Aspremont (chanson de geste)

Chanson d'Aspremont is a 12th-century Old French chanson de geste. The poem comprises 11, 376 verses, grouped into rhymed laisses. The verses are decasyllables mixed with alexandrines.
The invading African Saracen forces under King Agolant and his son, Prince Aumon have overrun Calabria, Italy, and messages his intention to conquer Rome and the rest of Christendom. Charlemagne replies and defiance and they agree to battle at Aspremont, the "Bitter Mount" in Calabria.
The work deals mainly with the enfances of Roland, nephew of Charlemagne, namely his defeat of Prince Aumon and conquest of the sword Durendal, the horse Veillantif the olifant, and the subsequent dubbing as knight with the selfsame sword.

Plotline

In this tale, the African Saracen king Agolant and his son Aumon invade Calabria in Italy, defying Charlemagne through their messenger Balan. This Balan after speaking to Duke Naimes reaches a decision to convert to Christianity, and eventually renames himself Guitekin.
Charlemagne musters his troops to fight them. The invading army reaches Aspremont, and the French traverse hills and plains, "broken bridges and strange waterways" so they are not able to maintain their ranks intact when they reach the mountain of Aspremont. The French are suffering a great disadvantage in numbers. Charlemagne dispatches couriers and obtains reinforcements of 10,000 men from King Gondelbuef of Frisia, King Bruno of Hungary, and King Salemon of Brittany, respectively. He also writes to Didier of Pavia, which is relatively nearby, asking for provisions.
Now Archbishop Turpin tells the king one man is still crucially missing as ally, namely, Duke Girart d'Eufrate, though the man is antagonistic towards the monarch. Turpin as his kinsman offers to be an envoy to try to recruit him. Girart, despite being such a "rebel baron", will fight well for the Christian cause, and play a decisive role in defeating the Saracen king and prince.
Charlemagne's nephew Roland is not considered a fully an adult, so that he and other youngsters are forbidden from joining the battle and kept under guards at Montloon/Monloon i.e., Laon. Roland of course will not be kept back, and will enter the fray.
Turpin on his mission reaches Girart's city of Vienne, and interrupts his whole extended family having their meal, i.e., Girart attended by 4 knight, his son Ernault, his nephews Beuvon and Claron and Milon their father.. But Turpin rides off, thinking he failed to recruit Girart.
The poem turns to Roland Roland and the youths, locked away at Laon, while they hear the noise of Charlemagne's troops marching by. The youths beg the porter to let them out to go see, but in the end, club them with applewood sticks and escape. They come across soldiers from Brittany and steal their horses. But Roland is forgiven by the King Salemon of Brittany.
Young Richer also deserves mention; this nephew of Count Berenger of Aspermont devours his horse. Naimes scolds him and takes possession of Charlemagne's letter.
Naimes assuming the mission of messenger leaves Laon and arrives at the enemy camp, to ask Agolant about the invasion. He is stopped by Gorhan who has borrowed a white horse to ride, but covets Naime's black horse Morel and they fight until Naimes has the upper hand; a truce is called, and Gorhan agrees to convey Naimes to see Agolant, but fears Naimes may be risking death. Indeed Agolant is advised by his well-informed spy Sorbrin that Naimes should be dismembered to cause Charlemagne the greatest grief. But Balan intercedes, and Naimes carries message back to Charlemagne that the forces shall meet and fight in three days time, though the pagans will show mercy if Charlemagne will convert to Mahometism. Naimes catches the seductive attention of Agolant's queen who gives him a gold ring that wards against magic and poisons. Balan also offers riches to the reluctant Naimes, and finally prevails upon him to accept a horse whiter than snow or crystal as a gift to the French king. Naimes returns riding it, and transfers the white destrier over to Charlemagne.
Naimes had ridden back escorted by Balan, via a different route, and was shown the tower held by Aumon, with 100,000 Turks, guarding the mountain pass on Aspremont leading to lands beyond. Naimes advises that the outmanned French could still gain victory if they concentrate the attack on Aumon himself. The odds are 100,000 Saracens pitted against 30,000 Christians. Aumon is armed with the famed sword Durendal mounted on his "ebony horse". Geoffrey the Angevin and Huon/Hugh of Mans/Manseau are companions in combat, and the former takes down a Turk from Argenoi, the latter a cousin of Aumon. Hector, Aumon's flag-bearer, is killed by Richer, and although Aumon salvages his flag, Aumon is now put to flight.
Girart de Fraite does arrive to help, hoisting the flag of St. Maurice, with a force 60,000 strong. The French forces regroup. The vanguard division has 7,000 troop, the 2nd division of 7,000 under Duke Milon, Duke Naimes leading the 3rd division of 25,000, and there are also the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th divisions or battalions, for a total of 60,000.
Roland joins the battle by arming himself with a stick or truncheon and mounting a horse, afterwards commandeering Duke Naime's horse Morel. Charlemagne fights Aumon in single combat, initially protected by a helm with a jewel on the nasal that even sustains blows from Aumon's sword Durendal. But Aumon strips this helm away and Charlemagne is in mortal danger, when Roland arrives. Roland defeats Aumon and saves Charlemagne. Roland captures Aumon's olifant, his sword Durendal and his horse Viellantif.
The work turns to the second half or Book Two. The French have taken over Aumon's tent and camp, and there is held a ceremony distributing spoils and promotions. Girart d'Eufrate motions to have some 3000 men dubbed knights, and the crowd head for Charlemagne to get properly armed.
Charles knights Roland, girding him with Durendal.
In the end, Agolant is killed in battle and Charlemagne returns in triumph. Girart d'Eufrate in open speech submits to the king Charles, but sotto voce mutters that his pride will not tolerate it.

