By Kathryn Murran And Helen Pulford 6en Ecole Européenne

A ‘Chanson de geste’ is the first form of literature written in the French language, and takes a medieval form from the Latin language. These poems were mostly sung, and had a comical twist to them. They would be thousands of stanzas long, and would be sung with music to accompany it. Each one had a unique melody of its own and as they were so long, could often take days to recite and act out.

They had a particular form and their lines are very irregular, adding to their interest and uniqueness. The people reciting them would rarely know how the story ends or even what happens as they continue reading, which must have added to the suspense. These long poems would generally talk about events dating back hundreds of years, telling the stories of the hero warriors and fighters of France. The men were spoken of like Gods, and were clearly seen thought of very highly.

Over time the stories would change and be told differently, and after many years would eventually become myths. However, the magic that was part of them never faded. Sometimes the poems would take on a religious aspect, preaching against the religions they did not follow and talking about their own God. The most famous of these tales is the one about Charlemagne, and like this one, most of the poems would be about chivalry.

This story is clearly a ‘Chanson de geste’ as the texts tells a story containing the many qualities that are closely associated with it.

The text tells the story of Girard De Vienne, and his four sons. Battles have been talked about throughout the story. France was destroyed by Muslims. These men pillaged and wrecked the land surrounding them.Charles is against the King of Vienne, and decides to set siege upon his land in a bid to take over.

All the events listed and explained in the following paragraphs are evidence of the fact that this story is in fact a chanson de geste. The tales of chivalry all contain certain parts in common. They all tend to talk about the preparation of the armies, the relationships between the major people, how families tend to play a significant part in the tale and help us relate to the main people, and of course, the battles that occurred.

This story is no different to the others in the sense that it contains all of these parts and more. We learn of amazing relationships between families, how love can tear people apart and the danger of people seeking revenge.

A large and significant part of the story is about the armies working together in order to defeat their common enemy or defend their land. In this story, Charles made two of his men officers, as they both wanted to serve him and had travelled far two meet him. These two men were brothers ; Regnier and Girard. On certain occasions the different parties would call upon the allies in order to help them.

The preparation of their arms and their armies would take time and dedication. Each side wanted to win and needed to prepare themselves for combat. A big tournament took place in honour of Roland, and the whole of France became very excited and looked forward to this tournament. Roland was the nephew of the emperor and was certain he would win this tournament without any difficulties. However, the crowd was not paying attention to him, but to another young stranger who was winning each round without any problems. The emperor was charmed by this young man and discovered he was Olivier, the son of Regnier, and nephew of Girard. He attempted fleeing and would have been captured if his sister Aude had not tried to rescue him. Roland saw her and grabbed her up onto his horse. Now, in order to save his sister, Olivier had to fight Roland. He beat him and rescued his sister Aude.

Girard wanted to make peace with the emperor and the count presented a white object as a sign of peace.

The emperor was imprisoned by the rebel crowd, and Girard went into exile as a promise to obey. One battle between Olivier and Roland took place on an island, and during this battle Olivier’s horse was killed. The troubles between them are great as a cause of Aude. Roland is in love with her, but she deeply loves her brother and does not want to see him harmed. Olivier and Roland are the same age and have the same strengths and values.

The emperor felt he was insulted at the combat and he wanted to get revenge on those that offended him. s Girard has refused to marry the duchess and she decides to marry the emperor. Girard was very annoyed as he had been promised a fiefdom. He then received the honour of becoming the Lord of Vienna. The emperor’s new wife got her revenge of Girard, by making him kiss her feet ; a great humiliation.

Girard’s nephew told him that the queen had told this embarrassing and humiliating story to fifteen barons. This, of course, annoyed him greatly and as a cause of this Girard wanted justice from the King. The King however did not grant his wishes and instead insulted him. Girard was furious at this development, and he decided to go to war. Girard the Vienne was supported in this decision by his parents and the rest of his family. We can clearly see the bond that they have and the lengths they are willing to go to go honour him. During this tale we get to know his nephew and niece, and they all fought together in the honour of his name.