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Fierabras
Fierabras (from French: ', "brave/formidable arm") or Ferumbras is a fictional Saracen knight (sometimes of gigantic stature) 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. Texts and adaptations The oldest extant text of the story of Fierabras is a 12th-century (c. 1170) Old French ''chanson de geste'' of roughly 6,200 alexandrinesHasenohr in assonanced laisses. The story is as follows: the Saracen king Balan and his son Fierabras return to Spain after sacking the church of Saint Peter's in Rome and taking the relics of the passion. Charlemagne invades Spain to recover the relics and sends his knight Olivier de Vienne, Roland's companion, to battle Fierabras. Once defeated, the giant decides ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jean Bagnyon
Jean Bagnyon Geneviève Hasenohr and Michel Zink, eds. ''Dictionnaire des lettres françaises: Le Moyen Age''. Collection: La Pochothèque. Paris: Fayard, 1992. Articles "Fierabras", pp.444–5 and "Jean Bagnyon" pp.746. on the site of the ''Archives de littérature du Moyen Âge'' (ARLIMA) or Jehan Bagnyon was a lawyer, historian, political writer, and translator born in 1412, in Croy, in the canton of , which was, at that time, a part of the . He died som ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oliver (paladin)
Oliver (in Italian: ''Uliviero'' or ''Oliviero''), sometimes referred to as Olivier de Vienne or de Gennes, is a legendary knight in the Matter of France ''chansons de geste'', especially the French epic ''The Song of Roland''. In the tradition, he was Roland's closest friend, advisor, confidant and brother-in-law to be, one of Charlemagne's twelve peers and brother of Aude, Roland's betrothed. He dies with Roland at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass. Some critics have linked his name to the olive tree, a biblical symbol of divine wisdom. Oliver in the ''Song of Roland'' Whereas the portrayal of Roland is commonly seen as recklessly courageous, Oliver was said to exhibit poise and wisdom in combat. He tells Roland that "heroism tempered with common sense is a far cry from madness: "Reasonableness is to be preferred to recklessness" (Oxford manuscript, laisse 131). Oliver was fatally impaled from behind by the Saracen Marganice, but before dying, he used his sword, Hauteclere, to spli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paladin
The Paladins, also called the Twelve Peers, are twelve legendary knights, the foremost members of Charlemagne's court in the 8th century. They first appear in the medieval (12th century) ''chanson de geste'' cycle of the Matter of France, where they play a similar role to the Knights of the Round Table in Arthurian romance."Paladin" From the ''''. Retrieved November 23, 2008. In these romantic portrayals, the |
Chanson De Geste
The ''chanson de geste'' (, from Latin 'deeds, actions accomplished') 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.Hasenohr, 242. Composed in verse, these narrative poems of moderate length (averaging 4000 lines) were originally sung, or (later) recited, by minstrels or jongleurs. More than one hundred ''chansons de geste'' have survived in approximately three hundred manuscripts''La Chanson de Roland,'' 12. that date from the 12th to the 15th century. Origins Since the 19th century, much critical debate has centered on the origins of the ''chansons de geste'', and particularly on explaining the length of time between the composition of the ''chansons ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Historia Caroli Magni
''Historia Caroli Magni'' (''History of the life of Charlemagne''), also known as ''Historia Karoli Magni et Rotholandi'' and sometimes as the ''Turpin Chronicle'' or the ''Pseudo-Turpin Chronicle'', is a 12th-century Latin forged chronicle of legendary material about Charlemagne's alleged conquest of Spain.Hasenohr, 292. It is also called ''Book IV – The Conquests of Charlemagne'' of the Codex Calixtinus (the oldest known manuscript of the text). The chronicle states it was written by Charlemagne's contemporary Turpin, Archbishop of Reims, but it was found out as a medieval forgery. The work was extremely popular, and served as a major source of material on Charlemagne in chronicles, fiction and iconography throughout Medieval Europe. The miracles of the flowering lances and the death of Ferracutus appear on the windows of Chartres cathedral. Origins The ''Historia Caroli Magni'' was declared as authentic by using the name of Pope Calixtus II, who was already dead, when the Ps ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Caxton
William Caxton ( – ) was an English merchant, diplomat and writer. He is thought to be the first person to introduce a printing press into England, in 1476, and as a printer to be the first English retailer of printed books. His parentage and date of birth are not known for certain, but he may have been born between 1415 and 1424, perhaps in the Weald or wood land of Kent, perhaps in Hadlow or Tenterden. In 1438 he was apprenticed to Robert Large, a wealthy London silk mercer. Shortly after Large's death, Caxton moved to Bruges, Belgium, a wealthy cultured city in which he was settled by 1450. Successful in business, he became governor of the Company of Merchant Adventurers of London; on his business travels, he observed the new printing industry in Cologne, which led him to start a printing press in Bruges in collaboration with Colard Mansion. When Margaret of York, sister of Edward IV, married the Duke of Burgundy, they moved to Bruges and befriended Caxton. Margare ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Aubert
