The geste des Lorrains (or “Lorraine cycle”) is a monumental French epic corpus with a complex manuscript tradition. At its core is Garin le Lorrain (ca.1180), which is nearly always accompanied in the manuscripts by its first continuation, Girbert de Metz. [1] At 18,650 lines, Garin le Lorrain is the longest Old French epic from the early period (twelfth to early thirteenth century). Its popularity with medieval audiences is attested by the relatively large number of documents preserving the text, i.e., some twenty complete or nearly complete manuscripts and eight fragments.
Jean-Pierre Martin’s excellent translation of Garin le Lorrain into Modern French fills a gap in the body of scholarship devoted to the Lorraine cycle. There are two earlier modern translations, both in prose: the first in 1862 by Paulin Paris, who had already produced an edition of the poem in 1833-35, and the second in 1988 by Bernard Guidot, somewhat abridged but lively and engaging enough to appeal to non-specialists. [2] Martin’s translation joins a flurry of recent editions and studies on the Lorraine cycle. [3] His principal source is the version edited by Anne Iker-Gittleman, who based her 1997 edition on Paris BnF ms. fr 1582 (F). [4] Despite its many flaws (decasyllables converted to alexandrines, transcription errors, etc.) F is considered by both Gittleman and Martin to be the best surviving witness of a Vulgate. Although Martin frequently has occasion to correct or supplement Gittleman’s edition, it serves him well as a framework.
Published in the Champion series Traductions des Classiques français, Garin has a substantial critical apparatus. The 64-page Introduction opens with an evocative account of the story’s most famous episode, in which Garin’s brother Begon sets out alone to hunt a mythical wild boar: neither survives, and Begon’s death reignites the seemingly endless war between the “Lorrains” and the “Bordelais,” a multi-generational conflict between two great feudal houses. As Martin puts it, “Garin le Lorrain is a tale of an impossible friendship that turns into a bitter hatred between two lineages, in a world where blood ties still take precedence over the new social bonds that were already beginning to form” (Introduction, 10, my translation). In a section titled “Composition,” the author examines the narrative structure of this lengthy text, dividing it into parts and providing a useful summary of the story. Based on solid historical and codicological evidence, Martin convincingly argues that the poem in its current form is the product of accretion, likely beginning with an ancient tale such as the boar hunt or the murder of a prominent man. The section titled “Un tableau d’époque” contains a wealth of information on medieval France gleaned from the pages of Garin le Lorrain. He also brings to bear the conceptual model of the three orders or functions of society inherited from the Indo-Europeans (oratores, bellatores, and laboratores). This controversial approach to the medieval French epic, associated in France with the work of Joël Grisward, proves useful to Martin as a structuring principle, without reducing characters or plot lines to mere functions. [5]
Considering that Garin le Lorrain contains over four hundred characters, the section on “Personnages” is a valuable resource. After a thoughtful study of the fascinating Garin/Begon pair, Martin focuses on key characters whose words and actions influence the narrative in a significant way. One such is Queen Blanchefleur, who was originally intended for Garin until the conniving Pepin appropriated her for himself. Pepin is portrayed as a weak, ineffectual, and greedy monarch, easily swayed by gifts and promises. Blanchefleur’s role is to serve her royal husband’s interests, but she is a strong ally of the Lorrains and often sides with them in important decisions. Martin situates this character in a tradition of strong epic women: “What we have with these strong, energetic female characters is a type of energy that is cruelly lacking in the one charged with dispensing justice,” i.e. Pepin (60, my translation). The penultimate section of the Introduction, “De l’épique au tragique,” examines the different registers in Garin. The comic register is rather rare in this grim universe and is limited to the episode of Manuel Galopin, a free-wheeling distant relative who can run from Belin (in the region of Bordeaux) all the way to Orléans in less than three days. Mostly, though, Garin le Lorrain leans toward the tragic, depicting a world governed solely by brute force and a savage loyalty to one’s lineage. Martin muses over the paradoxical nature of this text, whose protagonists are caught in a never-ending cycle of revenge while at the same time eliciting our admiration for their courage and exploits. He suggests, with reason, that the beauty ofGarin is its capacity both to point out the moral failures of chivalry and celebrate its heroes in song (62).
