From Chanson De Geste To Epic Chronicle

Author : Gérard Gouiran
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 216 pages
File Size : 53,7 Mb
Release : 2020-03-25
Category : History
ISBN : 9781351028363

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From Chanson de Geste to Epic Chronicle by Gérard Gouiran Pdf

In this collection of essays Gérard Gouiran, one of the world's leading and much-loved scholars of medieval Occitan literature, examines this literature from a primarily historical perspective. Through texts offering hitherto unexplored insights into the history and culture of medieval Europe, he studies topics such as the representation of alterity through female figures and Saracens in opposition to the ideal of the Christian knight; the ways in which the narrating of history can become resistance and propaganda discourse in the clash between the Catholic Church and the French on the one hand, and the Cathar heretics and the people of Occitania on the other; questions of intertextuality and intercultural relations; cultural representations fashioning the West in contact with the East; and Christian dissidence in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Written in an approachable style, the book will be of historical, literary and philological interest to scholars and students, as well as any reader curious about this hitherto little-known Occitan literature. (CS1087).

Author : Anonim
Publisher : Boydell Press
Page : 724 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2005
Category : Chansons de geste
ISBN : 1843831473

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Heroes of the French Epic by Anonim Pdf

"The translations preserve the dynamic, musical qualities of their oral-based originals, and are intended for both general and more specialised readers. Introductions and Select Bibliographies accompany each poem."--Jacket.

Author : W. S. Merwin
Publisher : Modern Library
Page : 162 pages
File Size : 44,7 Mb
Release : 2011-04-20
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 9780307790255

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The Song of Roland by W. S. Merwin Pdf

A contemporary prose rendering of the great medieval French epic, The Song of Roland is as canonical and significant as the Anglo-Saxon Beowulf. It extols the chivalric ideals in the France of Charlemagne through the exploits of Charlemagne's nephew, the warrior Roland, who fights bravely to his death in a legendary battle. Against the bloody backdrop of the struggle between Christianity and Islam, The Song of Roland remains a vivid portrayal of medieval life, knightly adventure, and feudal politics. The first great literary works of a culture are its epic chronicles, those that create simple hero-figures about whom the imagination of a nation can crystallize, observed V. S. Pritchett. The Song of Roland is animated by the crusading spirit and fortified by national and religious propaganda. This edition features W. S. Merwin's glowing, lyrical translation.

Author : Luke Sunderland
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 52,6 Mb
Release : 2017-08-24
Category : Literary Collections
ISBN : 9780191092732

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Rebel Barons by Luke Sunderland Pdf

Ambivalence towards kings, and other sovereign powers, is deep-seated in medieval culture: sovereigns might provide justice, but were always potential tyrants, who usurped power and 'stole' through taxation. Rebel Barons writes the history of this ambivalence, which was especially acute in England, France, and Italy in the twelfth to fifteenth centuries, when the modern ideology of sovereignty, arguing for monopolies on justice and the legitimate use of violence, was developed. Sovereign powers asserted themselves militarily and economically provoking complex phenomena of resistance by aristocrats. This volume argues that the chansons de geste, the key genre for disseminating models of violent noble opposition to sovereigns, offer a powerful way of understanding acts of resistance. Traditionally seen as France's epic literary monuments - the Chanson de Roland is often presented as foundational of French literature - chansons de geste in fact come from areas antagonistic to France, such as Burgundy, England, Flanders, Occitania, and Italy, where they were reworked repeatedly from the twelfth century to the fifteenth and recast into prose and chronicle forms. Rebel baron narratives were the principal vehicle for aristocratic concerns about tyranny, for models of violent opposition to sovereigns and for fantasies of escape from the Carolingian world via crusade and Oriental adventures. Rebel Barons reads this corpus across its full range of historical and geographical relevance, and through changes in form, as well as placing it in dialogue with medieval political theory, to bring out the contributions of literary texts to political debates. Revealing the widespread and long-lived importance of these anti-royalist works supporting regional aristocratic rights to feud and revolt, Rebel Barons reshapes our knowledge of reactions to changing political realities at a crux period in European history.

Author : Carol Sweetenham,Linda M. Paterson
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 346 pages
File Size : 50,5 Mb
Release : 2017-09-08
Category : History
ISBN : 9781351893411

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The Canso d'Antioca by Carol Sweetenham,Linda M. Paterson Pdf

The Canso d'Antioca is a fascinating text which deserves more attention than it has received. It is a fragment of a much larger epic describing the events of the First Crusade, related to the Old French Chanson d'Antioca but with many unique features. As such it presents a double interest to scholars of both history and literature. It is a source text for the First Crusade with information not contained in any other source. It is also an early and seminal text for Occitan epic, few examples of which survive. And arguably it represents the first work of vernacular verse history in France, raising fundamental questions about the junction of epic and historiography. This is the first published edition of the text since Paul Meyer's version in 1884. It is based on the single extant manuscript of the Canso found in Roda in Northern Spain and now in Madrid, accompanied by a translation into English on facing pages. The text is supported by detailed notes and a glossary of proper names cross-referenced to all major First Crusade sources. The introduction discusses in detail the history of the text and manuscript, the value of the Canso as a historical document, and its place both within the historical tradition of the Crusade and within Occitan literary tradition and 12th-century vernacular historiography.

