Matter of France
The cycle springs from the Old French chansons de geste, and was later adapted into a variety of art forms, including Renaissance epics and operas.These are his words: At Saint-Denis, in the great abbey, we find it written (I don't doubt) in a book of noble lineage that there have been only three gestes in well-defended France (I think no-one will argue with me now).In his lineage I can well testify that there was not a single coward or good-for-nothing or traitor or vile flatterer; rather they were wise and bold knights and good fighters and noble warriors.Originally, the Matter of France contained tales of war and martial valour, being focused on the conflict between the Franks and Saracens or Moors during the period of Charles Martel and Charlemagne.Einhard's Vita Caroli describes the Basque ambush at Roncevaux as driving the Frankish rearguard down the valley.The poet who wrote the Chanson de Roland did not hesitate to update the military tactics to a set-piece cavalry charge on the part of the Saracens, although retaining a landscape unsuitable for couched lances.Tales of the Matter of France were also found in Old Norse, where the Karlamagnus Saga was written in the thirteenth century in Norway;[5] it contains a synopsis of the main stories of the cycle.