chanson de geste
noun
(in medieval French literature) an epic poem written in assonant verse or rhyme about historical or legendary events or figures.
chansons de geste
-
pluralof chanson de geste.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The wealth of material is baffling to the ordinary student; of the medieval chansons de geste many hundreds of thousands of lines have been preserved.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 7 "Cerargyrite" to "Charing Cross" by Various
The general character of the chansons de geste, especially of those of the 12th century, is hard, coarse, inflexible, like the march of rough men stiffened by coats of mail.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 7 "Cerargyrite" to "Charing Cross" by Various
The chansons de geste stand in a real, positive, ancestral relation to all modern literature; there is something of them in all the poetry of Europe.
From Epic and Romance Essays on Medieval Literature by W. P. Ker
Perhaps the most important cycle of chansons de geste was that which was collected around the name of Charlemagne, and was known as the Geste du roi.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 7 "Cerargyrite" to "Charing Cross" by Various
The style in which the chansons de geste are written is something traditional, something common to the people and to the time, rather than characteristic of the individual authors.
From A History of French Literature Short Histories of the Literatures of the World: II. by Edmund Gosse
