La Chanson d'Otinel: Édition critique du remaniement anglo-normand (fin XIIe siècle)

The Song of Otinel is a chanson de geste that narrates the adventures of Otinel, a Muslim warrior who came to challenge Roland at the court of Charlemagne. On the verge of winning his duel against Charlemagne’s nephew, a miracle leads him to convert to Christianity. He is then promised in marriage to Belissent, the emperor’s daughter. The rest of the text recounts how Otinel accompanies the Frankish army to northern Italy to drive Emperor Garsie’s troops out of the territory after the capture of Rome. The Anglo-Norman version, placed under the the Feast of the Innocents, features a certain subversion of epic codes, all tinged with biting humor.
Likely composed on the continent in the second half of the 12th century, the Anglo-Norman reworking of the text seems to date from the end of the 12th century. The Anglo-Norman version of the text is preserved in two manuscripts, the Cologny codex (Cologny, Fondation Martin Bodmer, 168) and the Mende fragment (Paris, BnF, new French acquisitions, 5094). This edition allows the reader to appreciate the Anglo-Norman version of the text, offering a critical introduction that reflects on the literary (versification, adaptation) and linguistic aspects of the reworking.
This book proposes to study the local expression of a text, an essential link to understanding the rise of the legend of Otinel in northern Europe, as the Anglo-Norman version will serve as a model for various medieval translations of the text into English, Welsh, and Norse from the 14th century onwards.