54:
271:
331:
Unlike other authors of the era who undertook the
Alexander saga, Alexander of Paris did not base his work on the Pseudo-Callisthenes or on the various translations of Julius Valerius' work. As is common in medieval literature, the project stems from the desire to improve on the work of others and to
406:
The poem, by not giving a definitive answer to this question, stresses the importance of respect of religious and father figures (whether real father figures, or authority figures in the feudal system), while reminding the young nobles who are the public of the tale to associate themselves only with
369:
that is absent in the previous poems. The poem also undertakes, like many medieval writings, the education of young noblemen (the "gentils chevalieres") and paints a picture of the political and social changes present at the time (the accession to power of common men and the poverty that thus strike
377:
also is an important theme of the work, one that was surely impressive to the medieval public (akin to important scientific breakthroughs nowadays, for example). Not only brave and generous, our hero is also cunning and curious, wanting to understand the various phenomena that he will encounter on
391:. The cause of the death of the hero is shrouded in ambiguity: prophetic in nature, it poses the problem of divine retribution, patricide and political mistakes. Was Alexander killed because of his desire to elevate himself to the gods' level? Was he killed by the magician
378:
his path. The desire to conquer land and castles is thus reactivated by the desire to conquer the realm of knowledge (the voyage in the sky and underwater), but also the realm of immortality, as is shown by the will of the hero to equal mythic characters such as
156:. It is considered by many scholars as the most important of the Medieval Alexander romances. Many of the manuscripts of the work are illustrated. The poem is generally divided into four branches (see below). The final form of the poem is largely credited to
370:
the lower levels of nobility and the recentralization of power in 12th century France). Alexander is shown as generous, loyal and courageous: he is a protective and giving figure, the emblem of unification of the noblemen under one active and strong voice.
386:
who became demi-gods after defeating their mortal conditions by various feat of strength and wisdom. Alexander will not realize this goal: poisoned by his own men (the "sers felons" Antipater and
Divinuspater), as was another key figure of the work,
342:, which is independent of Alexander of Paris's poem: Alexander's influence on the medieval imagination is thus shown as being as great, if not greater, than that of other pagan figures such as
365:, Alexandre's work explores in great detail (and ambiguity) the various facets of the character, combining both the "estoire rose" and "estoire noire". This results in a lush
190:
403:
tradition, and who also presided over his birth (Alexander kills him in a spite of rage)? Or was he killed because he gave his trust to men of inferior condition?
173:
253:
223:
206:
232:
244:
415:
to come with many continuations depicting mainly the vengeance of the "douze pairs" or shedding a different light on the life of the conqueror.
17:
292:
531:
495:
318:
300:
332:
offer the complete life of the hero to the public, a theme that is also very present in the cyclical turn that the
296:
411:
in composition and esthetic, Alexander of Paris's version of the poem is the basis of
Alexander's myth in the
33:
541:
361:
546:
239:
who used 12-syllable verses (which are called "alexandrines" because of their appearance in this work).
551:
338:
took at the time. Thomas de Kent also penned (probably) the very same decade a version of the saga,
500:
281:
504:
467:
285:
536:
388:
160:
who probably placed the branches in the order we find them, reworked the first branch into
518:
Abbreviated translation into
English: Favager, D.J. The Romance of Alexander Kindle (2021)
8:
509:
164:, incorporated the text of Pierre de Saint-Cloud, and added verses to join each branch.
153:
118:
70:
58:
249:
161:
157:
84:
491:
412:
334:
149:
366:
142:
198:
396:
53:
525:
178:
236:
400:
392:
186:
182:
355:
215:
146:
133:
211:
270:
383:
379:
343:
408:
194:
347:
181:) derives from an anonymous Poitevin author who reworked, into
374:
228:
145:: "Romance of Alexander"), is a 16,000-verse twelfth-century
185:, a late eleventh or early twelfth century Franco-Provençal
513:
A History of Old French
Literature from the Origins to 1300
242:
The fourth branch (derived in part from the so-called
490:. Collection: La Pochothèque. Paris: Fayard, 1992.
501:Alexander the Great: The Medieval French Tradition
252:(also known as Alexandre de Paris) and in part to
488:Dictionnaire des lettres françaises: Le Moyen Age
248:: his death and burial) is attributed in part to
523:
210:: telling of the taking of Tyre, the entry into
177:: Alexander's childhood leading to the siege of
193:(itself based in part on a ninth-century Latin
32:For the thirteenth-century prose romance, see
470:estimates it was written sometime after 1177.
171:The first branch (derived from the so-called
299:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
231:and his underwater adventure) derives from
221:The third and longest branch (derived from
486:Geneviève Hasenohr and Michel Zink, eds.
152:detailing various episodes in the life of
319:Learn how and when to remove this message
61:in a diving bell: a scene from the text.
14:
524:
503:The Medieval Alexander Project at the
466:The Medieval Alexander Project at the
201:' translation of the Alexander story).
