieval Studies, Chretien de Troyes
- by Matthias M Tischler
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- European History, Military History, Cultural Studies, Near Eastern Studies
- by Kathleen Jarchow
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- Medieval Studies, Magic, Chanson De Geste And French Epic, Old French
- by Esther Dehoux
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- Medieval History, Medieval Studies, Chanson De Geste And French Epic

Il s'agit de la table des matières des trois volumes de ma thèse soutenue le 24 juin 2016 à l'Université d'Aix-Marseille.

We will probably never know if Homer has existed of not. But the question of how Iliad and Odyssey were composed it not an idle one. Those epics are probably the collective work of illiterate singer who, generation after generation, have transformed what had been transmitted to them. Their songs came to be dictated to scribes and eventually given a more or less fixed form by Alexandrine grammarians. Hence the importance of comparing Homeric epics and other oral poetries. IT is the aim of this book, in which, after a critical reappraisal of Milman Parry’s and Albert Lord’s works, evokes Arabian archaic poetries, touaregs contemporary poetries, and medieval troubadours lyrics.

- by Dominique Casajus
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- Homer, Arabic Poetry, Orality-Literacy Studies, History of Anthropology
- by Andrea Ghidoni
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- Comparative Literature, Anthropology, Medieval Literature, Literature

Philip Bennett, Anne Cobby, Sophie Marnette and Marianne Ailes (ed.), Actes du XIXe Congrès de la Société Rencesvals, Edinburgh, British Branch of the Société Rencesvals, 2015, p. 363-380.

- by Andrea Ghidoni
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- Comparative Literature, Mythology, Medieval Literature, Medieval Studies

in Élisabeth Ridel (dir.), "Les Vikings dans l'empire franc. Impact, héritage, imaginaire", catalogue d'exposition, 2014, Bayeux, Orep Éditions, p. 104-108.

The article aims to outline aspects, features and functions of a cluster of characters in some chansons de geste, in particular Yon and Gaifier, both designated often as rulers of Aquitaine (or Gascony). Around these characters, we can individuate a pattern, in which the Aquitanian lord gives the hero his daughter’s hand, which means power and sovereignty; other features linked with Yon and Gaifier are wealth and treachery. Some features of the pattern can be rooted in the 8th-century struggle of Aquitanian dukes to remain independent from the Carolingian centralization of the power. In the second part, some hypotheses will be advanced about the relationship of the “Aquitanian pattern” with the plot of the Medieval Latin text Waltharius and of the Spanish romancero commonly entitled Gaiferos.

- by Andrea Ghidoni
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- Cultural History, Cultural Studies, Comparative Literature, Anthropology

The chanson de geste known as Chanson de la reine Sebile or Chanson de Macaire seems to have been widely known during the Middle Ages, as far as it can be judged from its indirect tradition and its translations. Nevertheless, except for some fragments dispersed in Switzerland, England and Belgium, the French version has been lost. The fragment kept in Brussels, at the Bibliothèque Royale de Belgique, presents a very interesting episode, which gives, to some extent, the key to understanding of the whole geste. Starting with a very close analysis of the Belgian fragment, this article suggests a new reading of this little known geste and some new hypotheses about its origin, its inspiration and the way it reflects the 12th-century political context, in the reign of Philip II of France.

- by Mattia Cavagna
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- Medieval Literature, Medieval History, Romance philology, Chansons De Geste

written by Daniel Melde, Vivien L. Bruns and Christian Peters, edited by Bernhard Huss
Das vorliegende Working Paper untersucht transhistorische Filiationen aktualitätsepischen Schreibens von der Antike bis in die Frühe Neuzeit. Ausgehend von purifizierend vereinfachenden Grundannahmen der Moderne, die das Epos allein auf ideologiestabilisierende Narrative einer mythhistorischen Vorzeit beschränken (z.B. Bachtin), sollen hier zum einen die seit der Antike bestehende und in ihrer Quantität bedeutsame Tradition von zeithistorischer Epik und zum anderen anhand ausgewählter Epen, insbesondere aus dem italienischen Quattrocento und der französischen Renaissance, die zuweilen sehr produktive Spannung zwischen ‚alter‘ literarischer Gattung und ‚neuem‘ historischen Stoff aufgezeigt werden. Das Working Paper erweitert damit die Perspektive des Teilprojekts 03 („Die Pistole des Mars“) im Hinblick auf andere zeitliche und räumliche Kontexte. Die exemplarischen Studien sollen zeigen, dass der Rekurs auf die epische(n) Gattungstradition(en) keineswegs einheitlich ist, sondern äußerst heterogen ausfällt. Neben dem vergilischen Paradigma eines herrschaftspanegyrischen, teleologischen Großnarrativs mit einer theologisch-heilsgeschichtlichen Komponente (Tito Strozzi, Borsias), lässt sich ebenso aufgrund des zunehmenden Interesses an der griechischen Literatur im 15. Jahrhundert eine Homerisierung der Epik feststellen (Basinio da Parma, Hesperis). Die Epik Frankreichs rezipiert zudem die Ritterstoffe des Mittelalters und koppelt diese mit den antiken Mustern (Sébastien Garnier, Henriade). Schließlich bildet die Bürgerkriegsepik Lucans einen virulenten Bezugspunkt in der Verarbeitung des französischen Konfessionskonflikts (Paulus Thomas, Lutetias).

