Fierabras
Encyclopedia
Fiërabras or Ferumbras is a Saracen
knight
(frequently of gigantic stature) appearing in several chansons de geste
and other material relating to the Matter of France
. He is the son of Balan, king of Spain
, and is frequently shown in conflict with Roland
and the Twelve Peers
, especially Oliver (whose prowess he almost rivals) and eventually converting to Christianity
and fighting for Charlemagne
.
s in assonance
d laisse
s. The story is as follows: the Saracen king Balan and his 15 feet (4.6 m) son Fierabras return to Spain after sacking the church of Saint Peter's
in Rome
and taking the relics of the passion
. Charlemagne invades Spain to recuperate the relics and sends his knight Olivier de Vienne, Roland
's companion, to battle Fierabras. Once defeated, the giant decides to convert to Christianity and joins Charlemagne's army, but Olivier and several other knights are captured. Floripas, Fierabras' sister, falls in love with one of Charlemagne's knights, Gui de Bourgogne. After a series of adventures, Charlemagne kills king Balan, divides Spain between Fierabras and Gui de Bourgogne (who marries Floripas), and returns to Saint Denis with the holy relics.
Another view is that the Legend is based on the character of the Basque prince, Fortun "the Basque" Al-Graseiz or El-Akraz, as seen by the Arab chroniclers and perhaps known as such by Shakespeare to bring it over to his exotic character Fortinbras
.
The poem was translated into Provençal in the 13th century, which in turn inspired an Italian version (Cantare di Fierabraccia e Ulivieri) in the second half of the 14th century. Two English versions were made: Sir Ferumbras (late 14th or early 15th century) and Firumbras (fragmentary). A 15th-century English work, Sowdon of Babylon, combined the story with another work (the Destruction de Rome).
The story was put into prose three times in the 14th and 15th centuries, one anonymous version (14th century), an expanded Burgundian version (Chroniques et conquêtes de Charlemagne) by David Aubert
(c.1456-8) and an expanded Swiss version by Jean de Bagnyon (late 15th century), the later of which was (with notable changes) the first chansons de geste to be printed (Geneva, 1478), and one of the most popular novels in France in the first half of the 16th century (15 editions printed to 1536; from 1501 the title was Conqueste du grand roy Charlemagne des Espagnes et les vaillances des douze pairs de France, et aussi celles de Fierabras). This prose version was adapted into Castilian, Portuguese, German, and English (by William Caxton
).
There also exist other versions of the legend, including one in Early Modern Irish (Stair Fortibrais).
The 17th-century playwright Calderon de la Barca used elements of the story for his drama La puente de Mantibile.
In 1823, Franz Schubert
wrote the opera Fierrabras
, based on certain tales surrounding the knight's conversion.
in 846
in which Guy I of Spoleto
(proposed as a source for "Gui de Bourgogne") participated.
Critics have suggested that the composition of the 12th-century poem is closely linked to the cult of relics at the Basilique Saint-Denis and the creation of the local festival of Lendit.
This is the tale that Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, is said by Barbour to have related to his men after they fled their enemies across Loch Lomond in 1307.
' Don Quixote de la Mancha, after one of his numerous beatings, Don Quixote mentions to Sancho Panza
that he knows the recipe of the balm. In Chapter XVII, Don Quixote instructs Sancho that the ingredients are oil, wine, salt and rosemary
. The knight boils them and blesses them with eighty Pater Noster
s, Hail Mary
and Creed
. Upon drinking it, Don Quixote vomits and sweats and feels healed after sleeping. However, for Sancho it has also a laxative
effect, rendering him near death.
Saracen
Saracen was a term used by the ancient Romans to refer to a people who lived in desert areas in and around the Roman province of Arabia, and who were distinguished from Arabs. In Europe during the Middle Ages the term was expanded to include Arabs, and then all who professed the religion of Islam...
knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
(frequently of gigantic stature) appearing in several chansons de geste
Chanson de geste
The chansons de geste, Old French for "songs of heroic deeds", are the epic poems that appear at the dawn of French literature. The earliest known examples date from the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries, nearly a hundred years before the emergence of the lyric poetry of the trouvères and...
and other material relating to the Matter of France
Matter of France
The Matter of France, also known as the Carolingian cycle, is a body of literature and legendary material associated with the history of France, in particular involving Charlemagne and his associates. The cycle springs from the Old French chansons de geste, and was later adapted into a variety of...
