Crusade cycle
Encyclopedia
The Crusade cycle is an Old French
cycle of chansons de geste concerning the First Crusade
and its aftermath.
, probably in Picardy
.
The original poem in the cycle was the Chanson d'Antioche
, which is the basis for the "historical" section of the cycle. The original Chanson d'Antioche is lost, but it was edited in the 12th century by Graindor de Douai, who also edited the Chanson de Jérusalem, and possibly wrote the Chanson des Chétifs himself. These three chansons form the basis for the rest of the cycle, and are more historically oriented than the Romances
that grew up around them.
, around whom the rest of the cycle is based, in a much more romanticized form. These connect Godfrey with the legend of the Swan Knight. Even medieval redactors recognized that this part of the cycle was fanciful and did not quite match the historical chansons, and they are usually separated in the manuscripts. The first episode chronologically within the cycle is the Naissance du Chevalier au Cygne, which survives in two forms, the Elioxe and the Beatrix. In the former, Elioxe has children with King Lothair; in the latter, Beatrix is married to King Orient. In both cases, they have seven children, who are all turned into swans. All but one are able to transform back into humans; this swan then leads the boat of one his brothers, known as the Swan Knight. Some manuscripts have a version that combines both stories into one.
The Swan Knight's adventures bring him to the defense of the dispossessed Duchess of Bouillon, whose land has been seized by Regnier of Saxony, whom he challenges to a duel. The Swan Knight defeats Regnier and wins the daughter of the Duchess in marriage. They have a daughter, Ida
, who can see the future and knows that she is destined to be the mother of Eustace
, Godfrey
, and Baldwin
. The Swan Knight, however, must leave Bouillon when his wife asks his true identity. After leaving Bouillon, his name is revealed to be Elias, and his brother, the swan who led his boat, finally regains his human form. Meanwhile, Elias' kinsmen, the knights Pons and Gerart, decide to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, but cannot because the land is under Muslim control. They are seized by Cornumarant, the king of Jerusalem, but he befriends them and allows them to complete their pilgrimage. After drifting at sea for many months they return to Bouillon and recognize Elias as the Swan Knight.
Years later, Ida is married to Count Eustace of Boulogne
, and has three children, Eustace, Godfrey, and Baldwin. Eustace and Godfrey grow up to become knight
s, with all the appropriate adventures and duels. Meanwhile, Cornumarant's mother Calibre, who, like Ida, can see the future, predicts the coming of Godfrey and his brothers as well as the later crusades against Saladin
. Cornumarant decides to visit Godfrey, whose kin he once hosted in Jerusalem, and on the way meets various future leaders of the First Crusade: Bohemund
, Tancred
, Raymond IV of Toulouse
, Adhemar of Le Puy
, Hugh of Vermandois
, and Robert Curthose, among others. Cornumarant intends to assassinate Godfrey but is overcome by the latter's glory; he realizes he can never hold Jerusalem if Godfrey invades, thus planting the idea for the crusade in Godfrey's mind. Cornumarant, returns to Jerusalem and is accused of treason for not having accomplished his task; many battles and duels are fought. During this time, Godfrey arrives and attacks the cities of Syria.
and the siege and taking of Antioch
, where King Corbaran (a corruption of the name of Kerbogha
, the atabeg of Mosul
who came to Antioch's defence in 1098) is defeated by Godfrey and the Crusaders. The lost original poem was said to have been composed by Richard le Pèlerin, who was present during the siege. Although a fictionalized account of the First Crusade, it is based on historical events and is not as fabulous and romanticized as the poems dealing with Godfrey's early life.
Following the capture of Antioch, Corbaran returns home with the Christian chétifs ("captives"). Corbaran is accused of treason by the sultan for losing the battle, and one of the Christian prisoners must fight a duel in his place. The chétifs then attack and kill the dragon
Sathanas, in perhaps the most fanciful episode of the cycle. In a third episode, Arpin of Bourges saves Corbaran's son from various misadventures, and the chétifs are set free to join the rest of the crusaders on the way to Jerusalem.