David Aubert (before 1413 – working 1449-79) was a French calligrapher who transcribed and adapted courtly romances and chronicles for the court of the Duke of Burgundy. In addition to finely presented works, illuminated at Bruges and other centres, for the Dukes Philip the Good and Charles the Bold and the Duchess Margaret of York, he completed manuscripts for Antoine de Bourgogne and Philippe de Croy. He was the son of the ducal accountant and calligrapher Jean Aubert, and his elder brother worked as an administrator, members of a family with a tradition of public service in the Burgundian court, though his first mention as a scribe in the ducal service dates to 1463, after which he was salaried as a ducal secretary until Philip's death, and seems to have followed, at least some of the time, the very mobile court around the Duchy. In 1469, following the death of Philip the Good, he was an inventory-taker of the late Duke's library. He then produced at least eight manuscr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matter Of France
The 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 art forms, including Renaissance epics and operas. Together with the Matter of Britain, which concerned King Arthur, and the Matter of Rome, comprising material derived from and inspired by classical mythology, it was one of the great European literary cycles that figured repeatedly in medieval literature. Three Matters The Matter of France was one of the "Three Matters" repeatedly recalled in medieval literature. It was contrasted with the Matter of Britain, the legendary history of Great Britain, Brittany and King Arthur; and the Matter of Rome, which represented the medieval poets' interpretations of Ancient Greek and Roman mythology and history. The three names were first used ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Don Quixote
is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Western literature, it is often labelled as the first modern novel and one of the greatest works ever written. ''Don Quixote'' is also one of the most-translated books in the world. The plot revolves around the adventures of a member of the lowest nobility, an hidalgo from La Mancha named Alonso Quijano, who reads so many chivalric romances that he either loses or pretends to have lost his mind in order to become a knight-errant () to revive chivalry and serve his nation, under the name . He recruits a simple farmer, Sancho Panza, as his squire, who often employs a unique, earthy wit in dealing with Don Quixote's rhetorical monologues on knighthood, already considered old-fashioned at the time, and representing the most droll realism in c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swiss French
Swiss French (french: français de Suisse or ') is the variety of French spoken in the French-speaking area of Switzerland known as Romandy. French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland, the others being German, Italian, and Romansch. In 2020, around 2 million people in the country (22.8% of the population) spoke French as their primary language, and French was the most frequently used language for 28% of the labour market. The French spoken in Switzerland is very similar to that of France or Belgium due to historical French policy of education in Francien French only in schools after the French Revolution. The differences between the French of Switzerland and of France are mostly lexical, influenced by local substrate languages. This contrasts with the differences between Standard German and Swiss German, which are largely mutually unintelligible. Swiss French is characterized by some terms adopted from the Arpitan language, which was formerly spoken wide ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vincent De Beauvais
Vincent of Beauvais ( la, Vincentius Bellovacensis or ''Vincentius Burgundus''; c. 1264) was a Dominican friar at the Cistercian monastery of Royaumont Abbey, France. He is known mostly for his ''Speculum Maius'' (''Great mirror''), a major work of compilation that was widely read in the Middle Ages. Often retroactively described as an encyclopedia or as a ''florilegium'', his text exists as a core example of brief compendiums produced in medieval Europe. Biography The exact dates of his birth and death are unknown, and not much detail has surfaced concerning his career. Conjectures place him first in the house of the Dominicans at Paris between 1215 and 1220, and later at the Dominican monastery founded by Louis IX of France at Beauvais in Picardy. It is more certain, however, that he held the post of "reader" at the monastery of Royaumont on the Oise, not far from Paris, also founded by Louis IX, between 1228 and 1235. Around the late 1230s, Vincent had begun working on the '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
