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An exploration of the many depictions of Charlemagne in the Italian tradition of chivalric narratives in verse and prose.Chivalric tales and narratives concerning Charlemagne were composed and circulated in Italy from the early fourteenth to the mid-sixteenth century (and indeed subsequently flourished in forms of popular theatre which continue today). But are they history or fiction? Myth or fact? Cultural memory or deliberate appropriation? Elite culture or popular entertainment? Oral or written, performed or read? This book explores the many depictions of the Emperor in the Italian tradition of chivalric narratives in verse and prose. Beginning in the age of Dante with the earliest tales composed for Italians in the hybrid language of Franco-Italian, which draw inspiration from the French tradition of Charlemagne narratives, the volume considers the compositions of anonymous reciters of cantari and the prose versions of the Florentine Andrea da Barberino, before discussing the major literary contributions to the genre by Luigi Pulci, Matteo Maria Boiardo and Ludovico Ariosto. The focus throughout is on the ways in which the portrait of Charlemagne, seen as both Emperor and King of France, is persistently ambiguous, affected by the contemporary political situation and historical events such as invasion and warfare. He emerges through these texts in myriad guises, from positive and admirable to negative and despised.

Essays on the various manifestations of Charlemagne and his legends.This book explores the multiplicity of ways in which the Charlemagne legend was recorded in Latin texts of the central and later Middle Ages, moving beyond some of the earlier canonical "e;raw materials"e;, such as Einhard's Vita Karoli Magni, to focus on productions of the eleventh to fifteenth centuries. A distinctive feature of the volume's coverage is the diversity of Latin textual environments and genres that the contributors examine in their work,including chronicles, liturgy and pseudo-histories, as well as apologetical treatises and works of hagiography and literature. Perhaps most importantly, the book examines the "e;many lives"e; that Charlemagne was believed to have lived by successive generations of medieval Latin writers, for whom he was not only a king and an emperor but also a saint, a crusader, and, indeed, a necrophiliac. William J. Purkis is a Senior Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Birmingham; Matthew Gabriele is an Associate Professor of Medieval Studies in the Department of Religion & Culture at Virginia Tech. Contributors: Jeffrey Doolittle, Matthew Gabriele, Miguel Dolan Gomez, Oren Margolis, William J. Purkis, Andrew J. Romig, Sebastian Salvado, Jace Stuckey, James Williams.

An examination of French to English translation in medieval England, through the genre of the prologue.The prologue to Layamon's Brut recounts its author's extensive travels "e;wide yond thas leode"e; (far and wide across the land) to gather the French, Latin and English books he used as source material. The first Middle Englishwriter to discuss his methods of translating French into English, Layamon voices ideas about the creation of a new English tradition by translation that proved very durable. This book considers the practice of translation from French into English in medieval England, and how the translators themselves viewed their task. At its core is a corpus of French to English translations containing translator's prologues written between c.1189 and c.1450; thisremarkable body of Middle English literary theory provides a useful map by which to chart the movement from a literary culture rooted in Anglo-Norman at the end of the thirteenth century to what, in the fifteenth, is regarded as an established "e;English"e; tradition. Considering earlier Romance and Germanic models of translation, wider historical evidence about translation practice, the acquisition of French, the possible role of women translators, and the manuscript tradition of prologues, in addition to offering a broader, pan-European perspective through an examination of Middle Dutch prologues, the book uses translators' prologues as a lens through which to view a period of critical growth and development for English as a literary language. Elizabeth Dearnley gained her PhD from the University of Cambridge.

New examinations of the figure of Charlemagne in Spanish literature and culture.The historical point of departure for this volume is Charlemagne's ill-fated incursion into Spain in 778. After an unsuccessful siege of Zaragoza, the king of the Franks directed his army north and on his passage through the Pyrenees, he turned his wrath on Pamplona, destroying the Basque city and its walls. The Basques subsequently ambushed the rearguard of Charlemagne's army on the heights of Pyrenees, killing numerous officers of the palace, plunderingthe baggage, and then vanishing into the forested hills, leaving the Franks to grieve without the satisfaction of revenge. In Spain, popular narratives eventually diverted their attention away from the Franks to the Spaniards responsible for their slaughter. This volume explores those legendary narratives of the Spaniards who defeated Charlemagne's army and the larger textual and cultural context of his presence in Spain, from before their careful elaboration in Latin and vernacular chronicles into the early modern period. It shares with previous studies a focus on the narration of historical and imaginary events across genres, but is unique in its emphasis on the reception and evolution of the legendary figure of Charlemagne in Spain. Overall, its purpose is to address the diversity and importance of the Carolingian legends in the literary, historical, and imaginative spheres during the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and into the seventeenth century. Matthew Bailey is Professor of Spanish at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia; Ryan D. Giles is Associate Professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at Indiana University, Bloomington. Contributors: Frederick A. de Armas, Matthew Bailey, Anibal Biglieri, Ryan D. Giles, Lucy K. Pick, Mercedes Vaquero.

Captured here for the first time is the richness of the Charlemagne tradition in medieval Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Wales and Ireland and its coherence as a series of adaptations of Old French chansons de geste

An examination of the passion and crucifixion of Christ as depicted in the visual and religious culture of Anglo-Norman England.

The first full-length examination of the medieval Charlemagne tradition in the literature and culture of medieval England, from the Chanson de Roland to Caxton.

Comprehensive survey of the legend of Charlemagne in the medieval German-speaking world.