The cycle then returns to Godfrey, now outside Jerusalem, who recruits the chétifs into his army. Bohemund is present at the siege of Jerusalem
, unlike the historical Bohemund, who remained behind in Antioch. Cornumarant and the Saracens repeatedly attack the crusader camps, and the crusaders assault the city and are repulsed again and again. Finally the city is taken, but none of the leaders wishes to become king; a sign from God, however, indicates that Godfrey should be crowned. In further battles, Peter the Hermit
is captured, and Cornumarant is killed. Most manuscripts end at this point but some continue on to describe the capture of other cities, the death of Godfrey, and the reign of Baldwin, who attacks Egypt
and engages in battles with "Dodequin" (the historical Toghtekin of Damascus).
There is also a much shorter prose work, known as the Godefroi de Buillon, a summary of the entire cycle. The author of this work complains about the length of the poetic cycle, and focuses less on the fantastical life of Godfrey and more on the historical crusade. It is one of the first works of prose fiction in French literature
.
in 1848. Subsequent editors of the cycle as a whole include Stengel in 1873, Smith in 1912, Krüger in 1936, Duparc-Quioc in 1955, Sumberg in 1968, and the recent critical editions published by the University of Alabama
.
The University of Alabama editions are divided as follows:
Old French
Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories that span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from the 9th century to the 14th century...
cycle of chansons de geste concerning the First Crusade
First Crusade
The First Crusade was a military expedition by Western Christianity to regain the Holy Lands taken in the Muslim conquest of the Levant, ultimately resulting in the recapture of Jerusalem...
and its aftermath.
History
The cycle contains a number of initially unrelated texts, collated into interconnected narratives by later redactors. None of the poems in the cycle survive independently, and the thirteen separate collections are all organized in different orders with different texts. The manuscripts were all written between approximately 1350 and 1425, in northeastern FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, probably in Picardy
Picardy
This article is about the historical French province. For other uses, see Picardy .Picardy is a historical province of France, in the north of France...
.
The original poem in the cycle was the Chanson d'Antioche
Chanson d'Antioche
The Chanson d'Antioche is a chanson de geste in 9000 lines of alexandrines 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...
, which is the basis for the "historical" section of the cycle. The original Chanson d'Antioche is lost, but it was edited in the 12th century by Graindor de Douai, who also edited the Chanson de Jérusalem, and possibly wrote the Chanson des Chétifs himself. These three chansons form the basis for the rest of the cycle, and are more historically oriented than the Romances
Romance (genre)
As a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knight errant portrayed as...
that grew up around them.
Godfrey's ancestors and his early life
The protagonist of these three chansons is Godfrey of BouillonGodfrey of Bouillon
Godfrey of Bouillon was a medieval Frankish knight who was one of the leaders of the First Crusade from 1096 until his death. He was the Lord of Bouillon, from which he took his byname, from 1076 and the Duke of Lower Lorraine from 1087...
, around whom the rest of the cycle is based, in a much more romanticized form. These connect Godfrey with the legend of the Swan Knight. Even medieval redactors recognized that this part of the cycle was fanciful and did not quite match the historical chansons, and they are usually separated in the manuscripts. The first episode chronologically within the cycle is the Naissance du Chevalier au Cygne, which survives in two forms, the Elioxe and the Beatrix. In the former, Elioxe has children with King Lothair; in the latter, Beatrix is married to King Orient. In both cases, they have seven children, who are all turned into swans. All but one are able to transform back into humans; this swan then leads the boat of one his brothers, known as the Swan Knight. Some manuscripts have a version that combines both stories into one.
The Swan Knight's adventures bring him to the defense of the dispossessed Duchess of Bouillon, whose land has been seized by Regnier of Saxony, whom he challenges to a duel. The Swan Knight defeats Regnier and wins the daughter of the Duchess in marriage. They have a daughter, Ida
Ida of Lorraine
Ida of Lorraine was a saint and noblewoman.She was the daughter of Godfrey III, Duke of Lower Lorraine and his wife, Doda. Ida's grandfather was Gothelo I, Duke of Lorraine and Ida's brother was Godfrey IV, Duke of Lower Lorraine.-Family:In 1057, she married Eustace II of Boulogne...
, who can see the future and knows that she is destined to be the mother of Eustace
Eustace III of Boulogne
Eustace III, was a count of Boulogne, successor to his father Count Eustace II of Boulogne. His mother was Ida of Lorraine.His father Eustace II appeared at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 as an ally of William the Conqueror, and is listed as a possible killer of Harold II; he is also believed to...
