 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Matter of France" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Medieval andRenaissance literature |
|---|
| Early medieval |
| Medieval |
By century |
| European Renaissance |
 Literature portal |
| National Literary "Matters" |
|---|
| The Three Classic Matters |
| Other Matters |
| Literature portal |
TheMatter of France (French:matière de France), also known as theCarolingian cycle, is a body ofmedieval literature andlegendary material associated with the history ofFrance, in particular involvingCharlemagne and thePaladins. The cycle springs from theOld Frenchchansons de geste, and was later adapted into a variety of art forms, includingRenaissance epics andoperas. It was one of the great Europeanliterary cycles that figured repeatedly inmedieval literature.
The Matter of France was one of the "Three Matters" repeatedly recalled inmedieval literature, the others being theMatter of Britain, relating to the legends ofGreat Britain andBrittany, and theMatter of Rome which represented the medieval poets' interpretations ofAncient Greek andRoman mythology and history.[1] The three names were first used by the twelfth-century French poetJean Bodel, author of theChanson de Saisnes, achanson de geste in which he wrote:
Ne sont que III matières à nul homme atandant,
De France et de Bretaigne, et de Rome la grant.
About 1215Bertrand de Bar-sur-Aube, in the introductory lines to hisGirart de Vienne, set out a subdivision of the Matter of France into three cycles, which have been adopted by many modern critics as a useful means of grouping thechansons de geste. These are his words:
At Saint-Denis, in the great abbey, we find it written (I don't doubt) in a book of noble lineage that there have been only three gestes in well-defended France (I think no-one will argue with me now).
The lordliest is that of the kings of France.
The next, it is right to say, was of Doon of the white beard, he of Mainz who had many lands. In his lineage were fierce and rugged people; they would have had the lordship of all of France, its power, its knighthood, but they were proud and jealous. Of that lineage, so full of treachery, was Ganelon who by his treason caused great sorrow in well-defended France when he committed in Spain the great felony that caused the death in pagan land of the Twelve Peers of France. You have heard tell in many a song that from the geste that came from Ganelon many a great knight was descended, fierce and bold and of very great fame. They would have been lords of the whole realm of France, but there was pride and treason in them. Through pride (we tell you truly) many a high-placed man has been thrown to earth, as were the angels in heaven (we know it in truth) who, for their crime, were thrown into the prison of hell where they will feel nothing but eternal pain. They lost the holy mansion of heaven by their pride and folly. Just so were Ganelon's kin, who would have been so powerful and famous if they had not been so full of treason. Of this lineage, which did nothing but evil, was the second geste.
The third geste, which was much to be praised, was that of Garin de Monglane of the fierce countenance. In his lineage I can well testify that there was not a single coward or good-for-nothing or traitor or vile flatterer; rather they were wise and bold knights and good fighters and noble warriors. Not once did they wish to betray a king of France; they strove to help their true lord and to advance his honour everywhere. They promoted Christendom and destroyed and confounded Saracens. This Garin of the fierce countenance had four sons; never were there bolder knights, I think, so that in a whole day one could not describe their prowess. The first son (I will not lie to you) was the fierce Hernaut of Beaulande. The second, as I have heard tell, was the praiseworthy Milon of Apulia. The third was Renier of Geneva, and the fourth was lord Girart the warrior.
— (Girart de Vienne lines 8–67; translation after J. J. Duggan)
The cycles can be outlined as follows:[3]
Central figures of the Matter of France includeCharlemagne and hispaladins, especiallyRoland, hero ofThe Song of Roland, and his companionOliver, who was frequently cast in conflict with theMuslim championFierabras. Originally, the Matter of France contained tales of war and martial valour, being focused on the conflict between theFranks andSaracens orMoors during the period ofCharles Martel and Charlemagne. TheChanson de Roland, for example, is about theBattle of Roncevaux Pass during the Moorish invasion of southern France. As the genre matured, elements offantasy andmagic tended to accrue to the tales. The magic horseBayard, for example, is a recurring figure in many of the tales.
The fundamental character of the "Matter of France" is feudal and Christian (in a crusading form). Although viewed as idolators, the Saracens were not necessarily depicted as un-chivalrous. The earliestgestes were likely sung by ajongleur, accompanied by a fiddle. It is apparent that the authors were ignorant of the fact that Islam is monotheistic.[3] D. J. A. Ross says that people of the Middle Ages appear to have regarded thegestes as generally historical.
Einhard'sVita Caroli describes the Basque ambush at Roncevaux as driving the Frankish rearguard down the valley. The poet who wrote theChanson de Roland did not hesitate to update the military tactics to a set-piece cavalry charge on the part of the Saracens, although retaining a landscape unsuitable for couched lances.[3]
For a list ofchansons that can be attached to each of these cycles, seeChanson de geste.
After the period of thechanson de geste, the Matter of France lived on. Its most well known survival is in theItalianepics byMatteo Maria Boiardo,Ludovico Ariosto, and a number of lesser authors who worked the material; their tales ofOrlando innamorato ("Roland in Love") andOrlando furioso ("Roland Gone Mad") were inspired by thechansons de geste. These works, in turn, inspiredTorquato Tasso'sGerusalemme liberata andEdmund Spenser'sThe Faerie Queene,[4] although these latter works have been separated from the Matter of France and put in the respective settings of theFirst Crusade and an imaginary faerie land.
Tales of the Matter of France were also found inOld Norse, where theKarlamagnus Saga was written in the thirteenth century inNorway;[5] it contains a synopsis of the main stories of the cycle. Indeed, until a major revival in the 19th century breathed new life into the Arthurian cycle, the Matter of France had enjoyed similar renown to the Matter of Britain.
Modern fantasy literature has used the Matter of France far less than the Matter of Britain, althoughL. Sprague de Camp andFletcher Pratt set one of theirHarold Shea stories (The Castle of Iron) in the world of the Matter of France, andPoul Anderson'sThree Hearts and Three Lions references the Matter of France. Through Anderson's book, the Matter of France also had some influence on the popularDungeons & Dragons game.Italo Calvino's fantasy novelThe Nonexistent Knight also takes place in this world.