- by Bernhard Huss and +2
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- Chanson De Geste And French Epic, Epic poetry, Ancient Epic and Drama, Classical and Renaissance Epic

Das 'Rolandslied' des Pfaffen Konrad, entstanden um 1170 und in der Stofftradition der altfranzösischen Chanson de geste den Kreuzzug thematisierend, erzählt die herausragende Todesszene des titelgebenden Helden: Roland, der stellvertretende Heerführer Kaiser Karls, zieht sich nach der Niederlage der Christen erschöpft vom Schlachtfeld zurück. Die darauf folgende Todesszene wird anhand der zwei Objekte, die Roland bei sich trägt, in ihrer Signifikanz herausgearbeitet. Das Horn Olifant und sein Schwert Durndart, welches Karl von einem Engel erhielt und das nun in Rolands Besitz ist, werden hier von Anzeigern einer heroischen Exorbitanz zu Gegenspielern des Helden. Beide Artefakte sind zunächst materielle Möglichkeitsbedingungen des Heros und stellen schließlich in ihrem letzten Gebrauch eine eigene agency außerhalb seiner Handlungsmacht aus. Im Zuge dessen wird das Sinnpotential der primär militärischen Artefakte auf Basis ihrer Materialität deutlich, das non-verbale, ambivalente Konzepte transportiert und einen Helden zu konturiert, dessen Rolle sie durch eine eigene Handlungskraft unterlaufen und mit seiner christlichen Existenz kollidieren lassen. In Wahrnehmung der Interaktion zwischen Rolands Körper und seinen militärischen Artefakten, sowie anderen Arten der Zirkulation von Eigenschaften zwischen Objekt und Träger können die Strategien, eine extrem dualistisch geformte Erzählung brüchig zu machen, in den Fokus gerückt werden. Nicht zuletzt können Zuordnungen von militärischen Artefakten als reine Attribute hinterfragt werden und ein Beitrag zur Erschließung einer mittelalterlichen Erzählung von den Objekten her geleistet werden.

L'obiettivo di questo paper è illustrare la funzione propagandistica della "Vendetta di Nostro Signore", tradizione che ha le sue radici in vangeli apocrifi. Tale concetto ha fortemente influenzato alcuni testi di letteratura francese medievale, in particolare la Venjance Nostre Seigneur e la Chanson de Jérusalem, chanson de geste di fine XII secolo che racconta la presa di Gerusalemme da parte dei Crociati nella Prima Crociata. Il mio intento è mostrare come il motore delle vicende nella Chanson de Jérusalem sia rappresentata dalla vendetta contro i deicidi che, nell'opera, si realizza non sugli Ebrei ma sui Musulmani. Il concetto di vendetta trasforma il pellegrinaggio armato narrato nell'opera in una lotta dai toni apocalittici, a causa del confluire della tradizione dell'Apocalisse dello Pseudo-Metodio", che trasforma la battaglia storicamente avvenuta ad Ascalona in uno "scontro finale" da tenersi a Ramla, luogo dove, secondo l'autore, si trovava il santuario di San Giorgio. I Musulmani sono quindi rappresentati come i seguaci dell'Anticristo insieme agli Ebrei. L'argomento della Jérusalem, che rende l'opera un unicum nel panorama letterario francese medievale, fa sì che gli elementi agiografici usualmente presenti nelle chansons de geste siano moltiplicati; lo stesso avviene con gli elementi teratologici. Aumentano così gli interventi dei santi e i miracoli di matrice divina, a cui si aggiunge la caratterizzazione di Goffredo di Buglione come Re taumaturgo di Gerusalemme ed "Imperatore degli ultimi giorni", destinato ad estirpare definitivamente l'Islam e dare avvio al Giorno del Giudizio. Infine si deve notare l'esaltazione degli "ultimi" nella Jérusalem, destinatari principali del messaggio divino, con Pietro l'Eremita presentato come vero iniziatore della crociata a dispetto di Urbano II, a cui viene affidato da Cristo il compito di vendicarlo per la sua morte in croce. In tale contesto si spiega il grande ruolo dato ai Tafuri, crociati cannibali che si rivelano protagonisti dell'opera. L'obiettivo di questo articolo è illustrare la funzione propagandistica della tradizione della cosiddetta "Vendetta di Nostro Signore" nella Chanson de Jérusalem, chanson de geste di fine XII secolo che racconta la presa di Gerusalemme da parte dei Crociati nella Prima Crociata. Secondo Susanna A. Throop, la leggenda della Vendetta di Nostro Signore è stata usata nel tardo XI secolo per promuovere la crociata.