, Godfrey
Godfrey of Bouillon
Godfrey of Bouillon was a medieval Frankish knight who was one of the leaders of the First Crusade from 1096 until his death. He was the Lord of Bouillon, from which he took his byname, from 1076 and the Duke of Lower Lorraine from 1087...
, and Baldwin
Baldwin I of Jerusalem
Baldwin I of Jerusalem, formerly Baldwin I of Edessa, born Baldwin of Boulogne , 1058? – 2 April 1118, was one of the leaders of the First Crusade, who became the first Count of Edessa and then the second ruler and first titled King of Jerusalem...
. The Swan Knight, however, must leave Bouillon when his wife asks his true identity. After leaving Bouillon, his name is revealed to be Elias, and his brother, the swan who led his boat, finally regains his human form. Meanwhile, Elias' kinsmen, the knights Pons and Gerart, decide to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, but cannot because the land is under Muslim control. They are seized by Cornumarant, the king of Jerusalem, but he befriends them and allows them to complete their pilgrimage. After drifting at sea for many months they return to Bouillon and recognize Elias as the Swan Knight.
Years later, Ida is married to Count Eustace of Boulogne
Eustace II of Boulogne
Eustace II, , also known as Eustace aux Gernons was count of Boulogne from 1049–1087, fought on the Norman side at the Battle of Hastings, and afterwards received a large honour in England. He is one of the few proven Companions of William the Conqueror.He was the son of Eustace I...
, and has three children, Eustace, Godfrey, and Baldwin. Eustace and Godfrey grow up to become knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
s, with all the appropriate adventures and duels. Meanwhile, Cornumarant's mother Calibre, who, like Ida, can see the future, predicts the coming of Godfrey and his brothers as well as the later crusades against Saladin
Saladin
Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb , better known in the Western world as Saladin, was an Arabized Kurdish Muslim, who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and founded the Ayyubid dynasty. He led Muslim and Arab opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant...
. Cornumarant decides to visit Godfrey, whose kin he once hosted in Jerusalem, and on the way meets various future leaders of the First Crusade: Bohemund
Bohemund I of Antioch
Bohemond I , Prince of Taranto and Prince of Antioch, was one of the leaders of the First Crusade. The Crusade had no outright military leader, but instead was ruled by a committee of nobles...
, Tancred
Tancred, Prince of Galilee
Tancred was a Norman leader of the First Crusade who later became Prince of Galilee and regent of the Principality of Antioch...
, Raymond IV of Toulouse
Raymond IV of Toulouse
Raymond IV of Toulouse , sometimes called Raymond of St Gilles, was Count of Toulouse, Duke of Narbonne, and Margrave of Provence and one of the leaders of the First Crusade. He was a son of Pons of Toulouse and Almodis de La Marche...
, Adhemar of Le Puy
Adhemar of Le Puy
Adhemar de Monteil , one of the principal figures of the First Crusade, was bishop of Puy-en-Velay from before 1087...
, Hugh of Vermandois
Hugh of Vermandois
Hugh I , called Magnus or the Great, was a younger son of Henry I of France and Anne of Kiev and younger brother of Philip I. He was in his own right Count of Vermandois, but an ineffectual leader and soldier, great only in his boasting...
, and Robert Curthose, among others. Cornumarant intends to assassinate Godfrey but is overcome by the latter's glory; he realizes he can never hold Jerusalem if Godfrey invades, thus planting the idea for the crusade in Godfrey's mind. Cornumarant, returns to Jerusalem and is accused of treason for not having accomplished his task; many battles and duels are fought. During this time, Godfrey arrives and attacks the cities of Syria.
"Historical" cycle
This leads to the original, and undoubtedly the most famous, poem in the cycle, the Chanson d'Antioche. Its subject is the preaching of the First Crusade, the preparations for departure, the tearful goodbyes, the arrival at ConstantinopleConstantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
and the siege and taking of Antioch
Siege of Antioch
The Siege of Antioch took place during the First Crusade in 1097 and 1098. The first siege, by the crusaders against the Muslim city, lasted from October 21, 1097, to June 2, 1098. The second siege, against the crusaders who had occupied it, lasted from June 7 to June 28, 1098.-Background:Antioch...