Author : Pierre Le Gentil
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 200 pages
File Size : 45,6 Mb
Release : 1969
Category : Chanson de Roland
ISBN : UOM:39015005105039

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The Chanson de Roland by Pierre Le Gentil Pdf

Author : Carol Sweetenham
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 440 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2016-03-23
Category : History
ISBN : 9781317038771

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The Chanson d'Antioche by Carol Sweetenham Pdf

The Old-French Chanson d'Antioche has long intrigued historians and literary scholars. Unusually among epic poems, it follows closely a well documented historical event - the First Crusade - and appears to include substantial and genuine historical content. At one time it was believed to be based on an account by an eye-witness, 'Richard the Pilgrim'. Carol Sweetenham and Susan Edgington have combined forces to investigate such claims, and their findings are set out in a comprehensive introduction which, firstly, examines the textual history of the poem from its possible oral beginnings through several re-workings to its present form, achieved early in the thirteenth century. A second chapter assesses the Chanson's value as a source for the crusade, and a third considers its status as a literary text. A complete prose translation follows, the first in English and based on the definitive edition. The Chanson is revealed as a lively narrative, with tales of chivalry, villainy, and even episodes of humour. There are extensive footnotes to the translation, and an appendix provides supplementary material from a different manuscript tradition. There is also a cast list of heroes and villains with biographical information for the 'real' ones and literary analogues for the fictional characters. The Chanson d'Antioche can now be read for enjoyment, and for a whole new perspective on crusading in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.

Author : Dr Carol Sweetenham,Dr Susan B Edgington
Publisher : Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
Page : 441 pages
File Size : 45,5 Mb
Release : 2013-07-28
Category : History
ISBN : 9781409482758

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The Chanson d'Antioche by Dr Carol Sweetenham,Dr Susan B Edgington Pdf

The Old-French Chanson d'Antioche has long intrigued historians and literary scholars. Unusually among epic poems, it follows closely a well documented historical event – the First Crusade – and appears to include substantial and genuine historical content. At one time it was believed to be based on an account by an eye-witness, 'Richard the Pilgrim'. Carol Sweetenham and Susan Edgington have combined forces to investigate such claims, and their findings are set out in a comprehensive introduction which, firstly, examines the textual history of the poem from its possible oral beginnings through several re-workings to its present form, achieved early in the thirteenth century. A second chapter assesses the Chanson's value as a source for the crusade, and a third considers its status as a literary text. A complete prose translation follows, the first in English and based on the definitive edition. The Chanson is revealed as a lively narrative, with tales of chivalry, villainy, and even episodes of humour. There are extensive footnotes to the translation, and an appendix provides supplementary material from a different manuscript tradition. There is also a cast list of heroes and villains with biographical information for the 'real' ones and literary analogues for the fictional characters. The Chanson d'Antioche can now be read for enjoyment, and for a whole new perspective on crusading in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.

Author : S. Poor,J. Schulman
Publisher : Springer
Page : 307 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 2016-04-30
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9781137066374

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Women and the Medieval Epic by S. Poor,J. Schulman Pdf

These essays explore the place, function and meaning of women as characters, authors, constructs and symbols in Medieval epics from Persia, Spain, France, England, Germany and Scandinavia. Usually believed to narrate the deeds of men at war, this book looks at the key roles often played by women and the impact of this on the history of gender.

Author : Phillipa Hardman,Marianne Ailes
Publisher : Boydell & Brewer
Page : 491 pages
File Size : 51,8 Mb
Release : 2017
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9781843844723

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The Legend of Charlemagne in Medieval England by Phillipa Hardman,Marianne Ailes Pdf

The first full-length examination of the medieval Charlemagne tradition in the literature and culture of medieval England, from the Chanson de Roland to Caxton.

Author : Edgar Prestage
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 411 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2013-10-28
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781136199226

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Chivalry by Edgar Prestage Pdf

This volume, intended for the general reader, throws a great deal of light on that very characteristic feature of the Middle Ages, the institution of Chivalry. The first chapter deals with the place of chivalry in history, describing its effects and influences. Subsequent chapters address the earliest beginnings of chivalry and its manifestations in France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, etc. Among other subjects dealt with are the Courtesy books, the romances of Chivalry, and the Chivalric ideal. The book is an excellent introduction to a field that has been greatly neglected in recent years. This edition first published in 2005. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Author : Catherine Hanley
Publisher : DS Brewer
Page : 278 pages
File Size : 45,6 Mb
Release : 2003
Category : History
ISBN : 0859917819

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War and Combat, 1150-1270 by Catherine Hanley Pdf

