Huon of Bordeaux
Encyclopedia
Huon of Bordeaux is the title character of a 13th century French epic (chanson de geste
) with romance
elements. He is a knight who, after unwittingly killing Charlot
, the son of Emperor Charlemagne
, is given a reprieve from death on condition that he fulfill a number of seemingly impossible tasks: he must travel to the court of the Amir in Babylon
and return with a handful of the amir's hair and teeth, kill the Amir's mightiest knight
, and three times kiss the Amir's daughter, Esclarmonde. All these Huon eventually achieves with the assistance of the fairy king Oberon.
verses grouped in 91 assonance
d laisse
s. Presumed dates for its composition vary, but 1216-1268 are generally give as terminus post quem
and terminus ante quem.
The chanson was very successful and incited 6 continuations and 1 prologue which triple its length:
The Turin manuscript also contains the romance of Les Lorrains a summary in seventeen lines of another version of the story, according to which Huon's exile is due to his having slain a count in the emperor's palace.
The poem and several of its continuations were converted to a rhyme
d version in alexandrine
s in the 15th century (only one manuscript exists).
The poem and most of its continuations were put into a prose version in 1454. While no manuscripts exists from the 15th century prose version, this version served as the base text for 16th century printed editions (eleven exist), the earliest extant being the edition printed by Michel le Noir in 1513. The work was reprinted 10 times in the 17th century, 8 times in the 18th and 4 times in the 19th (notably in a beautifully printed and illustrated adaptation (1898) in modern French by Gaston Paris
).
The romance had a great vogue in England through the translation (c. 1540) of John Bourchier, Lord Berners, as Huon of Burdeuxe, through which Shakespeare heard of the French epic. In Philip Henslowe
's diary there is a note of a performance of a play, Hewen of Burdocize, on December 28, 1593.
The tale was dramatized and produced in Paris by the Confrérie de la Passion in 1557.
Andre Norton
retold the tale in quasi-modern English prose as Huon of the Horn in 1951.
, one of the sons of Charles the Bald
and Ermentrude, who died in 866 in consequence of wounds inflicted by a certain Aubouin in precisely similar circumstances to those related in the romance. The godfather of Huon may safely be identified with Seguin
, who was count of Bordeaux under Louis the Pious
in 839, and died fighting against the Normans
six years later.
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...
) with romance
Romance (genre)
As a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knight errant portrayed as...
elements. He is a knight who, after unwittingly killing Charlot
Charlot
Charlot is a fictionalized form of Charles the Younger , son of Charlemagne, in the tradition of the Matter of France. His legend may also incorporate elements of Charlemagne's great-grandson Charles the Child....
, the son of Emperor 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...
, is given a reprieve from death on condition that he fulfill a number of seemingly impossible tasks: he must travel to the court of the Amir in Babylon
Babylon (Egypt)
Babylon , was a fortress city or castle in the Delta of Egypt...
and return with a handful of the amir's hair and teeth, kill the Amir's mightiest 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....
, and three times kiss the Amir's daughter, Esclarmonde. All these Huon eventually achieves with the assistance of the fairy king Oberon.
Editions and continuations
The chanson de geste that has come down to us (in 3 more or less complete manuscripts and 2 short fragments) comprises 10,553 decasyllableDecasyllable
Decasyllable is a poetic meter of ten syllables used in poetic traditions of syllabic verse...
verses grouped in 91 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. Presumed dates for its composition vary, but 1216-1268 are generally give as terminus post quem
Terminus post quem
Terminus post quem and terminus ante quem specify approximate dates for events...
and terminus ante quem.
The chanson was very successful and incited 6 continuations and 1 prologue which triple its length:
- Roman d'Aubéron - the TurinTurinTurin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
manuscript of the romance (the only manuscript to contain all of the continuations) contains the only version of this 14th century prologue in the shape of a separate romance of Auberon. No prose version exists. - Huon Roi de Féérie
- Chanson d'Esclarmonde
- Chanson de Clarisse et Florent
- Chanson d'Yde et d'Olive
- Chanson de Godin - the TurinTurinTurin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
manuscript of the romance contains the only version of this 13th-14th century continuation. No prose version exists. - Roman de Croissant.
The Turin manuscript also contains the romance of Les Lorrains a summary in seventeen lines of another version of the story, according to which Huon's exile is due to his having slain a count in the emperor's palace.
The poem and several of its continuations were converted to a rhyme
Rhyme
A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds in two or more words and is most often used in poetry and songs. The word "rhyme" may also refer to a short poem, such as a rhyming couplet or other brief rhyming poem such as nursery rhymes.-Etymology:...
d version in alexandrine
Alexandrine
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 the 15th century (only one manuscript exists).
The poem and most of its continuations were put into a prose version in 1454. While no manuscripts exists from the 15th century prose version, this version served as the base text for 16th century printed editions (eleven exist), the earliest extant being the edition printed by Michel le Noir in 1513. The work was reprinted 10 times in the 17th century, 8 times in the 18th and 4 times in the 19th (notably in a beautifully printed and illustrated adaptation (1898) in modern French by Gaston Paris
Gaston Paris
Bruno Paulin Gaston Paris , known as Gaston Paris, was a French writer and scholar.He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1901, 1902 and 1903.-Biography:Paris was born at Avenay...
).
The romance had a great vogue in England through the translation (c. 1540) of John Bourchier, Lord Berners, as Huon of Burdeuxe, through which Shakespeare heard of the French epic. In Philip Henslowe
Philip Henslowe
Philip Henslowe was an Elizabethan theatrical entrepreneur and impresario. Henslowe's modern reputation rests on the survival of his diary, a primary source for information about the theatrical world of Renaissance London...
's diary there is a note of a performance of a play, Hewen of Burdocize, on December 28, 1593.
The tale was dramatized and produced in Paris by the Confrérie de la Passion in 1557.
Andre Norton
Andre Norton
Andre Alice Norton, née Alice Mary Norton was an American science fiction and fantasy author under the noms de plume Andre Norton, Andrew North and Allen Weston...
retold the tale in quasi-modern English prose as Huon of the Horn in 1951.
Historical sources
The Charlot of the story has been identified by Auguste Longnon (Romania vol. viii) with Charles l'EnfantCharles the Child
Charles the Child was the King of Aquitaine from October 855 until his death in 866...
, one of the sons of Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald , Holy Roman Emperor and King of West Francia , was the youngest son of the Emperor Louis the Pious by his second wife Judith.-Struggle against his brothers:He was born on 13 June 823 in Frankfurt, when his elder...
and Ermentrude, who died in 866 in consequence of wounds inflicted by a certain Aubouin in precisely similar circumstances to those related in the romance. The godfather of Huon may safely be identified with Seguin
Seguin II of Gascony
Seguin II , called Mostelanicus, was the Count of Bordeaux and Saintes from 840 and Duke of Gascony from 845. He was either the son or grandson of Seguin I, the duke appointed by Charlemagne....
, who was count of Bordeaux under Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious , also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was the King of Aquitaine from 781. He was also King of the Franks and co-Emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813...
in 839, and died fighting against the Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
six years later.