Crusade plate

At the beginning of the XII century , immediately after the First Crusade, the Northern French truver Richard le Pèlerin composed “ Song of Antioch ” and “ Song of Jerusalem ”, which narrated about the most important events of the campaign, in which the poet himself was a participant. These works did not reach us, but around 1180 their processing appeared, belonging to the pen of Grendor from Douai ( Graindor de Douai ). Grendor pointed to his predecessor and provided some information about him. Probably, Grendor at the same time composed the poem “Prisoners”, the plot of which, unlike the other two poems, had no historical basis.

In these poems, a prominent role was assigned to the hero of the First Crusade, Gottfried of Bouillon . He very soon became a legendary person and moved to the number of central figures of the rapidly developing cycle. Following the laws of epic cyclization , his poetic biography began to be created - already without any reliance on historical facts. He was invented by his grandfather - Elias, the mysterious Knight with a swan .

First cycle

(in order of internal chronology)

• The Birth of a Knight with a Swan
• " Knight with a swan "
• The End of Elias
• "The Adolescence of Gottfried ." Gottfried's heroic youth. The Saracen witch Calabra, who sees the future, sends a killer to him, but she and Gottfried become friends.
• " Song of Antioch ." The beginning of the First Crusade and the siege of Antioch .
• “ Prisoners ” ( Les Chétifs ) Five Frankish knights after the battle of Antioch fall into the hands of Korbaran. To escape from captivity, they enter into a duel with giants Goliath and Sorgale, fight with the dragon Satanas, lions, a giant monkey, a gang of bandits. Having gained freedom, they are sent to Jerusalem.
• “ Song of Jerusalem ” ( Chanson de Jérusalem, ou Conquête de Jérusalem ) The poem, in great detail and with great deviations from historical truth, tells of the capture of Jerusalem by the crusaders. In this assault, Thomas de Marl is especially distinguished, who becomes almost the main character of the poem. Great participation in the war takes Saracen Korbaran.
• The Baptism of Corbaran ( Chretieneté Corbaran ). Korbaran decides to be baptized and goes to Jerusalem. There he adopts Christianity along with his nephews, who in turn baptize all his subjects. The mother of Korbaran Calabra flees to Acre and tells the Sultan about the conversion of her son. The army of the Sultan moves to Jerusalem, but is defeated by the Franks. Nevertheless, the confrontation between the two armies continues. The direct sequel is “Capture of Acre."
• The Capture of Acre ( Prise d'Acre ). Gottfried of Bouillon and his barons go on a hike to Acre. Saracen is led by Dodekin of Damascus, an adviser to the Sultan. Tanred comes into a duel with Dodekin, defeats him and lets him go to Acre. On the way there, Dodekin meets Korbaran, who converted to Christianity, and his sister Matruana. Between her and Gottfried there is love. Meanwhile, hostilities continue; his uncle Boehmund arrives to help Tankred. Tankred fights Dodekin again and wins again. Acre is taken by storm, its defenders surrender and are baptized. The wedding of Gottfried and Matruana is celebrated.
• The Death of Gottfried ( Mort Godefroi ). A group of crusaders decides to return to their homeland. Gottfried, Eustachius and others go there. Gottfried returns to Acre, where he repels the Saracen attack, during which Boemund is captured. Gottfried is poisoned by the patriarch of Jerusalem, Heraclius. The war continues Tancred and Boemund. In the end they leave Jerusalem. The poem concludes with the death of Korbaran.
• A Song of the Kings Baudouin ( Chanson des Rois Baudouin ). Baudouin and Tancred reconcile and enter Jerusalem. They punish the patriarch Heraclius, the murderer of Gottfried. The army of the Sultan advances on Jerusalem. King Baudouin is captured. His daughter Beatrice is sent to the Sultan. Baudouin becomes ill and then dies. He is buried next to Gottfried. Tancred and Boemund are dying. Baudouin de Sebourk , cousin of Baudouin, arrives in Palestine. At the end of the poem, new wars with the Saracens, which Saladin now leads, are described.

Second cycle

(complicated in the XIV century , associated with the second generation of crusaders)

• " Bouillon Bastard " ( Bastard de Bouillon ). King Baudouin I conquers the Roshbrune fortress from the infidels, goes on a campaign to Mecca . At the same time, his love relationship with the Saracen princess Sinamonda, who later adopts Christianity, unfolds. During these campaigns, Baudouin and his companions fall into the magical land of fairies. While he is there, Cinamonda gives birth to a son - Bouillon Bastard. Meanwhile, Baudouin’s throne was captured by his son, Orry. Cinamonde's son is growing up. He inevitably enters into a rivalry with Orry and ultimately kills him as a traitor. For this, he is expelled from Jerusalem. He is fighting the Saracen army, going through all sorts of adventures. At the end of the poem, Baudouin dies, and his barons send messengers to his mother Ida and brother Eustathius .
• Baudouin de Sebourc . The hero, the cousin of Gottfried and Baudouin, goes to Palestine, where the treacherous traitor carried away his father at one time to destroy him there and then marry his widow. The hero undergoes considerable difficulties in the East, more than once finds himself on the verge of death, but in the end he succeeds and avenge the death of his father. Later he becomes the king of Jerusalem (historical prototype - Baldwin II of Jerusalem ).
• " Saladin ." The poem is lost, the prosaic version is preserved. The poem included episodes telling of Saladin's visit to France, where he won the love of the French queen.

• Mikhailov A.D. French heroic epic. Questions of poetics and stylistics. - M .: Heritage, 1995 .-- S. 87-89. - 360 p. - 1000 copies. - ISBN 5-201-13233-2 .