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TheCrusade cycle is anOld Frenchliterary cycle ofchansons de geste concerning theFirst Crusade and its aftermath.
The cycle contains a number of initially unrelated texts, collated into interconnected narratives by later redactors. None of the poems in the cycle survive independently, and the thirteen separate collections are all organized in different orders with different texts. The manuscripts were all written between approximately 1350 and 1425, in northeasternFrance, probably inPicardy.
The original poem in the cycle was theChanson d'Antioche, which is the basis for the "historical" section of the cycle. The originalChanson d'Antioche is lost, but it was edited in the 12th century byGraindor de Douai, who also edited theChanson de Jérusalem, and possibly wrote theChanson des chétifs himself.[citation needed] These threechansons form the basis for the rest of the cycle, and are more historically oriented than theRomances that grew up around them.
The protagonist of these threechansons isGodfrey of Bouillon, around whom the rest of the cycle is based, in a much more romanticized form. These connect Godfrey with the legend of theSwan Knight. Even medieval redactors recognized that this part of the cycle was fanciful and did not quite match the historical chansons, and they are usually separated in the manuscripts. The first episode chronologically within the cycle is theNaissance du Chevalier au Cygne, which survives in two forms, theElioxe and theBeatrix. In the former, Elioxe has children with King Lothair; in the latter, Beatrix is married to King Orient. In both cases, they have seven children, who are all turned into swans. All but one are able to transform back into humans; this swan then leads the boat of one of his brothers, known as the Swan Knight. Some manuscripts have a version that combines both stories into one.
The Swan Knight's adventures bring him to the defense of the dispossessedDuchess of Bouillon, whose land has been seized by Regnier of Saxony, whom he challenges to a duel. The Swan Knight defeats Regnier and wins the daughter of the Duchess in marriage. They have a daughter,Ida, who can see the future and knows that she is destined to be the mother ofEustace,Godfrey, andBaldwin. The Swan Knight, however, must leave Bouillon when his wife asks his true identity. After leaving Bouillon, his name is revealed to be Elias, and his brother, the swan who led his boat, finally regains his human form. Meanwhile, Elias' kinsmen, the knights Pons and Gerart, decide to make a pilgrimage toJerusalem, but cannot because the land is under Muslim control. They are seized by Cornumarant, the king of Jerusalem, but he befriends them and allows them to complete their pilgrimage. After drifting at sea for many months they return to Bouillon and recognize Elias as the Swan Knight.
Years later, Ida is married to CountEustace of Boulogne, and has three children, Eustace, Godfrey, and Baldwin. Eustace and Godfrey grow up to becomeknights, with all the appropriate adventures and duels. Meanwhile, Cornumarant's mother Calibre, who, like Ida, can see the future, predicts the coming of Godfrey and his brothers as well as the later crusades againstSaladin. Cornumarant decides to visit Godfrey, whose kin he once hosted in Jerusalem, and on the way meets various future leaders of the First Crusade:Bohemund,Tancred,Raymond IV of Toulouse,Adhemar of Le Puy,Hugh of Vermandois, andRobert Curthose, among others. Cornumarant intends to assassinate Godfrey but is overcome by the latter's glory; he realizes he can never hold Jerusalem if Godfrey invades, thus planting the idea for the crusade in Godfrey's mind. Cornumarant, returns to Jerusalem and is accused of treason for not having accomplished his task; many battles and duels are fought. During this time, Godfrey arrives and attacks the cities of Syria.
This leads to the original, and undoubtedly the most famous, poem in the cycle, theChanson d'Antioche. Its subject is the preaching of the First Crusade, the preparations for departure, the tearful goodbyes, the arrival atConstantinople and thesiege and taking of Antioch, where King Corbaran (a corruption of the name ofKerbogha, the atabeg ofMosul who came to Antioch's defence in 1098) is defeated by Godfrey and the Crusaders. The lost original poem was said to have been composed by Richard le Pèlerin, who was present during the siege. Although a fictionalized account of the First Crusade, it is based on historical events and is not as fabulous and romanticized as the poems dealing with Godfrey's early life.
Following the capture of Antioch, Corbaran returns home with the Christianchétifs ("captives"). Corbaran is accused of treason by the sultan for losing the battle, and one of the Christian prisoners must fight a duel in his place. Thechétifs then attack and kill thedragon Sathanas, in perhaps the most fanciful episode of the cycle. In a third episode,Arpin of Bourges saves Corbaran's son from various misadventures, and thechétifs are set free to join the rest of the crusaders on the way to Jerusalem.
The cycle then returns to Godfrey, now outside Jerusalem, who recruits thechétifs into his army. Bohemund is present at thesiege of Jerusalem, unlike the historical Bohemund, who remained behind in Antioch. Cornumarant and theSaracens repeatedly attack the crusader camps, and the crusaders assault the city and are repulsed again and again. Finally the city is taken, but none of the leaders wishes to become king; a sign from God, however, indicates that Godfrey should be crowned. In further battles,Peter the Hermit is captured, and Cornumarant is killed. Most manuscripts end at this point but some continue on to describe the capture of other cities, the death of Godfrey, and the reign of Baldwin, who attacksEgypt and engages in battles with "Dodequin" (the historicalToghtekin of Damascus).
There is also a much shorter prose work, known as theGodefroi de Buillon, a summary of the entire cycle. The author of this work complains about the length of the poetic cycle, and focuses less on the fantastical life of Godfrey and more on the historical crusade. It is one of the first works of prose fiction inFrench literature.
The Chanson d'Antioche was first edited byAlexis Paulin Paris in 1848. Subsequent editors of the cycle as a whole include Stengel in 1873, Smith in 1912, Krüger in 1936, Duparc-Quioc in 1955, Sumberg in 1968, and the critical editions published by theUniversity of Alabama (1977–2003).
The University of Alabama editions are divided as follows:
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