The chanson de geste (Old French for 'song of heroic deeds',[lower-alpha 1] from Latin: gesta 'deeds, actions accomplished')[1] is a medieval narrative, a type of epic poem that appears at the dawn of French literature.[2] The earliest known poems of this genre date from the late 11th and early 12th centuries, shortly before the emergence of the lyric poetry of the troubadours and trouvères, and the earliest verse romances. They reached their highest point of acceptance in the period 1150–1250.[3]
Composed in verse, these narrative poems of moderate length (averaging 4000 lines[4]) were originally sung, or (later) recited, by minstrels or jongleurs. More than one hundred chansons de geste have survived in approximately three hundred manuscripts[5] that date from the 12th to the 15th century.
Origins
Since the 19th century, much critical debate has centered on the origins of the chansons de geste, and particularly on explaining the length of time between the composition of the chansons and the actual historical events which they reference.[6] The historical events the chansons allude to occur in the 8th through 10th centuries, yet the earliest chansons that have survived were probably composed at the end of the 11th century: only three chansons de geste have a composition that incontestably dates from before 1150: the Chanson de Guillaume, The Song of Roland and Gormont et Isembart:[6] the first half of the Chanson de Guillaume may date from as early as the 11th century;[7][8]Gormont et Isembart may date from as early as 1068, according to one expert;[9] and The Song of Roland probably dates from after 1086[10] to c.1100.[6][11]
Three early theories of the origin of chansons de geste believe in the continued existence of epic material (either as lyric poems, epic poems or prose narrations) in these intervening two or three centuries.[12] Critics like Claude Charles Fauriel, François Raynouard and German Romanticists like Jacob Grimm posited the spontaneous creation of lyric poems by the people as a whole at the time of the historic battles, which were later put together to form the epics.[13] This was the basis for the "cantilena" theory of epic origin, which was elaborated by Gaston Paris, although he maintained that single authors, rather than the multitude, were responsible for the songs.[14]
This theory was also supported by Robert Fawtier and by Léon Gautier (although Gautier thought the cantilenae were composed in Germanic languages).[14] At the end of the 19th century, Pio Rajna, seeing similarities between the chansons de geste and old Germanic/Merovingian tales, posited a Germanic origin for the French poems.[14] A different theory, introduced by the medievalist Paul Meyer, suggested the poems were based on old prose narrations of the original events.[12][15]
Another theory (largely discredited today[16]), developed by Joseph Bédier, posited that the early chansons were recent creations, not earlier than the year 1000, developed by singers who, emulating the songs of "saints' lives" sung in front of churches (and collaborating with the church clerics[16]), created epic stories based on the heroes whose shrines and tombs dotted the great pilgrimage routes, as a way of drawing pilgrims to these churches.[17] Critics have also suggested that knowledge by clerics of ancient Latin epics may have played a role in their composition.[15][17]
Subsequent criticism has vacillated between "traditionalists" (chansons created as part of a popular tradition) and "individualists" (chansons created by a unique author),[15] but more recent historical research has done much to fill in gaps in the literary record and complicate the question of origins. Critics have discovered manuscripts, texts and other traces of the legendary heroes, and further explored the continued existence of a Latin literary tradition (c.f. the scholarship of Ernst Robert Curtius) in the intervening centuries.[18] The work of Jean Rychner on the art of the minstrels[16] and the work of Parry and Lord on Yugoslavian oral traditional poetry, Homeric verse and oral composition have also been suggested to shed light on the oral composition of the chansons, although this view is not without its critics[19] who maintain the importance of writing not only in the preservation of the texts, but also in their composition, especially for the more sophisticated poems.[19]
Subject matter and structure
Composed in Old French and apparently intended for oral performance by jongleurs, the chansons de geste narrate legendary incidents (sometimes based on real events) in the history of France during the 8th, 9th and 10th centuries, the age of Charles Martel, Charlemagne and Louis the Pious, with emphasis on their conflicts with the Moors and Saracens, and also disputes between kings and their vassals.
A key theme of the chansons de geste, which set them off from the romances (which tended to explore the role of the "individual"), is their critique and celebration of community/collectivity (their epic heroes are portrayed as figures in the destiny of the nation and Christianity)[21] and their representation of the complexities of feudal relations and service.
