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The Chanson d'Antioche is a chanson de geste in 9000 lines of poetry in stanzas called laisses, now known in a version composed about 1180 for a courtly French audience and embedded in a quasi-historical cycle of epic poems inspired by the events of 1097 – 1099, the climax of the First Crusade: the conquest of Antioch and of Jerusalem and the origins of the Crusader states. This article is a general introduction to French literature For detailed information on French literature in specific historic periods see the separate historical articles in the Medieval French literature is for the purpose of this article Literature written in Oïl languages (particularly Old French and early Middle For more information on historical developments in this period see Renaissance, History of France, and Early Modern France. French literature of the 17th century &mdashthe so-called Grand Siècle &mdashspans the reigns of Henry IV of France, the Regency of Marie de Medici French literature of the 18th century usually refers to the literature written between 1715, the year of the death of King Louis XIV of France, and 1798 the year French literature of the nineteenth century is for the purpose of this article literature written in French from (roughly 1799 to 1900 French literature of the twentieth century is for the purpose of this article literature written in French from (roughly 1895 to 1990 Contemporary French literature is French literature roughly from the 1990s to Today. Chronological list of French language authors (regardless of nationality by date of birth The chansons de geste, Old French for "songs of Heroic deeds lineages" are the epic poems that appear at the dawn of French literature The Crusade cycle is an Old French cycle of Chansons de geste concerning the First Crusade and its aftermath An epic is a lengthy Narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation The First Crusade was launched in 1095 by Pope Urban II with the dual goals of conquering the sacred city of Jerusalem and the Holy Land and freeing Antioch on the Orontes (Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Δάφνῃ Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ Μεγάλη Antiochia ad Orontem also Jerusalem (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, he-Latn Yerushaláyim; Arabic: ar القُدس, ar-Latn al-Quds) is the The Crusader states were a number of mostly 12th- and 13th-century feudal states created by Western European Crusaders in Asia Minor, Greece and The Chanson was later reworked and incorporated in an extended cycle, of the 14th century, which was far more fabulous and embroidered, more distinctly romance than epic. As a Literary genre of High culture, romance or chivalric romance refers to a style of heroic Prose and verse Narrative
The subject is the preaching of the First Crusade, the preparations for departure, the tearful goodbyes, the arrival at Constantinople and the siege and taking of Antioch. Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS For other uses please see Siege of Antioch (disambiguation The Siege of Antioch took place during the First Crusade in 1097
The lost original poem was said to have been composed by an eye-witness, Richard le Pèlerin, ("Richard the Pilgrim"), a North French or Flemish jongleur, who began it partly on the spot, during the eight month siege of Antioch. The oldest version now known was recast by Graindor de Douai, a contemporary of Louis VII of France. Louis VII, called the Younger or the Young (Louis le Jeune 1120 – 18 September 1180) was King of France, the son and successor Graindor borrowed details from the chroniclers to make his work more lively and more accurate, for his object from the start was to tell the true praiseworthy tale, not cozen his listeners of their coin:
- Seignor, oïés canchon, qui moult fait à loer
- Par itel convenant la vos puis-je conter. . .
- Je ne vous vorrai mie mensonges raconter
- Ne fables, ne paroles pour vos deniers embler
- Ains vous dirai canchon où il n'a hamender
- Del barnage de Franche qui tant fait à loer!
Such claims of truth-telling are part of the poet's epic repertory. Hyperbole and epic lists are other major features in this chanson: the poet takes care to mention every knightly name that would cause a rustle of recognition among his hearers, in a tradition as old as Homer, with the result that the Chanson d'Antioche was taken as history by heralds and genealogists of a later generation. Homer ( Ancient Greek:, Homēros) is a legendary ancient Greek epic Poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic poems the In some of its details it has won the admiration of modern historians (see links).
Crusade cycles had a wide medieval audience: free translations and versions of the Chanson d'Antioche appeared in Spanish, English, Dutch, and German. The other chanson at the center of this cycle is the Chanson de Jerusalem featuring Godfrey of Bouillon. Godfrey of Bouillon (c 1060 Boulogne-sur-Mer &ndash 18 July 1100, Jerusalem) was a medieval knight who was a leader of the First
The Chanson d'Antioche was forgotten, until it was printed and published in 1848 by Alexis Paulin Paris, at the height of the Romantic Gothic Revival. Alexis Paulin Paris ( March 25, 1800 &ndash February 13, 1881) was a French scholar and author The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement which began The most recent edition is La Chanson d'Antioche edited by Suzanne Duparc-Quioc, Paris 1977.
External links
- Levine, "The Betrayal and Capture of Antioch", laisses ccxxx – cclxv (in English)
Bibliography
- Susan B. Edgington, "Albert of Aachen and the Chansons de Geste" in The Crusades and their sources: essays presented to Bernard Hamilton ed. John France, William G. Zajac (Aldershot: Ashgate, 1998) pp. 23-37.
- Lewis A. M. Sumberg, "La chanson d'Antioche", Paris, Picard, 1968.
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