Heroines of the French Epic

by Newth, Michael A. H. ;

Their proper Lady Bertha with loud and lusty cheers.

  The few who truly saw her were lucky folk indeed!

  You shouldn’t wonder greatly that they should want to see

  The living proof of tidings they all had longed to hear:

  A miracle that witnessed to God’s great Majesty.

  When Bertha passed before them they fell upon their knees

  And thanked the Lord in Heaven for her return as Queen!

  3320 She thanked them in her manner – with wise humility.

  THE VIRTUE OF the Queen was truly like a beacon

  That shone on everyone and drew them all to see her.

  Her mother Blancheflor, now glad of heart and easy,

  Thanked Mary, blessed Maid and Mother, for her healing.

  They journeyed at their ease, not slow, or hasty either,

  With minstrels at their side who tried their best to please them,

  And knew, to see their joy, that they had well succeeded!

  How cruel was Margiste, that wicked crone whose evil

  Betrayed so fine a Queen with such deceitful scheming!

  3330 God damn her daughter too, Aliste the wicked creature!

  Her road to Paradise will surely be a steep one,

  Unless she shows remorse as mighty as her treason.

  THE JOY OF ALL and sundry in lovely France was great.

  The intimates of Pepin rejoined him on the way

  And showed their joy at seeing their Lady once again,

  By thanking God in Heaven with many prayers of praise.

  At last the many belfries of Paris met their gaze,

  And then the lovely city, more lovely on that day

  Than ever with the pleasure its citizens displayed

  3340 In blessed celebration of God Almighty’s Grace.

  The bearded and the balding, the children and the aged,

  The abbots and the brothers, the clergy and the lay,

  United in procession towards the city gates.

  How many mighty horses were raced through jousting-lanes,

  How many lances shattered on shields of sturdy grain!

  How many glances scattered on lovely Bertha’s face!

  HOW MANY happy folk in Paris scattered gazes

  Upon their Queen, so keen to see her reinstatement

  They led her through the streets with shouts of acclamation:

  3350 “Dear God above,” they cried, “Sweet Mother of our Saviour,

  A plague upon the maid whose infamous betrayal

  Has robbed us for so long of such a lovely lady!”

  They gathered round the hall where she dismounted later.

  Queen Blancheflor was thrilled and filled with exultation

  To see her daughter now so cordially fêted

  And obviously loved by all the population.

  She thanked the Lord above, Who scatters every raincloud,

  And blessed Mary too, with many prayers and praises.

  In Paris they enjoyed a week of celebrations

  3360 So noble no one hence remembered any greater.

  KING PEPIN WAS a monarch whose courtesy was large:

  He strove to please and honour King Flor with all his charm,

  And Blancheflor his consort, so worthy of the task.

  Now Morant on that Sunday returned to France, at last,

  And went to see King Pepin as soon as he’d the chance.

  If you recall, he’d travelled, in penance, far from France.

  The news he’d heard of Bertha had so rejoiced his heart

  That he could scarcely answer the questions Pepin asked:

  “My noble lord,” he stammered, “I’m glad with all my heart

  3370 To see that my fair Lady, your Queen, is back at last.

  But, Sire, how dare I ever be seen by her, alas?

  I was, I cannot hide it, in charge of Tybert’s guard

  That took her to the forest to do her mortal harm.”

  At this he started weeping; his tears came hard and fast.

  “From what I’ve heard,” said Pepin, “you played a noble part:

  You saved her life and helped her escape from Tybert’s grasp.”

  The word of Morant’s coming was quickly heard and passed

  To Bertha, who directly, without the least alarm,

  Rose up, all eyes upon her, and took him in her arms.

  3380 “My lord,” she said to Pepin, “I have a boon to ask:

  I want you to love Morant with all your royal heart.

  I ask you too to raise him to knighthood’s noble caste

  And give him of your riches so generous a part

  That all of his descendants may live upon the grant.

  By all the saints, I swear it, when Tybert’s sword was grasped

  To slay me, Morant stayed it and gave my life a chance.

