The Swan Knight Texts of the Old French Crusade Cycle

The Swan Knight texts provide an imaginary tale of the ancestry of Godfrey of Bouillon, first ruler of Jerusalem in the kingdom of Outremer. They form the opening section of the Old French Crusade Cycle, leading up to the fictionalised account of the crusade in the Chanson d’Antioche , Chanson des Chétifs and Chanson de Jérusalem . They comprise six stories: two versions of the childhood of Godfrey’s fictional ancestor, the Swan Knight, in the Elioxe and the Béatrix ; his battles with the Saxons