GIRART DE ROUSSILLON

This article appears in Volume V12, Page 47 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

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GIRART DE ROUSSILLON , an epic figure of the Carolingian cycle of romance. In the genealogy of romance he is a son of Doon de Mayence, and he appears in different and irreconcilable
circumstances in many of the chansons de geste. The legend of Girart de Roussillon is contained in a Vita Girardi de Roussillon (ed. P. Meyer, in Romania, 1878), dating from the beginning of the 12th century and written probably by a monk of the abbey of Pothieres or of Vezelai, both of which were founded in 86o by Girart; in Girart de Roussillon, a chanson de geste written early in the 12th century in a dialect midway between French and Provencal, and apparently based on an earlier Burgundian poem; in a 14th century romance in alexandrines (ed. T. J. A. P. Mignard, Paris and Dijon, 1878); and in a

prose

PROSE

romance by Jehan Wauquelin in 1447 (ed. L. de Montille, Paris, 188o). The historical Girard, son of Leuthard and Grimildis, was a Burgundian

chief

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

who was

count

COUNT (Lat. comes, gen. comitis, Fr. comte, Ital. conte, Span. conde)

of Paris in 837, and embraced the cause of Lothair against Charles the Bald. He fought at Fontenay in 841, and doubtless followed Lothair to Aix. In 855 he became

governor

GOVERNOR (from the Fr. gouverneur, from gouverner, O. Fr. governer, Lat. gubernare, to steer a ship, to direct, guide)

Provence

PROVENCE (Provincia, Proenza)

for Lothair's son Charles, king of

Provence

PROVENCE (Provincia, Proenza)

(d. 863). His wife Bertha defended Vienne unsuccessfully against Charles the Bald in 87o, and Girard, who had perhaps aspired to be the titular ruler of the northern part of Provence, which he had continued to administer under Lothair II. until that prince's death in 869, retired with his wife to Avignon, where he died probably in 877, certainly before 879. The tradition of his piety, of the heroism of his wife Bertha, and of his wars with Charles passed into romance; but the historical facts are so distorted that in Girart de Roussillon the trouvere makes him the opponent of Charles Martel, to whom he stands in the relation of brother-in-law. He is nowhere described in authentic historic sources as of Roussillon. The title is derived from his castle built on

Mount

MOUNT, WILLIAM SIDNEY (1807-1868)

Lassois, near Cha.tillon-sur-Seine. Southern traditions concerning

Count

COUNT (Lat. comes, gen. comitis, Fr. comte, Ital. conte, Span. conde)

Girart, in which he is made the son of Garin de Monglane, are embodied in Girart de Viane (13th century) by Bertrand de Bar-sur-l'

Aube

AUBE

, and in the Aspramonte of

Andrea

ANDREA, GIOVANNI (1275-1348)

da Barberino, based on the French chanson of Aspremont , where he figures as Girart de Frete or 'de Fratte.' Girart de Viane is the recital of a siege of Vienne by Charlemagne, and in Aspramonte Girart de Fratte leads an army of infidels against Charlemagne. Girart de Roussillon was

long

LONG, GEORGE (1800-1879)
LONG, JOHN DAVIS (1838– )

held to be of Provencal origin, and to be a proof of the existence of an independent Provencal epic, but its Burgundian origin may be taken as proved.
See F. Michel, Gerard de Rossillon . . . publie en francais et en provencal d'apres les MSS. de Paris et de Londres (Paris, 1856); P. Meyer, Girart de Roussillon (1884), a

translation

TRANSLATION

in modern French with a comprehensive introduction. For Girart de Viane (ed. P. Tarb*, Reims, 185o) see L. Gautier, Epopees francaises, vol. iv.; F. A. Wulff, Notice sur les sagas de Magus et de Geirard (Lund, 1874).

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