. He is the son of Balan, king of Spain
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
, and is frequently shown in conflict with Roland
Roland
Roland was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. Historically, Roland was military governor of the Breton March, with responsibility for defending the frontier of Francia against the Bretons...
and the Twelve Peers
Paladin
The paladins, sometimes known as the Twelve Peers, were the foremost warriors of Charlemagne's court, according to the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. They first appear in the early chansons de geste such as The Song of Roland, where they represent Christian martial valor against the...
, especially Oliver (whose prowess he almost rivals) and eventually converting to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and fighting for Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
.
Texts and adaptations
The oldest extant text of the story of Fierabras is a 12th-century (c. 1170) French chanson de geste of roughly 6,200 alexandrineAlexandrine
An alexandrine is a line of poetic meter comprising 12 syllables. Alexandrines are common in the German literature of the Baroque period and in French poetry of the early modern and modern periods. Drama in English often used alexandrines before Marlowe and Shakespeare, by whom it was supplanted...
s in assonance
Assonance
Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds to create internal rhyming within phrases or sentences, and together with alliteration and consonance serves as one of the building blocks of verse. For example, in the phrase "Do you like blue?", the is repeated within the sentence and is...
d laisse
Laisse
A laisse is a type of stanza, of varying length, found in medieval French literature, specifically medieval French epic poetry , such as The Song of Roland. In early works, each laisse was made up of assonanced verses, although the appearance of rhymed laisses was increasingly common in later...
s. The story is as follows: the Saracen king Balan and his 15 feet (4.6 m) son Fierabras return to Spain after sacking the church of Saint Peter's
St. Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter , officially known in Italian as ' and commonly known as Saint Peter's Basilica, is a Late Renaissance church located within the Vatican City. Saint Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and taking the relics of the passion
Relics attributed to Jesus
A number of relics associated with Jesus have been claimed and displayed throughout the history of Christianity. Some people believe in the authenticity of some relics; others doubt the authenticity of various items...
. Charlemagne invades Spain to recuperate the relics and sends his knight Olivier de Vienne, Roland
Roland
Roland was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. Historically, Roland was military governor of the Breton March, with responsibility for defending the frontier of Francia against the Bretons...
's companion, to battle Fierabras. Once defeated, the giant decides to convert to Christianity and joins Charlemagne's army, but Olivier and several other knights are captured. Floripas, Fierabras' sister, falls in love with one of Charlemagne's knights, Gui de Bourgogne. After a series of adventures, Charlemagne kills king Balan, divides Spain between Fierabras and Gui de Bourgogne (who marries Floripas), and returns to Saint Denis with the holy relics.
Another view is that the Legend is based on the character of the Basque prince, Fortun "the Basque" Al-Graseiz or El-Akraz, as seen by the Arab chroniclers and perhaps known as such by Shakespeare to bring it over to his exotic character Fortinbras
Fortinbras
Fortinbras is the name of two minor fictional characters from William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet. The more notable is a Norwegian crown prince with a few brief scenes in the play, who delivers the final lines that represent a hopeful future for the monarchy of Denmark and its subjects...
.
The poem was translated into Provençal in the 13th century, which in turn inspired an Italian version (Cantare di Fierabraccia e Ulivieri) in the second half of the 14th century. Two English versions were made: Sir Ferumbras (late 14th or early 15th century) and Firumbras (fragmentary). A 15th-century English work, Sowdon of Babylon, combined the story with another work (the Destruction de Rome).
The story was put into prose three times in the 14th and 15th centuries, one anonymous version (14th century), an expanded Burgundian version (Chroniques et conquêtes de Charlemagne) by David Aubert
David Aubert
David Aubert was a French calligrapher, who transcribed and adapted courtly romances and chronicles for the court of the Duke of Burgundy...
(c.1456-8) and an expanded Swiss version by Jean de Bagnyon (late 15th century), the later of which was (with notable changes) the first chansons de geste to be printed (Geneva, 1478), and one of the most popular novels in France in the first half of the 16th century (15 editions printed to 1536; from 1501 the title was Conqueste du grand roy Charlemagne des Espagnes et les vaillances des douze pairs de France, et aussi celles de Fierabras). This prose version was adapted into Castilian, Portuguese, German, and English (by William Caxton
William Caxton
William Caxton was an English merchant, diplomat, writer and printer. As far as is known, he was the first English person to work as a printer and the first to introduce a printing press into England...
