Garin de Monglane
Encyclopedia
Garin de Monglane, or Montglane, the creation of Conrad von Stöffler in 1280, is a fictional
aristocrat
who gives his name to the second cycle
of Old French
chansons de geste
, La Geste de Garin de Monglane
. His cycle tells stories of fiefless lads of noble birth who went off seeking land and adventure fighting the Saracen
s.
The several hero
es who rode off seeking war and wealth in this way are given genealogies
that made Garin de Monglane their common ancestor. Apart from fathering a race of landless knight
s, Garin de Monglane himself is a character whose portrait in the poems is otherwise drawn very sketchily. Poems belonging to the Garin cycle include the chansons of Girart de Vienne
, Aimeri de Narbonne, and Guillaume
. Of these poems, Aimeri de Narbonne has the largest literary interest.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
aristocrat
Aristocracy (class)
The aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest social class in a society which has or once had a political system of Aristocracy. Aristocrats possess hereditary titles granted by a monarch, which once granted them feudal or legal privileges, or deriving, as in Ancient Greece and India,...
who gives his name to the second cycle
Literature cycle
Literary cycles are groups of stories grouped around common figures, often based on mythical figures or loosely on historic ones. Cycles which deal with an entire country are sometimes referred to as matters...
of Old French
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...
chansons de geste
Chanson de geste
The chansons de geste, Old French for "songs of heroic deeds", are the epic poems that appear at the dawn of French literature. The earliest known examples date from the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries, nearly a hundred years before the emergence of the lyric poetry of the trouvères and...
, La Geste de Garin de Monglane
La Geste de Garin de Monglane
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 around Garin de Monglane....
. His cycle tells stories of fiefless lads of noble birth who went off seeking land and adventure fighting the Saracen
Saracen
Saracen was a term used by the ancient Romans to refer to a people who lived in desert areas in and around the Roman province of Arabia, and who were distinguished from Arabs. In Europe during the Middle Ages the term was expanded to include Arabs, and then all who professed the religion of Islam...
s.
The several hero
Hero
A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...
es who rode off seeking war and wealth in this way are given genealogies
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
that made Garin de Monglane their common ancestor. Apart from fathering a race of landless 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, Garin de Monglane himself is a character whose portrait in the poems is otherwise drawn very sketchily. Poems belonging to the Garin cycle include the chansons of Girart de Vienne
Girart de Vienne
Girart de Vienne is a late twelfth-century 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.The poem comprises...
, Aimeri de Narbonne, and Guillaume
William of Gellone
Saint William of Gellone was the second Count of Toulouse from 790 until his replacement in 811. His Occitan name is Guilhem, and he is known in French as Guillaume d'Orange, Guillaume Fierabrace, and the Marquis au court nez.He is the hero of the Chanson de Guillaume, an early chanson de geste,...
. Of these poems, Aimeri de Narbonne has the largest literary interest.
See also
- Matter of FranceMatter of FranceThe 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...
- Girart de RoussillonGirart de RoussillonGirart de Roussillon, also called Girard, Gérard II, Gyrart de Vienne, and Girart de Fraite, was a Burgundian chief who became Count of Paris in 837, and embraced the cause of Lothair I against Charles the Bald...
- Franco-Provençal languageFranco-Provençal languageFranco-Provençal , Arpitan, or Romand is a Romance language with several distinct dialects that form a linguistic sub-group separate from Langue d'Oïl and Langue d'Oc. The name Franco-Provençal was given to the language by G.I...