  In Simon and in Morant I trust with all my heart.

  Their word shall be my counsel in any future task.”

  The King could not refuse her in anything she asked,

  3390 And granted Morant yearly two hundred silver marks.

  Good Morant, whose demeanour was laudable, advanced

  Towards the King, embracing his ankle and his calf,

  Then knelt before Queen Bertha and bowed his head, entranced.

  The next day Pepin dubbed him and gave him noble arms:

  And that is how Sir Morant became a knight of France.

  The Magyar monarchs gave him great wealth as well to mark

  The good thing he had done for their daughter at Le Mans.

  So, everyone, think always of doing good, not harm:

  However long it takes it, good triumphs at the last.

  3400 “SIR MORANT,” SAID the Queen, “I felt my final heart-beat

  When Tybert drew his sword, of shining edge and sharpest,

  And raised it to my head to finish what he’d started.

  In yours I found a mind of kinder, higher casting.

  If you had thought like him, of personal advancement

  Through treachery to me and to the Lord’s Commandment,

  I never would have lived to see my mother Blancheflor,

  Or Pepin, King of France, or Flor my noble father.

  You acted like a friend, a loving brother rather,

  Whom I shall never shun to help when I’ve the chance to.”

  3410 Sir Morant said: “May God, our Lord and Saviour, grant you

  Reward for this reward, today and ever after!”

  THE JOY DISPLAYED in Paris was lengthy and immense.

  King Flor was honoured greatly by Pepin and the French,

  Who cherished him most dearly, and Blancheflor as well.

  When Morant had been knighted by France’s King himself,

  King Flor remained for only a month in Pepin’s realm.

  My friends, I haven’t told you, for I could not attempt

  To tell you, of the riches with which his party left,

  That Pepin and Queen Bertha, in love and great respect,

  3420 Had given either monarch and all their band of men.

  Upon a Tuesday morning, their preparations set,

  The Magyars rode from Paris, as many sighed and wept.

  Each citizen around them and everywhere they went,

  Both those of their acquaintance and those they’d never met,

  Commended them by saying: “Godspeed you, and God bless!”

  King Pepin and Queen Bertha, whose wisdom was her crest,

  Went with them to Saint-Quentin, where two more days were spent

  Together, child and parents, ere their farewells were said.

  IT IS A PROVEN TRUTH that it w
as at Saint-Quentin

  3430 That Blancheflor once more farewelled the lovely Bertha

  And Flor embraced his child with all of his affection,

  Before they took their leave, commending her to Heaven.

  Their daughter swooned away for sadness when they left her,

  But Pepin raised her up and comforted her gently.

  The Magyar party rode in fine array and fettle

  Across the many realms and strange abodes that led them

  To reach their native land and spread their joyful message.

  How people praised the Lord, and Mary, Queen of Heaven!

  What’s more, that royal pair, before the year had ended,

  3440 Were blessed again with child, a daughter whom expressly

  They named Constanzia, for love of her who’d cherished

  Good Bertha in their woods, as you have heard me tell you.

  This child became in time their country’s great defender

  As queen against the Danes who came in force against her:

  But that’s another song and mine’s too long already!

  The noble monarch Flor, of gallant mind and mettle,

  And Blancheflor, his wife and worthy queen, erected

  An abbey in their land, of noble plan and measure,

  In honour of our Lord, Whose glory lives forever,

  3450 And love of Bertha, whom His mighty Hand had rescued

  And guarded and returned from such a pale of peril.

  The abbey was endowed with sixty nuns attendant,

  And still today is called the abbey of Valbertha.

  And there we’ll leave King Flor, of hoary beard and heavy,

  And Blancheflor the queen, God crown her soul in Heaven,

  For I must end this tale of gallant-visaged Pepin,

  And Bertha, still in tears, I fear, at her farewelling

  Of parents so endeared, God comfort her and bless her!

  When all was said and done and everything was ready,

  3460 They took the Paris road and headed there directly.

  KING PEPIN and his consort, the lovely Bertha, reached

  Their royal town of Paris as quickly as could be.