The subject matter of the chansons evolved over time, according to public taste. Alongside the great battles and scenes of historic prowess of the early chansons there began to appear other themes. Realistic elements (money, urban scenes) and elements from the new court culture (female characters, the role of love) began to appear.[3] Other fantasy and adventure elements, derived from the romances, were gradually added:[3]giants, magic, and monsters increasingly appear among the foes along with Muslims. There is also an increasing dose of Eastern adventure, drawing on contemporary experiences in the Crusades; in addition, one series of chansons retells the events of the First Crusade and the first years of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The conflicts of the 14th century (Hundred Years' War) brought a renewed epic spirit and nationalistic (or propagandistic[22]) fervor to some chansons de geste (such as La Chanson de Hugues Capet).[23]
The poems contain an assortment of character types; the repertoire of valiant hero, brave traitor, shifty or cowardly traitor, Saracen giant, beautiful Saracen princess, and so forth. As the genre matured, fantasy elements were introduced. Some of the characters that were devised by the poets in this genre include the fairyOberon, who made his literary debut in Huon de Bordeaux; and the magic horseBayard, who first appears in Renaud de Montauban. Quite soon an element of self-parody appears; even the august Charlemagne was not above gentle mockery in the Pèlerinage de Charlemagne.
Early chansons de geste were typically composed in ten-syllable lines grouped in assonanced (meaning that the last stressed vowel is the same in each line throughout the stanza, but the last consonant differs from line to line) stanzas (called laisses). These stanzas are of variable length.
An example from the Chanson de Roland illustrates the technique of the ten-syllable assonanced form. The assonance in this stanza is on e:
Desuz un pin, delez un eglanter Un faldestoed i unt, fait tout d'or mer: La siet li reis ki dulce France tient. Blanche ad la barbe et tut flurit le chef, Gent ad le cors et le cuntenant fier. S'est kil demandet, ne l'estoet enseigner.
Under a pine tree, by a rosebush, there is a throne made entirely of gold. There sits the king who rules sweet France; his beard is white, with a full head of hair. He is noble in carriage, and proud of bearing. If anyone is looking for the King, he doesn't need to be pointed out.
Later chansons were composed in monorhyme stanzas, in which the last syllable of each line rhymes fully throughout the stanza. Later chansons also tended to be composed using alexandrines (twelve-syllable) lines, instead of ten-syllable lines (some early chansons, such as Girart de Vienne, were even adapted into a twelve-syllable version).
The following example of the twelve-syllable rhymed form is from the opening lines of Les Chétifs, a chanson in the Crusade cycle. The rhyme is on ie:
Or s'en fuit Corbarans tos les plains de Surie, N'enmaine que .ii. rois ens en sa conpaignie. S'enporte Brohadas, fis Soudan de Persie; En l'estor l'avoit mort a l'espee forbie Li bons dus Godefrois a le chiere hardie Tres devant Anthioce ens en la prairie.
So Corbaran escaped across the plains of Syria; He took only two kings in his company. He carried away Brohadas, son of the Sultan of Persia, Who had been killed in the battle by the clean sword Of the brave-spirited good duke Godfrey Right in front of Antioch, down in the meadow.
The public of the chansons de geste—the lay (secular) public of the 11th to the 13th centuries—was largely illiterate,[27] except for (at least to the end of the 12th century) members of the great courts and (in the south) smaller noble families.[28] Thus, the chansons were primarily an oral medium.
Opinions vary greatly on whether the early chansons were first written down and then read from manuscripts (although parchment was quite expensive[29]) or memorized for performance,[30] or whether portions were improvised,[29] or whether they were entirely the product of spontaneous oral composition and later written down. Similarly, scholars differ greatly on the social condition and literacy of the poets themselves; were they cultured clerics or illiterate jongleurs working within an oral tradition? As an indication of the role played by orality in the tradition of the chanson de geste, lines and sometimes whole stanzas, especially in the earlier examples, are noticeably formulaic in nature, making it possible both for the poet to construct a poem in performance and for the audience to grasp a new theme with ease.
