Jordain de Blaivies
The chanson tells the story of how Jordain, rescued by his godparents as an infant, enacts revenge on the evil lord Fromont, who killed his father.
His first effort fails when he kills the son of Charlemagne in battle and is forced to flee by sea.
Shipwrecked, he is rescued by a fisherman, enters the service of King Mark, defeats a Saracen attack and marries the princess Oriabel.
He subsequently leaves behind his infant daughter to search for his wife, winds up fighting more Saracens and stumbles upon his godfather.
Jordain with his wife and godfather returns to pick up his daughter, but she has been sent away to Constantinople by a jealous queen.
His daughter and her husband then inherit Constantinople, while Jordain succeeds King Mark and gives Blaye to his godfather.
[2] Together the two texts form what scholars term the geste de Blaye, a short literary cycle.
[2][4][5][6] There was also a Middle Dutch adaptation, Jourdein van Blaves, only fragments of which are extant.
A mid-12th century reference in a poem of Giraut de Cabreira shows that the story was well-known by then to Occitan troubadours.
[9] The villain of Jordain is Fromont, son of Hardré, who also appears in the Geste des Loherains cycle.
A series of counts of Sens named Fromont (Frotmundus) and Rainard in the 10th and 11th centuries are portrayed very negatively in their relations with the church and Christianity by the chroniclers Flodoard of Reims, Rodulfus Glaber and Hugh of Fleury.
The character of the archbishop of Palermo interprets all of Jordain's trials as acts of Divine Providence.
There are a few irregularities, such as lines of twelve syllables and an epic caesura falling after the sixth.
Konrad Hofmann, who edited both texts, considered Jordain superior to Amis et Amiles.
He comes to Blaye and suborns a pair of serfs to kill the lord, Girart, son of Ami, and his wife, Hermenjart, in their sleep.
He takes control of the town, but his position is not secure so long as Girart's infant son, Jordain, still lives in the care of his godparents, Renier and Eremborc, lord and lady of Valtamise.
His son, Lothair, impetuously joins the battle, attacks Renier and is killed by Jordain.
[20] Jordan, Renier and Eremborc take ship on the Gironde and head for the open ocean.
While Jordain escapes, his godparents are captured and taken to Mount Bruiant, where they are sold as slaves to King Salatien.
She accompanies him and gives birth at sea, whereupon a storm threatens the ship and its company has her thrown overboard in a chest with money, fine cloth and a letter of explanation.
Jordain continues to the Christian city of Orimonde, where he baptises his new daughter Gaudisce.
[20] When Jordain inadvertently anchors in a port held by Saracen pirates, a sea battle ensues.
In Orimonde, the queen tells to Jordain that his daughter is dead, but Gaudisce's former guardian, Josselme, admits the truth.
When Jordain arrives in the city, he learns of the prince's failed courting and goes to see the girl.
The whole party now goes through Italy to the court of Charlemagne at Orléans, where Renier intervenes to restore Jordain to the emperor's favour.
Advised by his nephew Foucart to attack while the besiegers are weary from travel, Fromont launches a night sally and is captured.