  Constanzia and Simon, for whom their love was deep,

  Were honoured there by Pepin, as they deserved indeed.

  He wedded both their daughters to knights of such degree

  That their prestige and riches were mightily increased.

  Aliste was in Montmartre, that traitor to the Queen,

  With Rainfroi and with Hardré, the princes she’d conceived

  And raised so very grandly and full of self-conceit.

  3470 How many folk in future were cheated and deceived

  By these two with the power their riches let them wield:

  If one day you would listen, I ‘ll tell you what I mean.

  OF THIS YOU CAN be sure: the first of those conceived by

  Our blonde and slender Queen of Pepin was a female,

  A daughter who was wise and modest of demeanour:

  As wife of Miles d’Aiglant her fame was not a mean one,

  But it was greater far as mother of the hero

  Count Roland, whose prowess and bravery were peerless.

  Her next was Charlemagne, of visage bold and fearless,

  3480 Who fought so many wars against the Unbelievers,

  And raised the Christian flag across so many regions.

  How many heathen lands he ravaged and defeated!

  How many heathen shields and helms he cut to pieces,

  How many coifs he slit to split the head beneath them!

  He struck with heart and soul so hard against the Heathens

  That even to this day their children’s children feel it!

  ❦

  Glossary

  Almanzor [al/mn/zor]A Saracen chieftain.

  Bezant [beznt]A gold coin of Byzantine origin.

  Blazon [blayzn]A coat of arms.

  Bliaut [blee/o]A tunic.

  BossA round metal knob at the centre of a shield.

  BucklerA small round shield.

  Byrnie [burnee]A long knee-length garment of leather, upon which metal rings were sewn in various patterns; for the protection of the body and the thighs in battle.

  Caliph [ka(y)liff]A Saracen civil and religious leader.

  CarlA villain.

  Chain mailArmour made of small metal rings linked together.

  Chausses [fr.]Mail leggings.

  Coif [coyf]A skullcap worn under the helmet.

  Cotte [cot]1. A coat 2. A gown 3. A tunic.

  Denier [den/ee/ay]A coin of little value; a penny.

  Destrier [des/tree/ay]A war-horse; a charger.

  Dromond [dromnd]A flat-bottomed barge.

  Eme [eem]An uncle.

  Emir [ameer]A Saracen prince or governor.

  EssesHelmet adornments wrought in precious metal.

  FealtyA feudal tenant’s fidelity to his lord.

  FiefAn estate held in fee by a vassal (q.v.) from a superior.

  Geste [fr.]1. A military exploit. 2. An epic narrative. 3. A clan

  Gonfalon [gon/fa/lon]1. A banner with streamers.

  Haubergeon [haw/bur/jon]A sleevless coat of mail.

  Hauberk [hawburk]1.A long knee-length garment of chain mail (q.v.) for the protection of the body and the thighs in battle.

  JennetA small docile horse.

  Jongleur [fr.]An itinerant musician.

  LabelA narrow strip superimposed on a coat of arms by an eldest son during the life of his father.

  Liege lordA feudal superior.

  LiegemanA sworn vassal (q.v.). A faithful follower.

  Mangon [mangn]A gold coin worth two bezants (q.v.).

  MatinsA canonical hour of the breviary, ending at dawn.

  MewedEncaged; moulted.

  Michaelmas [mick/l/muss]The feast of St. Michael (29th September).

  Nielloed [nee/ell/ode]Enamelled black.

  OlifantAn ivory horn.

  OriflammeThe sacred red banner of the abbey at Saint-Denis, Paris; traditionally handed to French kings upon the start of any war.

  Paladin1. One of the Twelve Peers of Charlemagne’s court 2. A knight errant; a champion.

  Palfrey [pawlfree]A small docile horse.

  Rowel [raowul]A spiked revolving disc at the end of a spur.

  SardonA quartz stone containing layers of onyx and sard.

  Seizin [seazn]The possession or the taking possession of land by freehold.