Scholarly opinions differ on the exact manner of recitation, but it is generally believed that the chansons de geste were originally sung (whereas the medieval romances were probably spoken)[30] by poets, minstrels or jongleurs, who would sometimes accompany themselves, or be accompanied, on the vielle, a mediæval fiddle played with a bow. Several manuscript texts include lines in which the jongleur demands attention, threatens to stop singing, promises to continue the next day, and asks for money or gifts.[29] By the middle of the 13th century, singing had probably given way to recitation.[3]
It has been calculated that a reciter could sing about a thousand verses an hour[31] and probably limited himself to 1000–1300 verses by performance,[27] making it likely that the performance of works extended over several days.[31] Given that many chansons from the late 12th century on extended to over 10,000 verses or more (for example, Aspremont comprises 11,376 verses, while Quatre Fils Aymon comprises 18,489 verses), it is conceivable that few spectators heard the longest works in their entirety.[32]
While poems like The Song of Roland were sometimes heard in public squares and were no doubt warmly received by a broad public,[33] some critics caution that the chansons should probably not be characterized as popular literature[34] and some chansons appear particularly tailored for an audience of aristocratic, privileged or warrior classes.[35]
The poems themselves
More than one hundred chansons de geste have survived in around three hundred manuscripts[5] that date from the 12th to the 15th century. Several popular chansons were written down more than once in varying forms. The earliest chansons are all (more or less) anonymous; many later ones have named authors.
By the middle of the 12th century, the corpus of works was being expanded principally by "cyclisation", that is to say by the formation of "cycles" of chansons attached to a character or group of characters—with new chansons being added to the ensemble by singing of the earlier or later adventures of the hero, of his youthful exploits ("enfances"), the great deeds of his ancestors or descendants, or his retreat from the world to a convent ("moniage") – or attached to an event (like the Crusades).[36]
About 1215 Bertrand de Bar-sur-Aube, in the introductory lines to his Girart de Vienne, subdivided the Matter of France, the usual subject area of the chansons de geste, into three cycles, which revolved around three main characters (see quotation at Matter of France). There are several other less formal lists of chansons, or of the legends they incorporate. One can be found in the fabliau entitled Des Deux Bordeors Ribauz, a humorous tale of the second half of the 13th century, in which a jongleur lists the stories he knows.[37] Another is included by the Catalan troubadour Guiraut de Cabrera in his humorous poem Ensenhamen, better known from its first words as "Cabra juglar": this is addressed to a juglar (jongleur) and purports to instruct him on the poems he ought to know but does not.[38]
The listing below is arranged according to Bertrand de Bar-sur-Aube's cycles, extended with two additional groupings and with a final list of chansons that fit into no cycle. There are numerous differences of opinion about the categorization of individual chansons.
The chief character is usually Charlemagne or one of his immediate successors. A pervasive theme is the King's role as champion of Christianity. This cycle contains the first of the chansons to be written down, the Chanson de Roland or "The Song of Roland".
Le Pèlerinage de Charlemagne or Voyage de Charlemagne à Jérusalem et à Constantinople dealing with a fictional expedition by Charlemagne and his knights (c. 1140; two 15th century reworkings)
Huon d'Auvergne, a chanson extant in four versions from Italy (Huondauvergne.org), dating from 1341 to 1441. Whether or not there was ever a French version is debated.[49] The hero is mentioned among epic heroes in the Ensenhamen of Guiraut de Cabrera, and figures as a character in Mainet
The central character is not Garin de Monglane but his supposed great-grandson, Guillaume d'Orange. These chansons deal with knights who were typically younger sons, not heirs, who seek land and glory through combat with the Infidel (in practice, Muslim) enemy.
This cycle concerns traitors and rebels against royal authority. In each case the revolt ends with the defeat of the rebels and their eventual repentance.
Girart de Roussillon (1160–1170). The hero Girart de Roussillon also figures in Girart de Vienne, in which he is identified as a son of Garin de Monglane. There is a later sequel:
Doon de Nanteuil current in the second half of the 12th century, now known only in fragments which derive from a 13th-century version.[54] To this several sequels were attached:
Aye d'Avignon, probably composed between 1195 and 1205. The fictional heroine is first married to Garnier de Nanteuil, who is the son of Doon de Nanteuil and grandson of Doon de Mayence. After Garnier's death she marries the Saracen Ganor
Gui de Nanteuil, evidently popular around 1207 when the troubadour Raimbaut de Vaqueiras mentions the story. The fictional hero is son of the heroine of Aye d'Avignon (to which Gui de Nanteuil forms a sequel)
Tristan de Nanteuil. The fictional hero is son of the hero of Gui de Nanteuil
Parise la Duchesse. The fictional heroine is daughter of the heroine of Aye d'Avignon. Exiled from France, she gives birth to a son, Hugues, who becomes king of Hungary[55]
This local cycle of epics of Lorraine traditional history, in the late form in which it is now known, includes details evidently drawn from Huon de Bordeaux and Ogier le Danois.
