Old-French Crusade Cycle v. 10; Godefroi de Buillon (The old French crusade cycle) - Tapa dura

Godefroi de Buillon is an edition of folios 1 through 60 of Paris, Biblioth?que Nationale, fonds fran?ais 781, a prose version of the Old French Crusade Cycle dating from the close of the 13th century. It includes the Beatrix version of the Naissance du Chevalier au Cygne, Le Chevalier au Cygne, Les Enfances Godefroi, La Chanson d Antioche, Les ChZtifs, and La Chanson de JZrusalem. It is of considerable interest for the history of French literature because it is apparently one of the earliest mises en prose, preceded perhaps only by Robert de Boron s prose Merlin. The author explicitly refers to his purpose: l ai commenchie sans rime pour l estore avoir plus abregiet et si me sanle que le rime est mout plaisans et mout bele mais mout est longue [I undertook it without rhyme to have it shorter, for it seems to me that rhyme is beautiful but very long] (1:3-5). In fact, he has rendered the original verse into prose by two distinct methods. The Swan Knight branches of the Cycle are severely abbreviated. Collation with the verse texts is impossible; individual verses are only rarely identifiable. On the other hand, the more historically based branches are the product of an almost verse for line dZrimage, more often than not by the simple elimination of the second hemistich, as well as the elimination of repetitive, descriptive, and affective passages.

This is an edition of folios one to 60 of Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale, fonds Francais 781, a prose version of the Old French Crusade Cycle dating from the end of the 13th century. It includes the Beatrix version of the Naissance du Chevalier au Cygone and Les Enfances Godefroi.