With respect to form and “faithfulness” to the original songs, modern translations of the chansons de geste are on a continuum, with literal prose translation at one end and verse translations that imitate the metrical structure of the text-source at the other. Martin’s objective, as stated in his “Principes de traduction,” is to produce a text that is “readable” (lisible), which he defines as “comprehensible without notes and written in standard modern French, without making the poetic nature of the medieval language vanish” (61, my translation). His approach is a line-by-line modified free verse that attempts to preserve the rhythm of the Old French without forcing ancient words into modern molds. In order to accomplish this, he worked with units of four, six and eight syllables and preserved formulaic style whenever possible to provide at least the “sensation” of Old French epic rhythm. Other components of lisibilité include transparency and fluidity of language, both of which are enhanced by the absence of “museum words.” The translation proper is not only readable, but also a pleasure to read. Martin, one of the foremost specialists of the chanson de geste, and the Lorraine cycle in particular, is an experienced translator, having already produced translations of two chansons de geste using the same method. [6]
The front matter of the volume contains a list of works that Martin modestly calls “Éléments de bibliographie,” which is actually a useful bibliography, listing all previous editions and translations, and limiting studies to those published since 1992. The back matter is abundant. It begins with a list of corrections and transcription errors in Gittleman’s 1996 edition and corrections made to the manuscript. Martin’s detailed and meticulous notes, covering nearly a hundred pages, are filled with textual variants, explanatory comments, historical background, philological and codicological problems, and geographical information. This last item is of particular interest because Garin is known to be unusually precise and accurate in its itineraries. The volume concludes with a forty-page table of proper names and two maps, one tracing Begon’s itinerary from Belleville to Saint-Quentin during one of the earlier campaigns, and the other showing various journeys and voyages in the later years.
Jean-Pierre Martin’s translation of Garin le Lorrain is an important work, not only for its interpretation of the text, but also for the erudition displayed in the paratextual material. It is difficult to find anything to criticize in this book. I wonder, however, if it might be helpful for the target audience—presumably readers of modern French, but not Old French—to provide modern French translations of the citations in the Introduction. Of course, one could look up each quote in the text, but a translation might enhance readability for the entire volume. This is, however, a very minor point that does not at all detract from Martin’s admirable contribution to the Lorraine Cycle and the chansons de geste in general.
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Notes:
1. The identity of the author is contested. A certain Jean de Flagy, whose identity is unknown, is believed by some to have composed Garin le Lorrain; see the poem's explicit.
2. Paulin Paris, trans., Garin le Loherain: chanson de geste composée au XIIe siècle par Jean de Flagy, Paris: J. Hetzel, 1862; Bernard Guidot, trans., Garin le Lorrain: chanson de geste traduite en français moderne. Nancy, France: Presses Universitaires de Nancy, Editions Universitaires de Lorraine, 1986.
3. See especially Jean-Charles Herbin and Cécile Constance, eds., La mort Garin le Loherain, éditée d’après la Rédaction de I (Dijon 528) avec les variantes de N (Arsenal 3143),Paris: Droz, 2023.
4. Anne Iker- Gittleman, ed., Garin le Loherenc, 3 vols., Paris: Droz, 1997.
5. Joël H. Grisward, Archéologie de l’épopée médiévale structures trifonctionnelles et mythes Indo-Européens dans le cycle des Narbonnais. Préface de Georges Dumézil. Paris: Payot, 1981.
6. Beuve de Hamptone. Chanson de geste anglo-normande de la fin du XIIe siècle, édition bilingue établie, présentée et annotée par Jean-Pierre Martin, Paris: Honoré Champion Classiques, 2014; andOrson de Beauvais, traduction en français moderne par Jean-Pierre Martin. Paris: Honoré Champion éditeur, 2018.