Yonnet de Metz[fr], sequel, 13th century, containing the only logical ending to the core story. Its original version is lost, only the narrative being preserved in the prose adaptation by Philippe de Vigneulles (1471–1528).
Not listed by Bertrand de Bar-sur-Aube, this cycle deals with the First Crusade and its immediate aftermath.
Chanson d'Antioche, apparently begun by Richard le Pèlerin c. 1100; earliest surviving text by Graindor de Douai c. 1180; expanded version 14th century
Les Chétifs telling the adventures (mostly fictional) of the poor crusaders led by Peter the Hermit; the hero is Harpin de Bourges. The episode was eventually incorporated, c. 1180, by Graindor de Douai in his reworking of the Chanson d'Antioche
Matabrune tells the story of old Matabrune and of the great-grandfather of Godefroi de Bouillon
Le Chevalier au Cigne tells the story of Elias, grandfather of Godefroi de Bouillon. Originally composed around 1192, it was afterwards extended and divided into several branches
Les Enfances Godefroi or "Childhood exploits of Godefroi" tells the story of the youth of Godefroi de Bouillon and his three brothers
The chansons de geste reached their apogee in the period 1150–1250.[3] By the middle of the 13th century, public taste in France had begun to abandon these epics, preferring, rather, the romances.[59] As the genre progressed in the middle of the 13th century, only certain traits (like versification, laisse structure, formulaic forms, setting, and other clichés of the genre) remained to set the chansons apart from the romances.[59] The 15th century saw the cycles of chansons (along with other chronicles) converted into large prose compilations (such as the compilation made by David Aubert).[23][60] Yet, the themes of the epics continued to exert an influence through the 16th century.[60]
Legacy and adaptations
The chansons de geste created a body of mythology that lived on well after they ceased to be produced in France.
In medieval Germany, the chansons de geste elicited little interest from the German courtly audience, unlike the romances which were much appreciated. While The Song of Roland was among the first French epics to be translated into German (by Konrad der Pfaffe as the Rolandslied, c.1170), and the German poet Wolfram von Eschenbach based his (incomplete) 13th century epic Willehalm (consisting of seventy-eight manuscripts) on the Aliscans, a work in the cycle of William of Orange (Eschenbach's work had a great success in Germany), these remained isolated examples. Other than a few other works translated from the cycle of Charlemagne in the 13th century, the chansons de geste were not adapted into German, and it is believed that this was because the epic poems lacked what the romances specialized in portraying: scenes of idealized knighthood, love and courtly society.[64]
In the late 13th century, certain French chansons de geste were adapted into the Old NorseKarlamagnús saga.
In Italy, there exist several 14th-century texts in verse or prose which recount the feats of Charlemagne in Spain, including a chanson de geste in Franco-Venetian, the Entrée d'Espagne (c.1320)[65] (notable for transforming the character of Roland into a knight errant, similar to heroes from the Arthurian romances[66]), and a similar Italian epic La Spagna (1350–1360) in ottava rima. Through such works, the "Matter of France" became an important source of material (albeit significantly transformed) in Italian romantic epics. Morgante (c.1483) by Luigi Pulci, Orlando innamorato (1495) by Matteo Maria Boiardo, Orlando furioso (1516) by Ludovico Ariosto, and Jerusalem Delivered (1581) by Torquato Tasso are all indebted to the French narrative material (the Pulci, Boiardo and Ariosto poems are founded on the legends of the paladins of Charlemagne, and particularly, of Roland, translated as "Orlando").
The incidents and plot devices of the Italian epics later became central to works of English literature such as Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene; Spenser attempted to adapt the form devised to tell the tale of the triumph of Christianity over Islam to tell instead of the triumph of Protestantism over Roman Catholicism.
The Welsh poet, painter, soldier and engraver David Jones's Modernist poem "In Parenthesis" was described by contemporary critic Herbert Read as having "the heroic ring which we associate with the old chansons de geste".
Doon de Mayence also known as Doolin de Maience, Doon de Maience or Doolin de Mayence was a fictional hero of the Old French chansons de geste, who gives his name to the third cycle of the Charlemagne romances dealing with the feudal revolts.