).
There also exist other versions of the legend, including one in Early Modern Irish (Stair Fortibrais).
The 17th-century playwright Calderon de la Barca used elements of the story for his drama La puente de Mantibile.
In 1823, Franz Schubert
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
wrote the opera Fierrabras
Fierrabras (opera)
Fierrabras is a three-act opera written by the composer Franz Schubert in 1823, to a libretto by Josef Kupelwieser, the general manager of the Theater am Kärntnertor...
, based on certain tales surrounding the knight's conversion.
Historical sources
The story echoes the historical sack of Rome by the SaracensSack of Rome (846)
In 846 Arab raiders plundered the environs of Rome, including the Vatican, sacking Old St. Peter's and St. Paul's-Outside-the-Walls, but were prevented from entering the city itself by the Aurelian Wall...
in 846
846
Year 846 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* Nominoe occupies Nantes and Rennes, he makes raids in Anjou and threatens Bayeux...
in which Guy I of Spoleto
Guy I of Spoleto
Guy I was the Duke of Spoleto from 842. He was the son of Lambert I of Nantes and Adelaide of Lombardy, the eldest daughter of Pepin of Italy. He travelled with his father in 834 in the entourage of Lothair I. He was given the abbey of Mettlach in Lotharingia in 840, when the Emperor Louis the...
(proposed as a source for "Gui de Bourgogne") participated.
Critics have suggested that the composition of the 12th-century poem is closely linked to the cult of relics at the Basilique Saint-Denis and the creation of the local festival of Lendit.
This is the tale that Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, is said by Barbour to have related to his men after they fled their enemies across Loch Lomond in 1307.
The balm of Fierabras
According to a chanson from 1170, Fierabras and Balan conquered Rome and stole two barrels containing the balm used for the corpse of Jesus. This miraculous balm would heal whoever drank it. In Chapter X of the first volume of Miguel de CervantesMiguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright. His magnum opus, Don Quixote, considered the first modern novel, is a classic of Western literature, and is regarded amongst the best works of fiction ever written...
' Don Quixote de la Mancha, after one of his numerous beatings, Don Quixote mentions to Sancho Panza
Sancho Panza
Sancho Panza is a fictional character in the novel Don Quixote written by Spanish author Don Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra in 1605. Sancho acts as squire to Don Quixote, and provides comments throughout the novel, known as sanchismos, that are a combination of broad humour, ironic Spanish proverbs,...
that he knows the recipe of the balm. In Chapter XVII, Don Quixote instructs Sancho that the ingredients are oil, wine, salt and rosemary
Rosemary
Rosemary, , is a woody, perennial herb with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple or blue flowers, native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, which includes many other herbs, and is one of two species in the genus Rosmarinus...
. The knight boils them and blesses them with eighty Pater Noster
Pater Noster
Pater Noster is probably the best-known prayer in Christianity.Pater Noster or Paternoster may also refer to:* Paternoster, a passenger elevator which consists of a chain of open compartments that move slowly in a loop up and down inside a building* Paternoster, Western Cape, South Africa* Pierres...
s, Hail Mary
Hail Mary
The Angelic Salutation, Hail Mary, or Ave Maria is a traditional biblical Catholic prayer asking for the intercession of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. The Hail Mary is used within the Catholic Church, and it forms the basis of the Rosary...
and Creed
Creed
A creed is a statement of belief—usually a statement of faith that describes the beliefs shared by a religious community—and is often recited as part of a religious service. When the statement of faith is longer and polemical, as well as didactic, it is not called a creed but a Confession of faith...
. Upon drinking it, Don Quixote vomits and sweats and feels healed after sleeping. However, for Sancho it has also a laxative
Laxative
Laxatives are foods, compounds, or drugs taken to induce bowel movements or to loosen the stool, most often taken to treat constipation. Certain stimulant, lubricant, and saline laxatives are used to evacuate the colon for rectal and/or bowel examinations, and may be supplemented by enemas under...
effect, rendering him near death.
External links
- The Sultan of Babylon a Middle EnglishMiddle EnglishMiddle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....
romance featuring Ferumbras - DRAE Spanish definition of fierabrás: an unruly, evil person, generally applied to naughty kids.