Product Description: 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...read more

Product Description: The epic tales of medieval France, called chansons de geste, or "songs of deeds", provided the chief means of cultural and imaginative expression in the French language for over one hundred and fifty years (c.1100-1250), during one of the most significant periods of social change in the history of Western civilisation...read more

On 15th August 778, Charlemagne and his armies were crossing the Pyrenees back into France, after a successful campaign in which they had taken Saragossa and Pamplona. His rearguard, one of whose commanders was Roland, duke of the Marches of Brittany, was surprised by a party of Basques, and annihilated. The chronicles of the time duly noted the event. From this almost invisible piece of historical grit there grew one of the pearls of medieval literature, "The Song of Roland". The story of Roland disappears from history in the 9th century to reappear as an epic poem 200 years later, transformed into a full-length tale of high courage, loyalty and treachery. Charlemagne becomes an awesome, god-like figure, while Roland acquires a boon companion, Oliver, who is almost his equal in prowess. The attack on Roland and his companions is no longer a local ambush, but the result of a deep-laid conspiracy between a Saracen king in Spain and one of Charlemagne's lords, Roland's stepfather Count Ganelon. The plot has become a classic tale of jealousy and intrigue, and the poet tells it in masterly fashion; he is equally skilled at setting a scene, conveying the mood and character of his actors, or evoking the drama of the battle. The present translation by D.D.R. Owen is recognized as one of the best modern English versions of the poem: it has been revised for this new illustrated edition, which uses the vivid images of a late medieval manuscript of the legend. The introduction sets the poem in its context and shows how this work has profoundly influenced not only later literature, but even our view of history and notably of the Norman Conquest.

Product Description: Swift yet resonant, this masterful new verse translation conveys the immediacy, intimacy, and power of this greatest of Old French epic poems. John DuVal approaches the unadorned syntax of The Song of Roland in straightforward modern English, attuned to the nuance and detail of the narrative and the poetry of the original text...read more

Product Description: 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...read more

Product Description: One of the crowning achievements of medieval literature, The Song of Roland tells the story of the battle of Roncesvals in 778 and enters into the very soul of a gallant, brutal, and tumultuous age.At the center of this heroic epic is Roland, the supreme embodiment of the chivalric ideal who leads his men into combat and fights valiantly to the death...read more

Product Description: The first and greatest of French literature's epics, this 11th-century tale of romance and heroism embodies all the power and majesty of its predecessors from other cultures. Its narrative framework echoes that of Greek and German myths, and it melds historic accounts from the Dark Ages of Europe with folklore from the Far East — along with the legends of the troubadours and stories from Virgil, Hebrew scriptures, and other sources...read more

Product Description: Guillaume d'Orange is the most extensive epic cycle of the Middle Ages. Set in the ninth century, the poems on the life of William of Orange grew out of several centuries of oral composition and were written down for the first time in the twelfth century...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

A translation of the medieval epic poem about Roland's adventures and death in Charlemagne's war against the pagans.

Product Description: This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: A personal story deeply penetrated by theology, this book aims to help others to discover the true meaning of motherhood as part of a relationship with God. Margaret Hebblethwaite, assistant editor of "The Tablet", is a feminist theologian.

Product Description: Library of Liberal Arts title.

Product Description: First published in 1989

Product Description: Gerard Brault’s 1984 student edition of La Chanson de Roland has become a standard text in classrooms. It contains the text and translation from his 1978 analytical edition along with an introduction illuminating the poem’s historical and literary background and significance...read more

A translation of the medieval epic poem about Roland's adventures and death in Charlemagne's war against the pagans

Product Description: The Song of Roland, one of the earliest medieval epic poems, was written in France in about 1100. The poem is based on an incident during Charlemagne’s wars against Muslims in Spain. Charlemagne puts his nephew, Count Roland, in charge of the rearguard as French knights retreat...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Published to observe the twelfth centenary of the Battle of Roncevaux, the event that inspired the Chanson de Roland, this edition provides the first systematic analysis of the entire poem. Professor Brault's edition also incorporates the considerable scholarly work done in the half century since the Bedier and Jenkins editions appeared.The underlying theme of this new edition is that the poem is a Christian hero. As imagined by the poet Turoldus writing about 1100, at the time of the First Crusade Roland, the nephew of Charlemagne, had no faults and accomplished mighty deeds in warring against the Saracens. The introduction compares the known historical facts about the Battle of Roncevaux with the Roland legend, with various versions of the poem, and with the Oxford text. Christian thought and sensibility are shown to permeate the Chanson de Roland, in its character portrayal and narrative development, as well as in its tone and diction and to provide its thematic unity and metaphorical consistency. Influences of the oral tradition of the chansons de geste are demonstrated, as are evidences of the accompanying gestures used by the jongleurs in interpreting these works.The Commentary organizes discussion of the 4002 verses into 49 units. The method of analysis is eclectic, combining thematic criticism with philology, exegetical interpretation with iconography. The 66 illustrations, primarily from Romanesque works of art, clarify key passages (view table of contents)

Presents the epic poem which records a battle between Charlemagne's army and the Saracens of Spain in 778, and focuses on Charlemagne's nephew, who leads his men in battle. (view table of contents)