Heroes in Literature, Part One: William of Orange

William of Orange (or Guillaume d'Orange in Old French) is the central hero in a number of chansons de geste, including: Chanson de Guillaume, Enfances Guillaume, Couronnement de Louis, and Aliscans, amongst others. These poems along with others about William's family make up the 'cycle' of chansons known as the Cycle of William of Orange (the other two cycles are known as: The Cycle of the King, and The Cycle of Barons in Revolt).


Perhaps the most well known epic that has William as the hero is the Chanson de Guillaume (The Song of William). It is one of the oldest chansons and was the founding poem of the entire William of Orange cycle. It is likely that it was the popularity of the central hero William that inspired further song-tales of him and his family.

Figure 1. Abbey of Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert

 The fictional character William of Orange has been identified with the historical Count William of Toulouse, a cousin of Charlemagne who was known for his defence of Christian land against Spanish pagans. After the death of his wife William befriended a monk, and later became one himself in Aniane. He founded an abbey in Gellone, which eventually became known as Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert after him. William of Toulouse died on 28 May 812, and was canonised in 1066.

Figure 2. William of Orange?

This image is within the Abbey of Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert (currently housed at The Metrapolitan Museum in new York). It was once believed to depict Daniel in the lions' den, however it has been suggested that it could instead be William of Orange with the lion from his coat of arms (described in various works, including Couronnement de Louis).


I'll end this post with a small extract from the Chanson de Guillaume, which in my opinion is one of the finest of the Old French epics. This extract has Count William bravely arriving to the battlefield with back-up; persevering with the fight against the odds (a key theme throughout the poem): 

     The Count set off with Sir Girart and leading

     Knights fully armed and thirty thousand liegemen

     To Archamp field and Desramed the Heathen;

     They journeyed through the cold night air, unspeaking

     Till break of dawn and light of day appearing;

     When they arrived at Archamp on the seaboard,

     The Moor had won; the French were fled or beaten;

     (. . .)

     A league or more they'd ridden from the beaches,

     When William the Count rode up to meet them

     With well-armed knights and thirty thousand liegemen,

     One half of whom were very keen to greet them

     With blows of iron to show their strength of feeling!

     They cried: "Mountjoy!" and moved to strike them fiercely;

     Those Pagan lords were helpless to receive them:

     They had no arms to counter blows or deal them;

     They turned in flight towards the shore, retreating

     Inside their ships and sundry other sea-craft;

     They seized their arms and roused themselves to wield them.

Sources Used

• Figure 2 is from William P. Gerritsen and Anthony G. van Melle (eds.), trans. by Tanis Guest, A Dictionary of Medieval Heroes: Characters in medieval Narrative Traditions and Their Afterlife in Literature, Theatre and the Visual Arts (The Boydell Press: Woodbridge, 2008), p. 134; see also pp. 132-6.

• The extract of Chanson de Guillaume is from Michael Newth (trans.), Heroes of the French Epic:Translations from the Chansons de Geste (The Boydell Press: Woodbridge, 2005), p. 77; see also pp. 31-142.

• ‘The Coronation of Louis’, in Joan M. Ferrante (trans.), Guillaume d’Orange: Four Twelfth-Century Epics (Columbia University Press: Chichester, 2001), pp. 63-139.

• ‘The Song of William’, trans. by Muir, Lynette, in Glanville Price (ed.), William, Count of Orange: Four Old French Epics (J.M.Dent & Sons Ltd.: 1975), pp. 131-203.

The Crusades and Those Left Behind

I've been reading through a lot of medieval poems/songs recently as part of research for my dissertation. I came across one called Giammi Non Mi Conforto (Never Again that Comfort for Me). It is from the mid-thirteenth century, and was written by an Italian nobleman named Rinaldo d'Aquino. I found it interesting because although it was written by a man, it is from the perspective of a woman who has been left behind by her crusader lover. It is really quite insightful into what the people who were left behind went through; and actually rather sad. 

Never Again that Comfort for Me

Never again that comfort, 

Never that joyous heart.

The ships down in the harbor

Are straining to depart.

Away all the people run

To lands across the sea.

But me - poor weeping thing -

What shall become of me?

Away, away he'll run, 

Fade quietly out of sight, 

Leaving me here alone.

All day, all the night

Many will be the sighs

That assail me constantly

Not in heaven, nor on earth

Will life exist for me.

O holy, holy Savior 

Who from Mary came our way!

Watch, protect that lover, 

Since you're taking him away.

O reverenced and feared

Power from above!

In your hands I place

My tender love.

O cross that saves mankind, 

You plummet me to error,

Twisting my grievous mind

Beyond all hope of prayer.

Why, O pilgrim cross,

Why this bitter turn?

Bowed beneath my loss,

I kindle; O I burn.

The Emperor who rules the world

In his peaceful sway

Ravages poor little me

By taking my hope away.

