The Song of Bertrand du Guesclin by Cuvelier (review)

Nigel Bryant has translated several medieval French texts; his latest offering, Cuvelier's c. 1382 Chanson du Bertrand de Guesclin, expands the number of chivalric biographies available in English. The volume's production values are good. Maps locate places named in the text (though, since Cuvelier's chronology and geography were both defective, sometimes these have been identified conjecturally). Footnotes explain matters liable to be unclear to a non-specialist, without overburdening the text. A short, accessible introduction contextualizes the Song well. Bryant seemingly wishes to appeal to more than a purely academic audience. This is wise, since Cuvelier's poem is highly readable and Bryant's translation capable of carrying it to a wider constituency.

Bertrand du Guesclin was a major player of fourteenth-century European history: a minor Breton noble who rose, through his military expertise, to become the first Constable of France not of royal blood. Having cut his teeth on the War of the Breton Succession, he diverted the 'Great Company', a mercenary band ravaging the French countryside, into Spain on a quasi-crusade to defeat Pedro the Cruel, before returning to France to oppose the English as Constable. Despite his significance, du Guesclin's life is known mainly from Cuvelier's poem. This was adapted into French prose in the Middle Ages but has not previously been translated into English; Bryant's prose translation derives from the original, verse account. Like Chandos Herald, who penned a verse biography of the Black Prince, also in the 1380s, Cuvelier's identity is uncertain. Indeed, Chandos Herald appears briefly in the Song, as do fellow authors Henry, Duke of Lancaster (The Book of Holy Medicines, 1354) and Gaston Phoebus (Livre de chasse, c. 1388). Consensus holds that Cuvelier neither witnessed the events he described, nor knew his subject, though the work contains indications of having been tailored to a Breton audience. The life proceeds from Bertrand's (idealized) childhood, where he shows promise of his future potential, through to his death.

While those who can read medieval French will not need this translation, it may prove a handy reference tool, with its notes and introduction. For persons less proficient in the original language it should be invaluable, both for research and teaching purposes. Cuvelier's straightforward narrative, coupled with Bryant's fluent translation, render it simple for non-specialists to appreciate. By its means, students can be introduced to major issues and figures of the period and shown how they interrelate—not merely to the Hundred Years War but to events in Brittany and Spain as well. Cuvelier's detailed account, together with the oft-reiterated nature of the events he describes, means readers will emerge with a sense of how military campaigns unfolded: the logistical considerations of medieval warfare; the accommodations involved in ransom and surrender; knights' mentalities; and so forth. While not always reliable in terms of fact, Cuvelier conveys a feel for the period admirably. This makes the work valuable for research too. In literary terms, the Song can claim attention as one of the last chansons de geste. Its length and minuteness, however, offer insights to many scholars of the period, not only those focused on political history or du Guesclin's career. Cuvelier catalogues his characters' emotional states, not least the sentiments of knights preparing for battle or faced by fearsome adversaries; leaders opposing Bertrand are regularly furious, distressed, or aghast. The work is likewise a potential resource for studies of chivalric thinking, religion, gender studies, medieval proverbs, material culture, Franco-Breton relations, and many other matters.

The tensions and contradictions inherent in chivalry are exposed plainly in the text. Bryant's introduction surmises: 'Bertrand du Guesclin was an ideal hero for his time precisely because he perfectly embodied the fusion (and the blurring) of chivalric ideals and brutal pragmatism' (p. 15). The work provides copious support for this view. Du Guesclin mingled qualities such as...