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THE LEGEND OF CHARLEMAGNE IN MEDIEVAL ENGLAND The Matter of France in Middle English and Anglo-Norman Literature PHILLIPA HARDMAN & MARIANNE AILES

The first full-length examination of the medieval Charlemagne tradition in the literature and culture of medieval England, from the Chanson de Roland to Caxton. The Matter of France, the legendary history of Charlemagne, had a central but now largely unrecognised place in the multilingual culture of medieval England. From the early claim in the Chanson de Roland that Charlemagne held England as his personal domain, to the later proliferation of Middle English romances of Charlemagne, the materials are woven into the insular political and cultural imagination. However, unlike the wide range of continental French romances, the insular tradition concentrates on stories of a few heroic characters: Roland, Fierabras, Otinel. Why did writers and audiences in England turn again and again to these narratives, rewriting and reinterpreting them for more than two $99, August 2017 hundred years? 978 1 84384 472 3 This book offers the first full-length, in-depth study of the tradition as manifested in 5 b/w illus.; 496pp, HB literature and culture. It investigates the currency and impact of the Matter of France with Bristol Studies in Medieval Cultures equal attention to English and French-language texts, setting each individual manuscript or early printed text in its contemporary cultural and political context. The narratives are revealed to be extraordinarily adaptable, using the iconic opposition between Carolingian and Saracen heroes to reflect concerns with national politics, religious identity, the future Offer Price of Christendom, chivalry and ethics, and monarchy and treason. $74.25 PHILLIPA HARDMAN is Reader in Medieval English Literature (retired) at the University of Reading; MARIANNE AILES is Senior Lecturer in French at the University of Bristol. See over for list of contents

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PLEASE ADDRESS ALL UK AND INTERNATIONAL ORDERS TO: PLEASE ADDRESS ALL NORTH AMERICAN ORDERS TO: Boydell & Brewer Sales, John Wiley & Sons Ltd, European Boydell & Brewer, Inc., 668 Mount Hope Avenue, Distribution Centre, New Era Estate, Oldlands Way, Bognor Regis Rochester NY 14620-2731, USA PO22 9NQ Tel. 01243 843 291 • E-mail [email protected] Tel: 585-275-0419 Fax: 585-271-8778 • E-mail: [email protected] CONTENTS

Introduction: Charlemagne in England: Owning the Legend

Acculturating Charlemagne: The Insular Literary Context

Charlemagne ‘Translated’ [i]: The Anglo-Norman Tradition

Charlemagne ‘Appropriated’ [ii]: The Middle English Tradition

Re-Imagining the Hero: The Insular Roland and the Battle of Roncevaux

Re-Presenting Otherness: The Insular Fierabras Tradition

Re-Purposing the Narrative: The Insular Otinel Tradition

Conclusion: The Insular Afterlife of the Matter of France

Appendix: The Corpus: Texts and Manuscripts

Bibliography