O reverenced and feared

Power from above!

In your hands I place

My tender love.

When he took up the cross,

I didn't know the end was this:

Whatever love he gave me

I repaid him kiss for kiss.

Now I'm thrust aside -

Yes, condemned to prison -

Now I'm forced to hide

In lifelong derision.

The ships are in their moorings.

Soon they'll depart.

With them and that rabble

Sails my heart.

O Father, O Creator,

Guide them to holy haven, 

By your sacred cross

They're all enslaven.

And O darling, I beg you:

Take pity on my hysteria.

Write me a little sonnet.

Send it to me from Syria!

Night and day I'll know

Only this bitter strife.

In lands beyond the ocean

Lies my whole life.1

1  Translation from S.J. Allen and Emilie Amt (eds.), The Crusades: A Reader (Broadview Press: Peterborough, 2003), pp.215-17.

 

Tourneying Noblewomen!

Whilst reading David Crouch's fabulous book Tournament I came across this superb source which I thought I would share. It is a poem written by Huon d'Oisy III, Castellan of Cambrai. 
It is a fictional piece in which the author envisions a tournament at Lagny-sur Marne, that the noblewomen of his day organised and took part in whilst all the knights were away! Crouch dated the poem as having been composed between 1187-1189.

In that year that the knights were away

and the valiant did no feats of arms

the ladies went to tourney instead at Lagny.

The tournament was organised by

the countess of Vermandois and the lady of Coucy;

they said that they wanted to experience 

the sort of strokes

that their lovers gave out for their sake.

Ladies from all over the place

organised it that each would

retain a household with her.

When they came to the meadows they got armed

then they mustered in front of Torcy.

Yolanda de Cailly went first on to the field;

Margaret d'Oisy was eager to joust with her;

Amice the hardy rides forward, seizing her reins.

When Margaret saw Yolanda back off,

She shouted 'Cambrai!' and grabbed the reins to drag her away;

Let anyone who saw it launch at her and prevent it!

Then Katherine with the eager face

began to marshal the lines

and to cry 'Move forward'.

So let those who are watching for her sign go forward,

pull at the reins, give and evade swordstrokes

and brandish their tall lances

. . . 

cause iron to ring out

and pull mail hoods out from under helmets

and cause to break

. . . 

with great panache!

Bringing up the rear come a great reinforcement,

Isabel, who comes to maintain the fight;

The lady seneschal also arrives

and she will have no mercy on them at all.

A squadron comes riding after her

with Adeline riding and shouting . . . 

for the lady seneschal.

. . . 

Alice de Trie rides in front of Yolanda

crying 'Aguillon!'.

Very fine she looks, riding along the ranks.

The queen rides before all on an iron gray steed

. . .

armed with a mace and wearing a silver hauberk;

with no contradiction she carries it across the field;

Jehane comes riding up behind her

who has retained many a serjeant with her;

Isabel rides out and encounters

the brave Alice de Monceaux,

and forces her to offer pledge for ransom;

she is carried off with her

riding on a roncin.

The countess of Champagne soon appears

riding on a Spanish dappled horse,

and she and her people ride gently into the fight;

everyone rides against her and mills around

and the fight there is very fierce.

More than a hundred attack her,

and Alice reaches out to grab her,

she and her company seize the countess's reins,

Alice - she of the noble body -

crying 'Montfort',

and the countess dismounts now she is taken,

and Yolanda is made a captive fairly,

she who is not proud and scornful,

as a German would be.

Isabel - whom we all know - gallops on to the field,

and attacks like a mad thing,

crying over and over again her war cry,

'Let's get them, Chatillon!'

A company rides up in ambush

and hems in Amice on every side,

and her lance breaks on a shield;

She cries 'Lille! Let's get their reins,

they're in our power!'

The countess of Clermont has been 

struck by a mace across her abdomen,

right where her kidney is.

Clemence attacks heedlessly with her club

. . .

and cries 'Beausart!'.

The whole company is routed and disperses in flight;

and no one stays to fight

when [Clemence] see Ida of Boulogne, the distinguished;

she rallies first on crossing a ditch,

she takes the countess by the reins,

and cries out 'God our help'.

The fighting there is very intense

Isabel of Marly rides up crying

'God our help!', and she gives and takes many cuts.

A company rides by the other side of the river;

Gertrude, who cries 'Mello'

pursues it across the fords.

Agnes de Triecoc rides up, who has sustained

many cuts to her arms that day,

she has broken many lances, and seized many reins,

she has hit out at many, and many times attacked.

Beatrice cries out 'Poissy!'

There is no one

. . . 

better than she,

and Joie d'Arsi approaches

. . .

Marion de Juilly and makes her turn and dismount,

then she jousts at her

and cries 'Saint Denis!'.