An investigation of the depiction of warfare in contemporary writings, in both fictional narratives and factual accounts. War and combat were significant factors in the lives of all conditions of people during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries; thousands of men, women and children prepared for, engaged in and suffered from the consequences of almost endemic armed conflict. However, while war and combat feature prominently in many of the forms of literature written at the time, the theme of warfare in some types of narrative source remains a relatively under-studied area. This book offers an investigation of the depiction of warfare in contemporary writings, in both fictional narratives and factual accounts, aiming to bridge the gap between the disciplines of literature and military history. Using both established sources and the latest research, the author examines how the application of what is now known about the practical and technological aspects of medieval warfare can aid us in our understanding of literature. She also demonstrates, via an investigation of a corpus of Old French chronicles, epics and romances, how the judicious study of sources that are not always considered reliable can, in turn, inform us about contemporary perceptions of, and attitudes towards, war and other forms of armed combat. Dr Catherine Hanley was formerly a Research Associate in the Department of French at the University of Sheffield; she is now a freelance editor and historicalnovelist.

Author : Carol Sweetenham
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 298 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 2020-04-22
Category : History
ISBN : 9781317038733

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The Chanson des Chétifs and Chanson de Jérusalem by Carol Sweetenham Pdf

The First Crusade was arguably one of the most significant events of the Middle Ages. It was the only event to generate its own epic cycle, the Old French Crusade Cycle. The central trilogy at the heart of the Cycle describes the Crusade from its beginnings to the climactic battle of Ascalon, comprising the Chanson d’Antioche, the Chanson des Chétifs and the Chanson de Jérusalem. This translation of the Chétifs and the Jérusalem accompanies and completes the translation of the Antioche and makes the trilogy available to English readers in its entirety for the first time. The value of the trilogy lies above all in the insight it gives us to medieval perceptions of the Crusade. The events are portrayed as part of a divine plan where even outcasts and captives can achieve salvation through Crusade. This in turn underlies the value of the Cycle as a recruiting and propaganda tool. The trilogy gives a window onto the chivalric preoccupations of thirteenth-century France, exploring concerns about status, heroism and defeat. It portrays the material realities of the era in vivid detail: the minutiae of combat, smoke-filled halls, feasts, prisons and more. And the two newly translated poems are highly entertaining as well, featuring a lubricious Saracen lady not in the first flush of youth, a dragon inhabited by a devil, marauding monkeys, miracles and much more. The historian will find little new about the Crusade itself, but abundant material on how it was perceived, portrayed and performed. The translation is accompanied by an introduction examining the origins of the two poems and their wider place in the cycle. It is supported by extensive footnotes, a comprehensive index of names and places and translations of the main variants.

Author : Benjamin Z. Kedar,Jonathan Phillips,Iris Shagrir,Nikolaos G. Chrissis
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 226 pages
File Size : 43,8 Mb
Release : 2021-04-07
Category : History
ISBN : 9781000347203

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Crusades by Benjamin Z. Kedar,Jonathan Phillips,Iris Shagrir,Nikolaos G. Chrissis Pdf

Crusades covers the seven hundred years from the First Crusade (1095-1102) to the fall of Malta (1798) and draws together scholars working on theatres of war, their home fronts and settlements from the Baltic to Africa and from Spain to the Near East and on theology, law, literature, art, numismatics and economic, social, political and military history. Routledge publishes this journal for The Society for the Study of the Crusades and the Latin East. Particular attention is given to the publication of historical sources - narrative, homiletic and documentary - but studies and interpretative essays are welcomed too. Crusades also incorporates the Society's Bulletin. The editors are Professor Benjamin Z. Kedar, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel; Professor Jonathan Phillips, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK; Nikolaos G. Chrissis, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece; and Iris Shagrir, The Open University of Israel.

Author : János M. Bak,László Veszprémy
Publisher : Central European University Press
Page : 220 pages
File Size : 44,7 Mb
Release : 2018-07-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9789633862629

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Studies on the Illuminated Chronicle by János M. Bak,László Veszprémy Pdf

The present volume of studies is the first Subsidium of the Central European Medieval Text series, accompanying CEMT vol. 9 on the Illuminated Chronicle (formerly called the Vienna Chronicle), written in the fourteenth century, which represents the international artistic style at the royal court of Louis I of Hungary. The volume of the text and its annotations did not allow including the detailed scholarly introduction into the same volume as is the custom with the other CEMT items. The essays in the book analyze the text and the illuminations of the Illuminated Chronicle in literaryhistorical, art historical and heraldic context. The relevant literature that goes back to more than 200 years is also summarized. Additional studies address issues connected with the narrative. Since the chronicle starts with the history of the Huns, imaginary ancestors of the Hungarians, the Attila tradition in Hungarian history writing is discussed. Extensive coverage is offered on the dynastic struggles of the eleventh century, placing them into the context of amicitia and deditio. The image of King St. Ladislas I as the "ideal king" is reviewed, a topic that received conspicuously detailed coverage in the chronicle. Finally, the fate of the fourteenthcentury chronicle texts during the subsequent centuries is examined, their appearance in legal texts, and their reception abroad.