chanson de geste

American  

[shahn-sawn duh zhest] / ʃɑ̃ sɔ̃ də ˈʒɛst /

noun

plural

chansons de geste

1. (in medieval French literature) an epic poem written in assonant verse or rhyme about historical or legendary events or figures.

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chanson de geste British  

/ ʃɑ̃sɔ̃ də ʒɛst /

noun

1. one of a genre of Old French epic poems celebrating heroic deeds, the most famous of which is the Chanson de Roland

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Etymology

Origin of chanson de geste

1865–70; < French: literally, song of deeds; see chanson, gest

Example Sentences

His sense of conduct had the enameled air of a chanson de geste; by turning himself into an Arthurian legend he could sublimate the horror of war.

From Time Magazine Archive

It is strictly a chanson de geste in form, and also in the general run of its incidents.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 2 "French Literature" to "Frost, William" by Various

And these comic touches have a little disturbed those who wish to find in the pure chanson de geste nothing but war and religion, honour and generosity.

From The Flourishing of Romance and the Rise of Allegory (Periods of European Literature, vol. II) by Saintsbury, George

As the comparison of the Conqu�te de Constantinoble with a chanson de geste is inevitable, so is that of Froissart’s Chronique with a roman d’aventures.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 2 "French Literature" to "Frost, William" by Various

Gaston Paris defined a chanson de geste as a song the subject of which is a series of historical facts or gesta.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 7 "Cerargyrite" to "Charing Cross" by Various