The chanson de geste {song of deeds} is a genre of Old French epic poems that were composed in the late eleventh and twelfth century. These poems typically concern noble persons related to or associated with Charlemagne and his descendants. The most well-known chanson de geste is The Song of Roland {La Chanson de Roland}, composed about 1100. Many chansons de geste are much more concerned with gender and heterosexual relations than is La Chanson de Roland. Chansons de geste highlight women’s power and the gender problem of epic violence against men.
Women historically were not men’s property to be traded among men for marriage. Medieval European women chose whether they would marry particular men. … Read the post not men’s property: medieval women chose whether & whom to marry
In the medieval Latin Waltharius, eleven men eagerly die in battle. In the later Old French epic Aymeri of Narbonne, twelve noble men refuse to battle. … Read the post Waltharius to Aymeri: how to end epic violence against men