The Reception of the Chansons de geste

Abstract

This article surveys the external evidence, dating from the eleventh to the sixteenth century, relating to the reception of the chansons de geste. The evidence, from sermons, property records, and a musical treatise, suggests a reception context for the chansons de geste which has strong ties with monasteries and ecclesiastical institutions, and which was institutionalized to some extent through confraternities, and probably exploited by the Church to political and doctrinal ends. The existence of such an audience does not necessarily place it in competition with military, aesthete, or marketplace audiences, since there may be many reception contexts for the genre.