Ogier the Dane is a legendary paladin of Charlemagne who appears in many Old French chansons de geste. In particular, he features as the protagonist in La Chevalerie Ogier, which belongs to the Geste de Doon de Mayence. The first part of this epic, the enfance[s] of Ogier, is marked by his duel against a Saracen from whom he obtains the sword Cortain, followed by victory over another Saracen opponent from whom he wins the horse Broiefort. In subsequent parts, Ogier turns into a rebel with cause, seeking refuge with the King of Lombardy and warring with Charlemagne for many years, until he is eventually reconciled when a dire need for him emerges after another Saracen incursion.
Renaudde Montauban was a legendary hero and knight which appeared in a 12th-century Old French chanson de geste known as The Four Sons of Aymon. The four sons of Duke Aymon are Renaud, Richard, Alard and Guiscard, and their cousin is the magician Maugris. Renaud possesses the magical horse Bayard and the sword Froberge.
The Matter of France, also known as the Carolingian cycle, is a body of literature and legendary material associated with the history of France, in particular involving Charlemagne and his associates. The cycle springs from the Old French chansons de geste, and was later adapted into a variety of art forms, including Renaissance epics and operas. Together with the Matter of Britain, which concerned King Arthur, and the Matter of Rome, comprising material derived from and inspired by classical mythology, it was one of the great European literary cycles that figured repeatedly in medieval literature.
Medieval French literature is, for the purpose of this article, Medieval literature written in Oïl languages during the period from the eleventh century to the end of the fifteenth century.
Maugris or Maugis was one of the heroes of the chansons de geste and romances of chivalry and the Matter of France that tell of the legendary court of King Charlemagne. Maugis was cousin to Renaud de Montauban and his brothers, son of Beuves of Aygremont and brother to Vivien de Monbranc. He was brought up by Oriande the fairy, and became a great enchanter. He won the magical horse Bayard and the sword Froberge which he later gave to Renaud.
Girart de Roussillon, also called Girard, Gérard II, Gyrart de Vienne, and Girart de Fraite, was a Frankish Burgundian leader who became Count of Paris in 837, and embraced the cause of Lothair I against Charles the Bald. He was a son of Leuthard I, Count of Fézensac and of Paris, and his wife Grimildis.
La Geste de Garin de Monglane is the second cycle of the three great cycles of chansons de geste created in the early days of the genre. It centres on Garin de Monglane. One of its main characters is William of Gellone.
Fierabras or Ferumbras is a fictional Saracen knight appearing in several chansons de geste and other material relating to the Matter of France. He is the son of Balan, king of Spain, and is frequently shown in conflict with Roland and the Twelve Peers, especially Oliver, whose prowess he almost rivals. Fierabras eventually converts to Christianity and fights for Charlemagne.
The Historia Caroli Magni, also known as the Historia Karoli Magni et Rotholandi or the (Pseudo-)Turpin Chronicle, is a 12th-century Latin chronicle consisting of legendary material about Charlemagne's campaigns in Spain. The chronicle states it was written by Charlemagne's contemporary Turpin, Archbishop of Reims, but it was found out as a medieval forgery. The work was extremely popular, and served as a major source of material on Charlemagne in chronicles, fiction and iconography throughout Medieval Europe. The miracles of the flowering lances and the death of Ferracutus appear on the windows of Chartres cathedral.
Andrea Mangiabotti, called Andrea da Barberino, was an Italian writer and cantastorie ("storyteller") of the Quattrocento Renaissance. He was born in Barberino Val d'Elsa, near Florence, and lived in Florence. He is principally known for his prose romance epic Il Guerrin Meschino, his I Reali di Francia, a prose compilation of the Matter of France epic material concerning Charlemagne and Roland (Orlandino) from various legends and chansons de geste, and for his Aspramonte, a reworking of the chanson de geste Aspremont, which also features the hero Ruggiero. Many of his writings probably derive from Franco-Italian works, such as the Geste Francor, that includes versions of the stories of Reali di Francia and dates to the first half of the fourteenth century. His works, which circulated at first in manuscript, were extremely successful and popular, and were a key source of material for later Italian romance writers, such as Luigi Pulci (Morgante), Matteo Maria Boiardo and Ludovico Ariosto.
Agolant or Agolante is a fictional character in Medieval and Renaissance romantic epics dealing with the Matter of France, including Orlando innamorato by Matteo Maria Boiardo and Orlando furioso by Ludovico Ariosto. He is a Saracen king from Africa.
