«The Old French Epic.»«La Chanson de Roland e i Normanni»«A Épica Portuguesa no Século XVI: Subsídios Documentares Para uma Theoria geral da Epopêa»

“Le moyen age forme un anneau indispensable dans la chaîne de la transmission littéraire à travers les siècles.”—Gaston Paris, Cosmopolis, Sept., 1898.Three-quarters of a century has elapsed since the mediæval epic literature of France first attracted the attention of scholars. This interval has been marked by an uninterrupted succession of texts discovered and edited. The value of these texts to the student of language is great; their value to the historian of politics and society is considerable; but their literary bearing has not been sufficiently emphasized. To this day the general public has but a vague idea of the character and significance of that national epic of which the Chanson de Roland is the highest expression and which Léon Gautier strove so bravely to render popular. The mediæval literature of France has not yet completely recovered from the reputation of vulgarity given to it by the Renaissance.

Download Full-text

II. Old French Mangon, Anglo-Saxon Mancus, Late Latin Mancussus, Mancosus, Mancessus, etc.

PMLA ◽

10.2307/458400 ◽

1938 ◽

Vol 53 (1) ◽

pp. 34-37 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Urban T. Holmes

Keyword(s):

Old French ◽

Anglo Saxon ◽

Chanson De Roland ◽

Point Of Interest ◽

Monetary Unit ◽

First Occurrence ◽

Obscure Origin

These terms all indicate a monetary unit of uncertain value and obscure origin, but Du Cange is doubtless correct in assuming that the French, Anglo-Saxon, and Latin forms are related. The earliest occurrence of mancus (or mances) in England dates from 848; the Latin mancus is found on the Continent as early as 814. The authorities are agreed that the Anglo-Saxon form came to Britain from the Continent. For me the main point of interest in this discussion is Old French mangon, best known through its first occurrence—in the Chanson de Roland:Tenez m'espee, meillur nen at nuls horn,Entre les helz ad plus de mil manguns.Godefroy defines it as a “sorte de monnaie d'or: il fallait deux besantz pour faireun mangon.” This estimate of value was certainly taken from the fabliau of Guillaume au Faucon:Dist la dame, “Or avez faucon;Deux besans va'ent un mangon.”

Download Full-text

XXI: O.F. (Norman) AOI and AVOI, and English Ahoy

PMLA ◽

10.2307/458053 ◽

1936 ◽

Vol 51 (2) ◽

pp. 328-336

Author(s):

Harry A. Deferrari

Keyword(s):

Old French ◽

Systematic Analysis ◽

Chanson De Roland ◽

Exact Positions

(Other words treated here are Old French (Norman) a voiz, avois, voi, aei; English avoy, hoy, ahey, hey; Provençal aei; Portuguese eoi; Italian voi.) THE recent systematic analysis of the Chanson de Roland with reference to the exact positions of the word aoi in the Oxford manuscript seems definitely to reveal that that puzzling word is almost exclusively used only when there is some sort of shift in the narrative or a distinct pause or a break in the story.

Download Full-text

Scott Moncrieff's First Translation

Translation and Literature ◽

10.3366/tal.2012.0088 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 21 (3) ◽

pp. 364-382 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Peter France

Keyword(s):

Old French ◽

Specific Difference ◽

War Poetry ◽

Chanson De Roland ◽

English Speaking ◽

Song Of Roland ◽

Wilfred Owen

C. K. Scott Moncrieff, famous as the translator of Proust, began his translating career in 1918 with La Chanson de Roland. Knowing nothing of Old French, he encountered this classic text while recovering from a war wound; the work of translation was a ‘solace’ in time of war, but also a homage to his friend Wilfred Owen and others who had ‘met their Rencesvals’ as the war drew to a close. Scott Moncrieff was no jingoist, but against the cynicism of Siegfried Sassoon's war poetry, he used the Old French epic to celebrate the positive values embodied in the idea of vassalage. Like his Proust, his Song of Roland sought to bring another world to life in English-speaking culture, in all its specific difference. Here this led him to adopt an archaizing and purportedly oral style, notably in the imitation of the assonanced laisses of the original.

Download Full-text