Return of the Knights
The knights have once again captured our imagination. Some ascribe their comeback into the public sphere to the interest of Hollywood producers in characters like Gladiator or - recently - King Arthur. Others argue that the interest in knights is artificially spurred by owners of medieval establishments. In Poland, ideals of knighthood have always been popular, at least on the declarative level; the "noble spirit" is, we like to believe, one of our characteristics. The Poles still try to be courteous and claim to have been born with it (it being usually manifested by kissing ladies' hands). Fortunately knighthood is not a local invention, but one devised, practised and chronicled a long time ago. Details can be found in the new issue of Mówią Wieki magazine subtitled Rycerskie Średniowiecze - The Middle Ages and Knighthood.
The magazine presents a lot of interesting material, such as the biography of the knight Zawisza Czarny or notes on the weight of swords. A great deal of space is devoted to the birth of knighthood. A good place to start exploring these articles is the text by Anna Gronowska, entitled Songs of Great Deeds. It is a truly noble thing to sing a song of chivalrous men, is it not? Especially when the occassion is fitting.
Sing us of Roland
For many, the first encounter with the Song of Roland was a lesson at school, usually rather tedious. One learns to admire the chanson's mastery with time; it is undoubtedly the most renowned of the songs of deeds. The article mentions also the Spanish Song of Cid and the German Song of Hildebrand. But "the French epic poems are the most numerous and are a priceless source for historians, who somehow seem to refrain from examining them". Perhaps the historians have had already enough, or have followed the trend according to which nothing after the Song of Roland was equally valuable.
The Song of Roland had one serious flaw, though: the hero's death. It might be glorious and honourable, but it prevented the troubadours from continuing the story. This problem was solved by creating tales of early heroic deeds of the future hero (songs depicting the knight's family, first adventures etc). These were based on manuscripts, which have been carefully collected, treasured and then copied in the chronological order of the events in the hero's life, not of the songs' dates of origin. This apparently was the Medieval concept of a compilation.
Roland's beginnings were glorious, worth anyone's attention. Those who prefer reading to songs will be glad to read the summary of these by Anna Gronowska. In the light of today's moral standards, the songs seem to depict Roland as a rash and uncompromising lad, but surely the authors of chansons de geste dearly loved the hero and, surprisingly, had a considerable sense of humour, so the effects of their work are captivating enough. Some authors were so devoted to Roland that the literature of southern France features a less popular version of the legend, in which the knight has miraculously survived the battle and experienced further adventures.
Roland and Others
There were, of course, other heroes of the French 12th century chansons. Three major cycles which evolved in the French epic tradition include the Charlemagne cycle (Geste du Roi), the revolting vassals cycle and the Guillaume of Orange cycle. Later epics feature fairies, mages etc., which has resulted in the lack of critical or scientific interest in them until relatively recently.
The influence of the heroic epic was immense. The medieval audience wanted each song to be part of a cycle, which would create an illusion of an enclosed, complete world. (It is difficult not to think at this point of modern TV operas, equally loved by the public). The popularity of chansons de geste forced authors to create new songs about the heroes' ancestors, relatives and descendants. Gronowska states: "The trouveurs have adopted this method, aware of the expectations of listeners who preferred to explore familiar areas". So the plots were extended up to the point of transferring some of the chansons to the "lowly" prose. All forms of these stories are very interesting for contemporary scholars as they reveal the mentality of medieval people - not that distant from our own.
Roland's Mates
The most significant of Roland's "colleagues" did not know him, but were just as frequently portrayed and celebrated in literary works. William Shortnose, for example, counters many stereotypes about the typical hero of chansons de geste. In tales depicting his life dramatic moments have been mixed with comic situations and circumstances. Wilhelm quite clearly did not aspire to the role of an ideal: he was hot-blooded (as many heroes are), cunning (in the Trojan style), had a vigorous Saracen princess for a wife, capable of casting a spell or two when they were needed or throwing William out of the house - er, castle - when he didn't behave himself. She supported him in difficult times, though. And was of course beautiful, as princesses in legends are.
It is fortunate that we can still read the epics and admire the deeds of knights of the Charlemagne era thanks to the original texts. The impatient ones can find many abridged versions of chansons or read reports like the one in Mówią Wieki.
All the evidence suggests that knighthood cannot be taught; it has to flow in one's blood. We can merely reflect on this fact at today's medieval festivities or while watching historical or biographical movies. The question whether there are still any knights among us remains unanswered. Somewhere they surely exist: in the chansons de geste, for one thing; and apart from this, elements of the knights' ethos can be traced in the gangsta culture, in fantasy literature. And some of us are still courteous...
Miłka O. Malzahn
Translated by Marta Malina Moraczewska
Discussed journals: Mówią Wieki