Alexandrine is a name used for several distinct types of verse line with related metrical structures, most of which are ultimately derived from the classical French alexandrine. The line's name derives from its use in the Medieval French Roman d'Alexandre of 1170, although it had already been used several decades earlier in Le Pèlerinage de Charlemagne. The foundation of most alexandrines consists of two hemistichs (half-lines) of six syllables each, separated by a caesura :
o o o o o o | o o o o o o o=any syllable; |=caesura
Huon of Bordeaux is the title character of a 13th-century French epic poem with romance elements.
Poetry took numerous forms in medieval Europe, for example, lyric and epic poetry. The troubadours and the minnesänger are known for their lyric poetry about courtly love.
The chanson de geste is a medieval narrative, a type of epic poem that appears at the dawn of French literature. 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.
Renaud de 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.
According to the medieval poet Jean Bodel, the Matter of Rome is the literary cycle of Greek and Roman mythology, together with episodes from the history of classical antiquity, focusing on military heroes like Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar. Bodel’s division of literary cycles also included the Matter of France and the Matter of Britain. The Matter of Rome includes the Matter of Troy, consisting of romances and other texts based on the Trojan War and its legacy, including the adventures of Aeneas.
Alexander of Paris, also known as Alexander of Bernay, was a Norman poet of the 12th century, who wrote Li romans d'Alexandre, one of the first poems written in French on the mythical exploits of Alexander the Great. It was composed in twelve-syllable lines, named alexandrines after this work. He was born in Bernay, Eure.
The Lancelot-Grail, also known as the Vulgate Cycle or the Pseudo-Map Cycle, is an early 13th-century French Arthurian literary cycle consisting of interconnected prose episodes of chivalric romance in Old French. The cycle of unknown authorship, presenting itself as a chronicle of actual events, retells the legend of King Arthur by focusing on the love affair between Lancelot and Guinevere as well as the religious quest for the Holy Grail, expanding on the works of Robert de Boron and Chrétien de Troyes.
Lamprecht, called der Pfaffe, was a German poet of the twelfth century. He is the author of the Alexanderlied, the first German epic composed on a French model.
Tristan and Iseult is a medieval chivalric romance based on a Celtic legend, told in numerous variations since the 12th century. Tristan is also written Tristram or Tristrem, and Isolde is also written Iseult, Isolt, or Yseult. The story has had a lasting impact on Western culture. The tale is a tragedy about the illicit love between the Cornish knight Tristan and the Irish princess Iseult. The story depicts Tristan's mission to escort Iseult from Ireland to Cornwall to marry his uncle, King Mark of Cornwall. On the journey, Tristan and Iseult ingest a love potion, which instigates a forbidden love affair between them.
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.
The Alexander Romance is an account of the life and exploits of Alexander the Great. Although constructed around a historical core, the romance is largely fictional. It was widely copied and translated, accruing legends and fantastical elements at different stages. The original version was composed in the Greek language before 338 AD, when a Latin translation was made. Several late manuscripts attribute the work to Alexander's court historian Callisthenes, but the historical person died before Alexander and could not have written a full account of his life. The unknown author is still sometimes known as Pseudo-Callisthenes.
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 Châtelaine de Vergy or Chastelaine de Vergi is an anonymously-written short 13th century romance of courtly love in Old French.
The Buik of Alexander is a short title for the two known Scots versions of the Alexander romance stories — a genre which was common in Medieval European literature, particularly France from the 12th century onwards, and the British Isles in the 14th and 15th centuries. A principal source text for these was the Old French text, Li romans d'Alixandre, attributed to Alexandre de Bernay, although writers tended to adapt material freely from different sources. Many different European nations had poets who produced versions of the romance. The dating is unsure, but the earlier of the two Scottish versions was anonymous, and the second, in a version dated 1499?, is by Gilbert Hay.
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.
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.
Odontotyrannos, also odontotyrannus or dentityrannus ("tooth-tyrant") is a three horned beast said to have attacked Alexander the Great and his men at their camp in India, according to the Latin Letter from Alexander to Aristotle and medieval romances that incorporated it.
Merlin is a partly lost French epic poem written by Robert de Boron in Old French and dating from either end of the 12th or beginning of the 13th century. The author reworked Geoffrey of Monmouth's material on the legendary Merlin, emphasising Merlin's power to prophesy and linking him to the Holy Grail. The poem tells of his origin and early life as a redeemed Antichrist, his role in the birth of Arthur, and how Arthur became King of Britain. Merlin's story relates to Robert's two other reputed Grail poems, Joseph and Perceval. It introduced motifs that became popular in medieval and later Arthuriana, ensuring him a lasting place in the legend of King Arthur.
Jean Wauquelin, born in Picardy, was a writer and translator in French, active in the County of Hainaut in the Burgundian Netherlands, a county now located in Belgium near the border with France. Wauquelin died on 7 September 1452 in Mons, Hainaut. His date of birth remains unknown.
