Fierabras ( Fierabras , from fr. Fier à bras “brave hand”) is a character of the French chansons de geste , a Saracen giant who converted to Christianity. Son of Emir Balan.
Content
Works
- Fierabras . It appears for the first time as the hero of a twelfth-century poem of the same name, written in twelve syllable rhymed verse and consisting of more than 6000 lines. The action takes place in Spain, where Balan and Fierabras took refuge, plundering St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome and stealing holy relics from there. Carl's army pursues Balan's troops in order to return the relics. Karl sends Olivier to fight Fierabras. Fierabras is defeated and adopts Christianity. However, Olivier himself falls into the hands of the Saracens and is imprisoned in their Egremore fortress. Other Karl peers are also languishing there. But in love with Guy of Burgundy Florip, Fierabras' sister helps the captives. Karl's army came free them. Balan is beheaded, his lands are divided between Fierabras and Guy of Burgundy, who marries Floripe. The holy relics of Charles Carries to Saint-Denis .
The poem was translated into Provencal (XIII century), Italian ( Cantare di Fierabraccia e Ulivieri , XIV century) and English ( Sir Ferumbras , XV century) languages.
- “The Destruction of Rome” ( Destruction de Rome ). Later, as a prologue to Fierabras, a short poem was written describing Balan’s attack on Rome. The Saracens, having sailed with a huge fleet, capture the city, and Fierabras kills the Pope. Perhaps the plot reflected the capture of Rome by the Arabs in 846 , during which St. Peter’s Cathedral was sacked.
- In the middle of the XV century, the Swiss Jean Banyon ( Jean de Bagnyon ) reworked the poem into a prose novel, which withdrew 15 reprints from 1478 to 1536. The novel was translated into Castilian, Portuguese, German and English.
- The miraculous “Fierabras balsam ”, as if healing the wounds, is mentioned in Don Quixote by Cervantes .
- In 1823, Schubert wrote the opera Fierrabras .
Fierabras and Russia
In the poem by Jean Bodel, “ Song of the Saxons ” (the turn of the XII and XIII centuries), this character is referred to as Fierabraz de Rossie , which gave rise to some Russian historians (for example, Apollo Kuzmin ) to call him the Old Russian prince of the 9th century (the war of Charlemagne with the Saxons is historical event). However, the word “Russia” ( Russie ) appeared in French later (known from the XVIII century), and there is no reason to assume for Ferabras the existence of a historical prototype.
Literature
- Mikhailov A.D. French heroic epos. Issues of poetics and style. - M .: Heritage, 1995. - p. 75-76, 329-330, 344. - 360 p. - 1000 copies - ISBN 5-201-13233-2 .