ABSTRACT
Chansons de geste have frequently been seen as reflecting the concept of the Crusade in fictionalised form. This paper looks at the use – or not – of crusading terminology in the chansons de geste, where we might most expect to find it: the epic vernacular depictions of crusading in Outremer. Such crusading terminology was familiar to contemporary authors who wrote about crusading. And these crusade epic texts draw a clear link between the Cross and the crusade. However, they differ in their use of crusading terminology. There is little if any use of the actual terms “croisade” and “croisié” in the largely fictional Old French Crusade Cycle. By contrast, we find some use of the terminology in the Anglo-Norman Siège d'Antioche, which is at pains to present itself as a historical text. And the Occitan Canso de la Crozada, a contemporary account of the Albigensian crusade, makes liberal use of not just the term “crozatz” but “crozada”, its two authors using the terminology for different ideological ends. The conclusion is that the Cycle texts present a glamourised fantasy version of crusade where the realities of crusading are glossed over and crusading terminology accordingly has little place. By contrast, epic texts which give a less fictionalised account of crusading do use such terminology.
