w exist.

There are three great groups or cycles of French epics: first the
Cycle of France, dealing specially with Charlemagne,--the champion of
Christianity,--who, representing Christ, is depicted surrounded by
twelve peers instead of twelve disciples. Among these, to carry out
the scriptural analogy, lurks a traitor, Ganelon; so, in the course of
the poems, we are favored with biblical miracles, such as the sun
pausing in its course until pagans can be punished, and angels
appearing to comfort dying knights. The finest sample of this cycle is
without doubt the famous Chanson de Roland, of which a complete
synopsis follows. Other remarkable examples of this cycle are
Aliscans, Raoul de Cambrai, Garin le Lorrain, Guillaume d'Orange, Les
Quatre Fils d'Aymon, Ogier le Danois, etc.

Even the character of the hero varies from age to age, for whereas
Charlemagne in the Chanson de Roland--which dates perhaps as far back
as the tenth century--is a heroic figure, he becomes during later
periods, when vassals rise up against their overlords,--an object of
contempt and ridicule. A marked example of this latter style of
treatment is furnished by Les Quatre Fils d'Aymon.[7]

The second group, or cycle of Brittany, animated by a chivalrous
spirit, and hence termed court epic, finds its greatest exponent in
the poet Chrestien de Troyes, whose hero Arthur, King of Brittany,
gathers twelve knights around his table, one of whom, Mordred, is to
prove traitor. The principal poems of this cycle are Launcelot du Lac,
Ivain le Chevalier au Lion, Erec and Enide, Merlin, Tristan, and
Perceval. These poems all treat of chivalry and love, and introduce
the old pagan passion-breeding philtre, as well as a whole world of
magic and fairies. These epics will be noticed at greater length when
we treat of the English versions of Arthur and the Knights of the
Round Table, because many of the poems have been reworked in modern
English and are hence most popular in that language.

Besides the Chansons de Geste pertaining to various phases of this
theme, the Breton cycle includes many shorter works termed lais, which
also treat of love, and were composed by Marie de France or her
successors. The best known of all these "cante-fables" is the idyllic
Aucassin et Nicolette, of which a full account is embodied in this
volume.

One of the best samples of the domestic epic in this cycle is the
twelfth century Amis and Amiles, in which two knights, born a