Garin de Monglane is a fictional aristocrat who gives his name to the second cycle of

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intellig ...

'' chansons de geste'', ''

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 on Garin de Monglane. One of its main characters is William of Gellone. The cycle The cy ...

''. His cycle tells stories of

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...

less lads of noble birth who went off seeking land and adventure fighting the

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...

s. The several

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''her ...

es who rode off seeking war and wealth in this way are given

genealogies Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...

that made Garin de Monglane their common ancestor. Apart from fathering a race of landless

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

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'' is a late twelfth-century (c.1180Hasenohr, 547-548.) 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 ...

'', '' Aimeri de Narbonne'', and ''

Guillaume Guillaume may refer to: People * Guillaume (given name), the French equivalent of William * Guillaume (surname) Other uses * Guillaume (crater) See also * '' Chanson de Guillaume'', an 11th or 12th century poem * Guillaume affair, a Cold War espi ...

''. Of these poems, ''Aimeri de Narbonne'' has the largest literary interest.

References

See also