Chanson d'Aspremont is a 12th-century Old French chanson de geste. The poem comprises 11, 376 verses, grouped into rhymed laisses. The verses are decasyllables mixed with alexandrines.
Girart de Vienne is a late twelfth-century (c.1180) Old French chanson de geste by Bertrand de Bar-sur-Aube. The work tells the story of the sons of Garin de Monglane and their battles with the Emperor Charlemagne, and it establishes the friendship of the epic heroes Olivier and Roland.
Aymeri de Narbonne is a legendary hero of Old French chansons de geste and the Matter of France. In the legendary material, as elaborated and expanded in various medieval texts, Aymeri is a knight in the time of Charlemagne's wars with the Saracens after the Battle of Roncevaux Pass. He is son of Hernaut and the grandson of Garin de Monglane. He conquers the city of Narbonne, marries a princess named Hermengarde or Hermenjart, and fathers seven sons, the most famous being Guillaume d'Orange, the hero of several popular chansons de geste.
Prise d'Orange is a mid-12th century chanson de geste written in Old French. Its fictional story follows the hero Guillaume as he captures the walled city of Orange from Saracens and marries Orable, its queen. Other characters include Arragon, the king of Orange, and Tibaut, Orable's erstwhile husband and Arragon's father. The anonymously written poem, part of a larger cycle about Guillaume called La Geste de Garin de Monglane, consists of 1,888 decasyllable verses in laisses. It combines motifs of courtly love with an epic story of military conquest. The narrative is humorous and parodies the tropes of epic poetry.
Galiens li Restorés, or Galien le Restoré or Galien rhétoré, is an Old French chanson de geste which borrows heavily from chivalric romance. Its composition dates anywhere from the end of the twelfth century to the middle of the fourteenth century. Five versions of the tale are extant, dating from the fifteenth century to the sixteenth century, one in verse and the others in prose. The story—which is closely linked to the earlier chansons de gestePèlerinage de Charlemagne and The Song of Roland —tells of the adventures of Galien, son of the hero Olivier and of Jacqueline, the daughter of the (fictional) emperor Hugon of Constantinople.
Entrée d'Espagne or L'Entrée d'Espagne or Entrée en Espagne is a 14th-century (c.1320) Franco-Venetian chanson de geste. The author is thought to be from Padua. The work has survived in only one manuscript, today in the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice. Based on material from the Pseudo-Turpin Chronicle and several other sources, the epic poem tells of Charlemagne's battles in Spain and the adventures of the paladin Roland.
The Geste du roi is the title of one of the literary cycles that compose the Chansons de Geste. In the Chansons of the Geste du roi, the chief character is usually Charlemagne or one of his immediate successors. A pervasive theme is the King's role as champion of Christianity. This cycle contains the first of the chansons to be written down, the Chanson de Roland or The Song of Roland.
Jordain de Blaivies is an Old French chanson de geste written in decasyllables around 1200. It is an adventure story, largely inspired by the ancient story of Apollonius of Tyre. It survives in a single manuscript. The original was never popular, but it was reworked into a different metre and also adapted into prose in the 15th century. The prose version was printed with illustrations in 1520.
↑ Wittmann, Henri. 1995. "La structure de base de la syntaxe narrative dans les contes et légendes du créole haïtien." Poétiques et imaginaires: francopolyphonie littéraire des Amériques. Edited by Pierre Laurette & Hans-George Ruprecht. Paris: L'Harmattan, pp. 207–218.
↑ Dorfman, Eugène. 1969. The narreme in the medieval romance epic: An introduction to narrative structures. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
↑ Galiens li Restorés ed. Edmund Stengel (1890); Le Galien de Cheltenham ed. D. M. Dougherty, E. B. Barnes. Amsterdam: Benjamins, 1981.
↑ Aiquin ou la conquête de la Bretagne par le roi Charlemagne ed. F. Jacques. Aix-en-Provence: Publications du CUER MA, 1977.
↑ Raimbert de Paris, La Chevalerie Ogier de Danemarche ed. J. Barrois (1842)
↑ Ed. François Guessard, Henri Michelant. Paris, 1859.
↑ Michela Scattolini, "Ricerche sulla tradizione dell'Huon d'Auvergne." Tesi di dottorato. Siena, Scuola di dottorato europea in filologia romanza, 2010, pp. 6-7.
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