French Literature Reviews - 2026
B. Gicquel, Généalogie de la Chanson de Roland.
Medieval and Renaissance Studies
Bernard Gicquel, Généalogie de la Chanson de Roland, Éditions Publibook Université, 307 p., 21 Euros. ISBN: 2748302788
The texts recounting the exploits of the valiant Roland at Roncevaux prior to the Chanson de Roland are more numerous than previously believed. Three of them served as sources for the author of the famous epic, who refined them in accordance with the rhetorical principle of imitation by borrowing aesthetic qualities from recognized models.
By presenting these sources and models, it has become possible to trace the literary history of the Roland myth from its origins to its most prestigious expression.
Building upon the studies of Wilhelm Tavernier, Prosper Boissonnade, and Maurice Wilmotte, Bernard Gicquel offers a fresh perspective on this text, highlighting previously overlooked aspects.
BERNARD GICQUEL, holder of the agrégation in German and a PhD in Comparative Medieval Literature, has taught at the universities of Marburg, Munich, Paris X-Nanterre, and Le Mans.
He is the author of L'Explication de textes et la dissertation, in the "Que sais-je?" series; Stylistique littéraire et informatique, published in the Cahiers scientifiques de l'Université d'Artois; and La Légende de Compostelle, published by Tallandier.
The book is available as of today from the publisher and will be available in bookstores starting October 6, 2003.
The Chanson de Roland stands as the most renowned Old French epic poem, belonging to the tradition of the chansons de geste that flourished from the eleventh through the thirteenth centuries. These heroic narratives celebrate medieval chivalry, feudal loyalty, and the legendary conflicts of Charlemagne's paladins against the Saracens. Within this expansive corpus of medieval literature, the Roland tradition developed through various Latin and vernacular accounts before achieving its canonical form in the Oxford manuscript. Scholars of medieval studies have long investigated the intricate web of oral transmission, clerical authorship, and classical or biblical rhetoric that shaped these foundational texts of European vernacular literature.
Readers interested in medieval epic poetry, textual genesis, and the literary history of the Roland legend may find this volume a relevant addition to their studies. Bernard Gicquel examines texts recounting the exploits of Roland prior to the famous epic, presenting sources and models that trace the myth from its origins. Building upon earlier scholarship by Wilhelm Tavernier, Prosper Boissonnade, and Maurice Wilmotte, the study offers a perspective on the subject while highlighting previously overlooked aspects of the tradition.