"Elye of Saint-Gilles" tells the story of Elye - the son of Count
Julien of Saint-Gilles, a vassal of William of Orange - and of his
exploits during his youth and early knighthood. It is part of the
William of Orange cycle, whose historical kernel is linked to
events of the First and Fourth Crusades and the Reconquest of
Spain. As Elye is dubbed a knight, he endures an insult from his
father, so he undertakes a self-imposed exile from the court. It is
not long, however, before he encounters and battles Saracens.
Despite his prowess, they capture and transport him across the sea
and attempt to convert him to Islam. After escaping and killing
many more Saracens, he himself is mortally wounded but rescued by
his own vassal Galopin - the famous character who was the prototype
of Shakespeare's Oberon and who makes his literary debut in this
work. Galopin delivers Elye to the healing hands of an emir's
daughter, Rosamonde, who saves his life. In return, he saves her
from an unsuitable marriage with a Saracen elder. For this Elye is
again attacked by Saracens, but he is finally rescued by his father
Julien, William of Orange, and King Louis. In the end the Saracen
lands are converted, Rosamonde and Galopin are married, all make a
pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and Elye is married at Paris to Avisse,
the sister of King Louis, and he becomes the king's seneschal. Elye
of Saint-Gilles is the first English translation of the Old French
chanson de geste and includes a new critical edition, facing the
English text. This work encapsulates many of the standard elements
of the French chanson de geste and provides an excellent example of
the virtues of this literary form for entertainment and
instruction. The sole manuscript containing "Elye," and its
companion piece "Aiol," is found in the 1405 inventory of the
library of Margaret of Flanders, duchess of Valois, whose family
had been key figures in the First and Fourth Crusades and the
Reconquest of Spain. In the late twelfth and thirteenth centuries,
the court of Flanders was also a dynamic center of literary
activity unrivalled in production by either Champagne or Paris.
Dual-language edition. First English translation. Introduction,
bibliography, notes, index.
General
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