All passed across the river, Alice de Rolleiz,

jaunty of body, rides up with her company;

Clemence de Bruai goes in front,

Ceciloa de Compiegne rides directly behind

pushing forward

and attacks Isabel d'Ausnai

who has wondered into the middle of them;

The fair Alice falls on her with enthusiasm

who cries 'Garlandon!'

. . .

Agnes rides up crying 'Paris!';

Ada de Parcain sees them:

she cries 'Beaumont!',

and pursues them right into the middle of the town,

and sees coming there Agnes of Cressonessart;

Isabel de Villegaignart also rides up.

Th tournament breaks up

because it was now growing late.

I have said and recounted a little,

and now I shall return to it;

they announced a tournament the next day.

You shall be told of the prowess of Yolanda.

When she had closed her helm

and urged forward her horse Morel,

she took her checkered shield,

hurling herself among the maidens in the meadows.

There were a hundred of them bearing lances;

she asked for no truce.

With no hesitation she rode to joust

right in amongst the other side.

far and wide and for a long time they have trumpeted

and serenaded what they witnessed.

She defeated and broke

all opposition on every side.

She set up her tent on the meadows outside Torcy;

she slept there, and gave away

whatever she had won.1

References  
1. David Crouch, Tournament (Hambledon and London: London, 2005), pp.167-171

Raoul of Cambrai

The old French epic known as Raoul of Cambrai, belongs to a genre of poems known as the chansons de geste (meaning 'songs of deeds' or 'songs of war'). Of the numerous chansons that survive today the majority of their manuscripts date from around the twelfth century. However it is highly likely that the poems themselves are much older and were preserved through oral history.

Entertainers called jongleurs would have sung or chanted the poems to a number of people. As they were written in the vernacular, this suggests that they would have been performed or read for the entertainment of a lay audience. Jongleurs also performed other forms of poetry, juggled, mimed, played instruments, and even did acrobatic tricks! They were often thought to be untrustworthy, and belonged to the lowest level of medieval society. As they relied upon the generosity of their audience for their pay, this would show that what they performed would have been the popular form of entertainment at that time. The chansons de geste in particular were highly popular.

Traditionally these epic poems have been arranged by their content into three main cycles. These are: the Cycle of the King, the Cycle of William of Orange, and the Cycle of Barons in Revolt (or revolting barons!). Raoul of Cambrai is a superb example from the last of these cycles.

The poem (along with many other chansons) is set during the reign of Louis IV of France, the son of Charlemagne. It weaves a tale of feudal ties and vengeance, which culminates in Raoul being killed by his vassal Bernier at the end of the first section. It would seem that the poem is most likely fictional, however it is possible that there are some historical links to it.


Despite the fact that Raoul of Cambrai is an epic poem and therefore some aspects would have been exaggerated, it is still a superb source for gaining an insight into the late twelfth century (the period in which the surviving version was written). One area in which it would be of use is to the study of knighthood. For example:

'On the next day the praiseworthy Count Raoul knighted Bernier and invested him with the best arms on which he could lay his hands. He put a strong well burnished hauberk on his back and laced a golden helmet on his head. Then he girded the sword with which he was knighted to his side and Bernier straight away mounted his good warhorse.

As soon as Bernier was mounted on his horse every one could see what a good knight he had become. He seized his gold banded shield and held the sharp lance with its pennon fastened by five golden nails in his hand. Then he charged forward on his horse and returned to his place again. There were many knights in the square and they said one to another: "How well he looks in his arms. Even if he is the son of an unwed mother, he must still be of rich and noble birth".' 1

This passage from Raoul of Cambrai tells us a great deal about the ceremony of knighting, and also ideals of being a good knight. For example, that care was taken to describe Bernier's extravagant equipment shows that this was a very important ceremony - and an occasion to be proud of. Due to the expense of this equipment it is also indicative of the growing association between knighthood and the nobility in this period, despite the fact that Bernier was a bastard. Weapons, armour and warhorses did not come cheap, and especially not the lavish examples described above!

This is just one example of the use of this fantastic source. The tale it tells can also help historians gain an insight into many other themes, such as: contemporary ideas about noble society, ideals of the family, the relationship between lords and vassals - the list could go on! And not only is this useful, but it also makes an excellent read! 

1 'Raoul de Cambrai, An Old French Epic', trans. Jessie Crosland, revised by Richard Abels, USNA 1993 at 

http://www.deremilitari.org/resources/sources/cambrai.htm

Sources Used:

• Duggan, Joseph J., '1095 - The Epic', in Denis Hollier (ed.), A New History of French Literature (Harvard University Press: 1994), pp.18-23
• Kaeuper, Richard W.,Chivalry and Violence in Medieval Europe (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2006)
• Newth, Michael, Heroes of the French Epic: Translations from the Chansons de Geste (The Boydell Press: Woodbridge, 2005)