  Sendal [sen/dl]A fine silk material.

  SolarAn upper chamber.

  SquireA knight’s attendant.

  SumpterA beast of burden.

  SurcoatA flowing garment worn over armour.

  Targe [targ]A small round shield.

  Tonsure [tonshur]A part of a monk’s or priest’s head left bare on top by shaving off the hair.

  VassalA holder of land by feudal tenure.

  Vavasour [va/va/sor]A vassal owing allegiance to a great lord and having other vassals under him.

  Ventail [ventail]A flap of mail fastening across the mouth and lower face.

  VespersA canonical hour of the breviary. Ending at dusk.

  Vièle [fr.]A five-stringed, lute-shaped instrument, played with a bow.

  Villein [fr.]A peasant.

  Wyvern [wivurn]A snake-shaped dart hurled by Saracen warriors.

  Suggestions for Further Reading

  Women in the Middle Ages

  Gies, Frances and Joseph. Women in the Middle Ages. New York 1978.

  Gold, Penny S. The Lady and the Virgin: image, attitude, and experience in twelfth
-century France. Chicago 1985.

  Rowling, Marjorie. Life in Medieval Times. New York 1973.

  Shaw, Margaret. Women and Gender in Medieval Europe: an encyclopaedia. New York 2006

  Smith, Bonnie G. Medieval Women in Modern Perspective: Women’s History in a Global Perspective, Vol. 1 Ch. 14. Illinois 2005.

  Ward, Jennifer C. Women in Medieval Europe. Basingstoke 2003.

  Women in the Old French Epic

  Calin, William C. The Epic Quest: Studies in four Old French chansons de geste. Baltimore 1966.

  Comfort, William W. “The Character Types in the Old French Chansons de Geste.” PMLA 21(1906), 279–434. Amazon, rpt. on demand.

  Daniel, Norman. Heroes and Saracens: An Interpretation of the Chansons de Geste. Edinburgh 1984.

  De Weever, Jacqueline. Sheeba’s Daughters: Whitening and Demonizing the Saracen Woman in Medieval French Epic. New York 1998.

  Gaunt, Simon. Gender and Genre in Medieval French Literature. Cambridge 2005.

  Harrison, Ann T. “Aude and Bramimonde: Their Importance in the Chanson de Roland.” The French Review 54, 5 (April 1981), 672–79.

  Herman Gerald. “Aspects of the Comic in the Old French Epic.” Ph.D. Dissertation, Stanford University, 1967. Ann Arbor, MI: University Microfilms Inc. 1968.

  Hindley, Alan and Brian J. Levy. The Old French Epic: An Introduction. Louvain 1983.

  Jones, C. Meredith. “The Conventional Saracen of the Songs of Geste.” Speculum 17 (1942), 201–35.

  Kay, Sarah. The Chansons de Geste in the Age of Romance. Oxford 1995.

  Krause, Kathy. Reassessing the Heroine in Old French Literature. Florida 2001.

  Poor, Sara S. and Jana K. Schulman. Women and Medieval Epic. London 2006.

  Ramey, Lynn T. Christian, Saracen and Genre in Medieval French Literature. New York 2001.

  Other Old French Epics available in English Translation

  Dass, Nirmal. The Crowning of Louis: A New Metrical Translation of the Old French Verse Epic. Jefferson and London 2003. A line-by-line prose translation.

  Edgington, Susan and Carol Sweetenham. The Chanson d’Antioche: An Old French Account of the First Crusade. Ashgate 2001. A line-by-line prose translation.

  Einhorn, Elsabe. Count William of Orange: Guillaume d’Orange. Ampersand, 2005. This ebook presents abridged prose translations of seventeen of the most important poems from the William cycle.

  Ferrante, Joan M. Guillaume d’Orange: Four Twelfth-Century Epics. New York and London 1974. Translated are Li Coronomenz Loois (with end-line assonance), La Prise d’Orange, Aliscans and Le Moniage Guillaume in line-by-line prose.