, where King Corbaran (a corruption of the name of Kerbogha
Kerbogha
Kerbogha was Atabeg of Mosul during the First Crusade and was renowned as a soldier. He was a Turk who owed his success to his military talent. In 1098, when he heard that the Crusaders had besieged Antioch, he gathered his troops and marched to relieve the city. By the time he arrived, around...
, the atabeg of Mosul
Mosul
Mosul , is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate, some northwest of Baghdad. The original city stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial...
who came to Antioch's defence in 1098) is defeated by Godfrey and the Crusaders. The lost original poem was said to have been composed by Richard le Pèlerin, who was present during the siege. Although a fictionalized account of the First Crusade, it is based on historical events and is not as fabulous and romanticized as the poems dealing with Godfrey's early life.
Following the capture of Antioch, Corbaran returns home with the Christian chétifs ("captives"). Corbaran is accused of treason by the sultan for losing the battle, and one of the Christian prisoners must fight a duel in his place. The chétifs then attack and kill the dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
Sathanas, in perhaps the most fanciful episode of the cycle. In a third episode, Arpin of Bourges saves Corbaran's son from various misadventures, and the chétifs are set free to join the rest of the crusaders on the way to Jerusalem.
The cycle then returns to Godfrey, now outside Jerusalem, who recruits the chétifs into his army. Bohemund is present at the siege of Jerusalem
Siege of Jerusalem (1099)
The Siege of Jerusalem took place from June 7 to July 15, 1099 during the First Crusade. The Crusaders stormed and captured the city from Fatimid Egypt.-Background:...
, unlike the historical Bohemund, who remained behind in Antioch. Cornumarant and the Saracens repeatedly attack the crusader camps, and the crusaders assault the city and are repulsed again and again. Finally the city is taken, but none of the leaders wishes to become king; a sign from God, however, indicates that Godfrey should be crowned. In further battles, Peter the Hermit
Peter the Hermit
Peter the Hermit was a priest of Amiens and a key figure during the First Crusade.-Before 1096:According to Anna Comnena, he had attempted to go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem before 1096, but was prevented by the Seljuk Turks from reaching his goal and was tortured.Sources differ as to whether he...
is captured, and Cornumarant is killed. Most manuscripts end at this point but some continue on to describe the capture of other cities, the death of Godfrey, and the reign of Baldwin, who attacks Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and engages in battles with "Dodequin" (the historical Toghtekin of Damascus).
There is also a much shorter prose work, known as the Godefroi de Buillon, a summary of the entire cycle. The author of this work complains about the length of the poetic cycle, and focuses less on the fantastical life of Godfrey and more on the historical crusade. It is one of the first works of prose fiction in French literature
French literature
French literature is, generally speaking, literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than French. Literature written in French language, by citizens...
.
Editions
The Chanson d'Antioche was first edited by Alexis Paulin ParisAlexis Paulin Paris
Alexis Paulin Paris , was a French scholar and author.He was born at Avenay . He studied classics in Reims and law in Paris. He published in 1824 an Apologie pour l'école romantique and took an active part in Parisian journalism...
in 1848. Subsequent editors of the cycle as a whole include Stengel in 1873, Smith in 1912, Krüger in 1936, Duparc-Quioc in 1955, Sumberg in 1968, and the recent critical editions published by the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
.
The University of Alabama editions are divided as follows:
- La Naissance du Chevalier au Cygne: Elioxe, ed. Emanuel J. Mickel, Jr., and Beatrix, ed. Jan A. Nelson
- Le Chevalier au Cygne and La Fin d'Elias, ed. Jan A. Nelson
- Les Enfances de Godefroi and Le Retour de Cornumarant, ed. Emanuel J. Mickel
- 'La Chanson d'Antioche, ed. Jan A. Nelson
- Les Chétifs, ed. Geoffrey M. Myers
- La Chanson de Jérusalem, ed. Nigel R. Thorp
- The Jérusalem Continuations, part I: La Chrétienté Corbaran, ed. Peter R. Grillo
- The Jérusalem Continuations, part II: La Prise d'Acre, La Mort Godefroi, and La Chanson des Rois Baudoin, ed. Peter R. Grillo
- The Jérusalem Continuations: The London-Turin Version, ed. Peter R. Grillo
- La Geste du Chevalier au Cygne, ed. Edmond A. Emplaincourt
- Godefroi de Buillon, ed. Jan Boyd Roberts