Analysis

Among Charlemagne's s, the Duke Naimes performs as the all-accomplished knight in this work. In the version edited by Guessard, Naimes is hailed as Charlemagne's foremost counsellor, Gautier quotes from Guessard's version on Duke Naimes that "He gave no advice, neither great nor small, that would cause an honest man to be disinherited, nor would he harm widows or young children". Oddly, in the edition edited by Brandin, Girart d'Eufrate makes a very similar speech to Charlemagne that an ideal king should, among other things, "..help orphans and feed them from his purse. Look after widows and their safety preserve" near the beginning of the second book of the work.
More such speech comes from Duke Naimes which Gautier characterizes as a prime example of largesse: Naimes counsels Charles "Do not be stingy in your expenditure, even though not a farthing may remain" in the treasury, offering his own wealth to be used first, to be distributed preferentially to the "poor knights, so that their wives may benefit", with the result that the "poor vavasours" leave like and counts. Gautier's idealization is somewhat taken out of context, because Naime's counsel explicitly states that this is to ingratiate themselves to warriors especially while they are poor, so that in time of military need they will respond to call for help.
On the youthful exploits of Roland in this work, it is pointed out that there is a general taboo which forbids the underaged heroes not yet knighted from wielding edged weapons. Although Ogier, Vivien, and Garin breached this rule, other heroes such as the young Guillaume d'Orange refused his weapon until properly dubbed, as id Renier. Young Roland somewhat follows the pattern of using a stick as weapon, rather like Guillaume d'Orange's brother-in-law using a tinel.

Manuscripts and editions

The base manuscript used by Louis Brandin in his 1919–1921 edition was the "Wollaton Hall" manuscript, which he designated as W, now Nottingham, University of Nottingham Library, Wollaton Library Collection, shelfmark Mi LM 6. Michael A. Newth's English translation also used the Wollaton Hall manuscript, matching Brandin's edition. Mandach's study excerpted text using Add MS 35289 as base text, with the Franco-Italian Venice VI used as control, considering it to be very close to his base text.
There were 17 manuscripts known to Fritz Roepke ; there were 20 identified by Moisan with actually four additional mss. are tabulated by Monfrin in a comparison chart listing the different sigla used by various editors.
Of these, the purely French manuscripts are: P¹P²P³P⁴P⁵ are Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, français, 2495, 25529, 1598; BnF nouvelles acquisitions françaises, 5094, and 10039. L¹L²L³ are London, British Library, Royal 15 E vi., Lansdowne MS 782, and Add MS 35289. B is Berlin, ms. Gall. qu. 48 ; Br is Brussels, KBR, IV 621 ; C is Clermont-Ferrand, ; Ch was formerly Cheltenham, Thomas Phillipps Library, but now housed in Geneva; E Erfurt; ; R is Rome, Vatican Library, Reginensi latini, 1360.
Other mss. recategorized as versions of the Cantari d'Aspramonte, i.e., the Franco-Italian reworking are Roepke's V¹V² Venice Biblioteca Marciana ms. fr. 225 and ms. fr. 226 abbreviated as V4 and V6 by de Mandach. Likewise Roepke's F Florence, cl. IV, Nr. 932 belongs here, and the P³ is cross-categorized here also. The manuscript Cha Chantilly Musée Condé library ms. 470 is another addition to this Franco-Italian category.

Reception

Versions of this chanson were extremely popular in England, to the extent that copies were manufactured or commissioned by the English and many copies made in Anglo-Norman). The work was received in Italy through the adaption by Andrea da Barberino, and in Scandinavia, where this poem and the Pseudo-Turpin were combined into Karlamagnús saga Branch IV.
The combining of the sources in the Norse saga has forced Aspremont to be located in Spain, rather than in Calabria, Italy as occurs in the original French poem.