- by Davide Esposito
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- French Literature, Medieval Literature, Medieval History, Hagiography

The Anthem World Epic and Romance series publishes rigorous, innovative scholarly studies dealing with epics and chivalric romances from across the globe, both written and oral, in poetry and prose, as well as adaptations in theater and cinema. The series seeks to foster new comparative and cultural understandings of heroic narratives, focusing on literary and geopolitical context, ranging from antiquity through the medieval and early modern period to contemporary society. PROPOSALS We welcome submissions of proposals for challenging and original works from emerging and established scholars that meet the criteria of our series. We make prompt editorial decisions. Our titles are published in print and e-book editions and are subject to peer review by recognized authorities in the field. Should you wish to send in a proposal for a monograph (mid-length and full-length), edited collection, handbook or companion, reference or course book, please contact us at: proposal@anthempress.com .

- by Jo Ann Cavallo
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- Homer, Chanson De Geste And French Epic, Epic Literature, Latin Epic

In this article we study the prayer of Jimena in its Romance context, paying a special attention to the mention of santa Susana. This reference is included in a group of biblical characters that Rodrigo’s wife mentions in her prayer, and it recalls divine omnipotence and mercy. By means of this strategy, the poet establishes different connections among these characters, and the situation and characterization of Rodrigo, the object of the prayer. Therefore, considering on the one hand these connections and on the other hand the numerous echoes, analogies and premonitions of which the Castilian poem is composed, it is possible that the mention of the chaste Susana may prefigure La afrenta de Corpes, an episode to which it bears a significant resemblance.

- by Andrea Ghidoni
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- Cultural Studies, Comparative Literature, French Literature, Anthropology

The Old French epic poem "La Prise d’Orange" (late 12th-early 13th c.) systematically treats the conventional motifs, narrative patterns, characters and style of the chanson de geste with a comedic irreverence and an ironic distance that have led it to be labeled “the courtly parody of an epic,” but the text remains fundamentally organized by the generic paradigm from which it pointedly deviates. In Genettian terms, the Prise’s dominant hypertextual operation is travesty, which burlesques a prestigious text or story by recasting its characters and action in a ridiculously incongruous style—here, the narrative and rhetorical style associated with courtly discourse. The Prise cultivates a somewhat anxious enjoyment of its subversion of epic norms by thematizing the “folly” of its protagonist, Guillelme, whose absurd impersonation of a courtly lover casts doubt upon his legitimacy as an epic hero and the Prise’s “authenticity” as a chanson de geste. However, satirical transformation is u...

- by Andrea Ghidoni
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- Philology, Medieval Literature, Literature, Medieval Studies

Gormund, antagoniste de la chanson de geste Gormund et Isembart (fin du XIe s.), a donné lieu à de nombreuses et différentes interprétations, qui ont accordé au personnage une importance décisive pour la compréhension de la genèse du poème. Par le passé, les chercheurs ont presque toujours identifié le danois Godrum (IXe s.) comme prototype historique du personnage, sur la base de ressemblance onomastique. Le présente article se propose de desserrer le lien entre Godrum et Gormund, en faveur de l’équation entre le même Gormund et le viking Hasting (IXe s.), en se fondant non sur le nom, mais sur la typologie des personnages : Hasting est représenté dans les écrits historiographiques avec des caractères semblables à ceux du Gormund épique. De fait, plusieurs composantes – ligérienne, liée à la mémoire culturelle de cette région de la France médiévale, mais également anglo-saxonne et, à titre d’hypothèse, un élément scandinave – interagissent les unes avec les autres dans la formation du poème ancien-français.

