Editing Old French (section)

==Literature==
{{Main|Medieval French literature}}

The material and cultural conditions in [[territorial evolution of France|France and associated territories]] around the year 1100 triggered what [[Charles Homer Haskins]] termed the "[[Renaissance of the 12th century]]", resulting in a profusion of creative works in a variety of genres. Old French gave way to [[Middle French]] in the mid-14th century, paving the way for early [[French Renaissance literature]] of the 15th century.

The earliest extant French literary texts date from the ninth century, but very few texts before the 11th century have survived. The first literary works written in Old French were [[hagiography|saints' lives]]. The ''[[Sequence of Saint Eulalia|Canticle of Saint Eulalie]]'', written in the second half of the 9th century, is generally accepted as the first such text. Further, some of the earliest medieval music has lyrics in Old French, composed by the earliest composers known by name.

At the beginning of the 13th century, [[Jean Bodel]], in his ''[[Chanson de Saisnes]]'', divided medieval French narrative literature into three subject areas: the [[Matter of France]] or Matter of [[Charlemagne]]; the [[Matter of Rome]] ([[Romance (heroic literature)|romances]] in an ancient setting); and the [[Matter of Britain]] ([[Arthurian romance]]s and [[Breton lai]]s). The first of these is the subject area of the {{lang|fro|[[Chanson de geste|chansons de geste]]}} ("songs of exploits" or "songs of (heroic) deeds"), [[epic poem]]s typically composed in [[decasyllable|ten-syllable]] [[assonance]]d (occasionally [[rhyme]]d) ''[[laisse]]s''. More than one hundred {{lang|fro|chansons de geste}} have survived in around three hundred manuscripts.<ref>''La Chanson de Roland.'' Edited and Translated into Modern French by Ian Short. Paris: Livre de Poche, 1990. p. 12. {{ISBN|978-2-253-05341-5}}</ref> The oldest and most celebrated of the {{lang|fro|chansons de geste}} is ''[[The Song of Roland]]'' (earliest version composed in the late 11th century).

[[Bertrand de Bar-sur-Aube]] in his ''[[Girart de Vienne]]'' set out a grouping of the {{lang|fro|chansons de geste}} into three [[literature cycle|cycle]]s: the ''Geste du roi'' centering on Charlemagne, the ''[[Geste de Garin de Monglane]]'' (whose central character was [[William of Gellone|William of Orange]]), and the ''Geste de [[Doon de Mayence]]'' or the "rebel vassal cycle", the most famous characters of which were [[Renaud de Montauban]] and [[Girart de Roussillon]].

A fourth grouping, not listed by Bertrand, is the ''[[Crusade cycle]]'', dealing with the [[First Crusade]] and its immediate aftermath.

[[Jean Bodel]]'s other two categories—the "Matter of Rome" and the "Matter of Britain"—concern the French [[Romance (heroic literature)|romance]] or ''roman''. Around a hundred verse romances survive from the period 1150–1220.<ref>{{in lang|fr}} Antoine Adam, Georges Lerminier, and Édouard Morot-Sir, eds. ''Littérature française.'' "Tome 1: Des origines à la fin du XVIIIe siècle", Paris: Larousse, 1967, p. 16.</ref> From around 1200 on, the tendency was increasingly to write the romances in prose (many of the earlier verse romances were adapted into prose versions), although new verse romances continued to be written to the end of the 14th century.<ref>{{in lang|fr}} Antoine Adam, Georges Lerminier, and Édouard Morot-Sir, eds. ''Littérature française.'' "Tome 1: Des origines à la fin du XVIIIe siècle", Paris: Larousse, 1967, p. 36–37.</ref>

The most important romance of the 13th century is the ''[[Romance of the Rose]]'', which breaks considerably from the conventions of the chivalric adventure story.

Medieval French [[lyric poetry]] began in the late 11th century, arising from the poetic and cultural traditions in [[Southern France]] and [[Provence]]—including [[Toulouse]] and the [[Aquitaine]] region, and flourished until the end of the 13th century. 
These first lyric poets composed and performed in Old Provençal ([[Old Occitan]]) and were called {{lang|pro|[[troubadors]]}} from the verb {{lang|pro|trobar}} "to compose, to discuss, to invent". The French word {{lang|fr|troubadour}} is borrowed from this Occitan word. Inspired by the Provençal poets, lyric poetry spread to their Northern French counterparts, who instead spoke {{lang|fr|langues d'oïl}} and were known as {{lang|fro|[[trouvères]]}}. 
It is thought that the Provençal troubadours were originally influenced by music and poetry from the [[Muslim Spain|Hispano-Arab world]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2025|reason=This is somewhat irrelevant, so its inclusion would seem to only be justified if this Muslim influence on Medieval French lyric poetry was large and notable. And in fact, in editing the prior sentences, I came across info indicating this influence is dubious/disputed.}}

By the late 13th century, the poetic tradition in France had begun to develop in ways that differed significantly from the troubadour poets, both in content and in the use of certain fixed forms. The new poetic (and musical) tendencies are apparent in the ''[[Roman de Fauvel]]'' in 1310 and 1314, a satire on abuses in the medieval church, filled with medieval [[motet]]s, [[Lai (poetic form)|lai]]s, [[Rondeau (music)|rondeaux]] and other new secular forms of poetry and music (mostly anonymous, but with several pieces by [[Philippe de Vitry]], who would coin the expression ''[[ars nova]]'' to distinguish the new musical practice from the music of the immediately preceding age). The best-known poet and composer of ''ars nova'' secular music and chansons of the incipient [[Middle French]] period was [[Guillaume de Machaut]].

Discussions about the origins of non-religious theater ({{lang|fr|théâtre profane}})—both drama and farce—in the Middle Ages remain controversial, but the idea of a continuous popular tradition stemming from Latin comedy and tragedy to the 9th century seems unlikely.

Most historians place the origin of medieval drama in the church's liturgical dialogues and "tropes". [[Mystery play]]s were eventually transferred from the monastery church to the chapter house or refectory hall and finally to the open air, and the vernacular was substituted for Latin. In the 12th century one finds the earliest extant passages in French appearing as refrains inserted into [[liturgical drama]]s in Latin, such as a [[Saint Nicholas]] (patron saint of the student clerics) play and a [[Saint Stephen]] play.
An early French dramatic play is {{Lang|fr|[[Le Jeu d'Adam]]}} ({{Circa|1150}}) written in octosyllabic rhymed couplets with Latin stage directions (implying that it was written by Latin-speaking clerics for a lay public).

A large body of [[fable]]s survive in Old French; these include (mostly anonymous) literature dealing with the recurring trickster character of [[Reynard]] the [[Fox]]. Marie de France was also active in this genre, producing the ''[[Ysopet]]'' (Little [[Aesop]]) series of fables in verse. Related to the fable was the more bawdy {{lang|fr|[[fabliau]]}}, which covered topics such as cuckolding and corrupt clergy. These {{lang|fr|fabliaux}} would be an important source for [[Chaucer]] and for the Renaissance short story ({{lang|fr|conte}} or {{lang|fr|nouvelle}}).

Among the earliest works of [[rhetoric]] and [[logic]] to appear in Old French were the translations of ''[[Rhetorica ad Herennium]]'' and [[Boethius]]' ''De topicis differentiis'' by [[John of Antioch (translator)|John of Antioch]] in 1282.

In northern Italy, authors developed [[Franco-Italian]], a mixed language of Old French and [[Venetian language|Venetian]] or [[Lombard language|Lombard]] used in literary works in the 13th and 14th centuries.