Form
The Chanson de Geste
Narrative and Song Forms
A medieval French epic verse form composed in long laisses (stanzas of varying length unified by a single assonance or rhyme), performed by jongleurs and celebrating heroic, often legendary, deeds of Charlemagne and his knights, most famously in the Chanson de Roland.
Facts
Place of OriginFrance, 11th-13th century. 1 StructureComposed in laisses, stanzas of irregular length in which every line shares one assonance or rhyme, with decasyllabic or alexandrine lines depending on period. 1 Notable ExampleThe Chanson de Roland (c. 1100), the earliest and most celebrated surviving chanson de geste. 1 The Chanson de Geste
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Connections
Associated With
Form Of Genre
Epic, Genres Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
Works In This Form
Source Wikipedia: Song of Roland
In the Other Atlases
Original Language
Also in Language Atlas: the original language of this subject.
Source Wikipedia: Chanson de gesteLead paragraphQuote, Lead paragraph
appears at the dawn of French literature
Originated In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poeticstier 1
Sources
1. The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
Princeton University Press- Place of Origin: France, 11th-13th century.
- Structure: Composed in laisses, stanzas of irregular length in which every line shares one assonance or rhyme, with decasyllabic or alexandrine lines depending on period.
- Notable Example: The Chanson de Roland (c. 1100), the earliest and most celebrated surviving chanson de geste.
2. Wikipedia: Chanson de geste
Lead and structure section, laisses
Early chansons de geste were typically composed in ten-syllable lines grouped in assonanced (meaning that the last stressed vowel is the same in each line throughout the stanza, but the last consonant differs from line to line) stanzas (called laisses).
Subject matter and structure
Composed in Old French and apparently intended for oral performance by jongleurs, the chansons de geste narrate legendary incidents
Lead paragraph
a type of epic poem
View the SourceWikipedia: Song of Roland
Works In This Form: The Song of Roland, Lead paragraph, sentence naming the formQuote, Works In This Form: The Song of Roland, Lead paragraph, sentence naming the form
The Song of Roland (French: La Chanson de Roland) is an 11th-century chanson de geste based on the deeds of the Frankish military leader Roland at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in AD 778, during the reign of Charlemagne.
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