The legends of Charlemagne feature a female warrior named Bradamante who goes on the Heroine's Journey after being given the Call to Adventure by the enchantress Melissa. Together Bradamante and Melissa comprise the three aspects of the triple headed goddess. Bradamante is the Maiden, Melissa is the Crone and Bradamante is given the quest to rescue the hero Ruggiero, marry him and bear his child, it is a quest to become the Mother.
Included in the discussion are feminine archetypal icons such as Athena, Aphrodite, Circe, the Crone, the Fates, the Furies, and Nemesis. Female symbolism employed advances the plot and supports the heroine's quest: caves, a labyrinth, mirrors, pools of water, weaving and a chalice bearing the sacred waters of the spring of Mnemosyne.

- by Linda C. McCabe
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- Women's Studies, Medieval Literature, Chansons De Geste, Medieval Women

"(Résumé en français / Abstract in english). FR: Le Pseudo-Turpin a joui en Espagne d’un succès plus discret que dans les autres pays européens, tant au sein de la couronne de Castille que sur le territoire aragonais, du fait que les pages épiques espagnoles sont en nombre réduit – les rares allusions turpiniennes devenant ainsi précieuses – et que la chronique contient un discours francophile. En effet, confronté au Moyen Âge à des contextes historiques, culturels et idéologiques opposés, le texte turpinien a surtout été employé par l’historiographie castillane en latin dans le but de contester la matière rolandienne et d’élaborer un discours national. Cette tendance semble néanmoins disparaître dans l’œuvre historiographique de l’aragonais Fernández de Heredia, lequel connaît indirectement le document. Seul le contexte politique du début du XVIe siècle permettra une nouvelle lecture de la chronique par la traduction du Fierabras de Jean Bagnyon.
EN: The Pseudo-Turpin enjoyed a more nuanced success in Spain than in other European countries, both in Castile and in Aragon, because Spanish epic production is more reduced– rare Turpinian references become therefore all the more valuable– and also because the Chronicle embodies a Francophile discourse. In fact, in the Middle Ages, facing opposing historical, cultural and ideological contexts, the Turpinian text was used primarily by Castilian historiography in Latin with the goal of challenging Rolandian material and elaborating a national discourse. This tendency seems nonetheless to disappear in the historiographical work of the Aragonese Fernández de Heredia, who knew the document indirectly. Only the political context of the beginning of the sixteenth century will bring a new reading of the Chronicle through the translation of Jean Bagnyon’s Fierabras.""

- by leonardo marchetti
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- Chansons De Geste, Chanson De Geste And French Epic, Beowulf, Medieval Romance

Les collègues et amis de Jean Maurice lui rendent hommage dans un volume dont la diversité est à l'image de la riche personnalité du dédica-taire. Médiéviste, spécialiste des bestiaires comme des chansons de geste, Jean Maurice n'a pas limité ses travaux à son époque de prédilection : sa riche production montre aussi un intérêt pour la réception du Moyen Âge à l'époque contemporaine, notamment au théâtre et au cinéma. Les études rassemblées dans ces mélanges, consacrées à la littérature et aux arts du Moyen Âge, ou à leur empreinte sur la création dans les siècles suivants, rendent hommage à ses qualités de chercheur et à son ouverture d'esprit.

- by Nicolas Lenoir and +1
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- Chansons De Geste, Chanson De Geste And French Epic, Littérature Française, Bestiaires
- by Ferdinando Raffaele
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- Chanson De Geste And French Epic, Aliscans

The discovery, made by E. Langlois in 1910, of a notated musical staff at the end of a little-known parodic laisse probably written within the 13th century by an otherwise unknown Thomas de Bailleul (MS London, BL, Royal 20 A XVII) immediately raised the interest of medieval musicologists, who have debated its function and interpretation until recent times, whereas romance philologists haven’t payed due attention to this intriguing and unique musical evidence, undoubtedly related to an Old French chanson de geste. In this paper I shall defend G. Schläger’s forgotten hypothesis that the musical staff could well represent a vocalized ‘short line’ (petit vers), arguing that this question should be brought back to the issues concerning the formal aspects of epic laisse and to the field of Romance Philology as a whole.