462:
460:
458:
456:
454:
452:
450:
440:
438:
436:
434:
432:
430:
428:
227:: includes Alexander's adventures in
218:) was composed by a certain Eustache.
27:12th-century Old French verse romance
373:The exploration of the mysteries of
297:adding citations to reliable sources
264:
204:The second branch (derived from the
24:
447:
425:
189:version of the Alexander story by
25:
563:
269:
52:
515:. New York: F.S. Crofts, 1938.
13:
1:
477:
340:Le roman de toute chevalerie
7:
395:, who is his father in the
260:
10:
568:
34:Roman d'Alexandre en prose
31:
18:Li romans d'Alexandre
114:
106:
98:
90:
80:
66:
51:
46:
41:
532:Medieval French romances
418:
505:University of Rochester
468:University of Rochester
74:
174:Decasyllabic Alexander
254:Pierre de Saint-Cloud
138:Li romans d'Alixandre
75:Li romans d'Alixandre
293:improve this section
47:Romance of Alexander
510:Urban T. Holmes Jr.
407:other nobles. Very
224:Alixandre en Orient
191:Albéric de Briançon
167:The four branches:
154:Alexander the Great
119:Alexander the Great
59:Alexander the Great
542:12th-century books
250:Alexander of Paris
214:and the defeat of
158:Alexander of Paris
85:Alexander of Paris
547:Alexander Romance
413:French literature
335:chansons de geste
329:
328:
321:
150:Alexander romance
129:Roman d'Alexandre
124:
123:
42:Roman d'Alexandre
16:(Redirected from
559:
552:Historical poems
485:
471:
464:
445:
442:
367:characterization
324:
317:
313:
310:
304:
273:
265:
207:Fuerre de Gadres
56:
39:
38:
21:
567:
566:
562:
561:
560:
558:
557:
556:
522:
521:
483:
480:
475:
474:
465:
448:
444:Hasenohr, 1306.
443:
426:
421:
325:
314:
308:
305:
290:
274:
263:
233:Lambert de Tort
199:Julius Valerius
62:
37:
28:
23:
22:
15:
12:
11:
5:
565:
555:
554:
549:
544:
539:
534:
520:
519:
516:
507:
498:
479:
476:
473:
472:
446:
423:
422:
420:
417:
327:
326:
309:September 2008
277:
275:
268:
262:
259:
258:
257:
245:Mort Alixandre
240:
219:
202:
122:
121:
116:
112:
111:
108:
104:
103:
100:
96:
95:
92:
88:
87:
82:
78:
77:
68:
67:Original title
64:
63:
57:
49:
48:
44:
43:
26:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
564:
553:
550:
548:
545:
543:
540:
538:
535:
533:
530:
529:
527:
517:
514:
511:
508:
506:
502:
499:
497:
496:2-253-05662-6
493:
489:
482:
481:
469:
463:
461:
459:
457:
455:
453:
451:
441:
439:
437:
435:
433:
431:
429:
424:
416:
414:
410:
404:
402:
398:
394:
390:
385:
381:
376:
371:
368:
364:
363:
358:
357:
351:
349:
345:
341:
337:
336:
323:
320:
312:
302:
298:
294:
288:
287:
283:
278:This section
276:
272:
267:
266:
255:
251:
247:
246:
241:
238:
234:
230:
226:
225:
220:
217:
213:
209:
208:
203:
200:
196:
192:
188:
184:
183:decasyllables
180:
176:
175:
170:
169:
168:
165:
163:
159:
155:
151:
148:
144:
140:
139:
135:
131:
130:
120:
117:
113:
110:16,000 verses
109:
105:
101:
97:
93:
89:
86:
83:
79:
76:
72:
69:
65:
60:
55:
50:
45:
40:
35:
30:
19:
537:French poems
512:
487:
405:
372:
360:
356:poème épique
354:
352:
339:
333:
330:
315:
306:
291:Please help
279:
243:
222:
205:
187:octosyllable
172:
166:
162:alexandrines
137:
136:
132:, from the
128:
127:
125:
94:12th century
29:
484:(in French)
81:Ascribed to
526:Categories
478:References
237:Châteaudun
147:Old French
134:Old French
71:Old French
393:Nectanabo
280:does not
212:Jerusalem
384:Dionysus
380:Hercules
353:In part
344:Hercules
261:Analysis
409:baroque
301:removed
286:sources
197:of the
195:epitome
143:English
115:Subject
102:Romance
494:
389:Darius
348:Aeneas
216:Darius
107:Length
419:Notes
401:Roman
397:Greek
375:India
362:roman
229:India
99:Genre
492:ISBN
399:and
382:and
359:and
284:any
282:cite
179:Tyre
126:The
91:Date
346:or
295:by
235:of
528::
449:^
427:^
350:.
73::
322:)
316:(
311:)
307:(
303:.
289:.
256:.
141:(
36:.
20:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
