La Chanson de Roland [with] Chronique de Turpin [= The Song of Roland with the Turpin Chronicle]; Poëme de Théroulde

Small 8vo. [5], iv-x, [6], 17-293, [5] pp. Half contemporary red artificially grained sheep over marbled paper boards, spine in six compartments with gold lettering on the spine. Marbled endpapers and pastedowns. This edition not in Graesse. The Song of Roland portrays a French knight who fought for Charlemagne at the end of the eighth century. The poem is said to be the oldest surviving complete work of French literature. The epic poem is followed by "Chronique de Turpin", the Carolingnian work on Charlemagne's campaigns in early-medieval Spain. The Turpin Chronicle is based on military legends of early-medieval France, but it is not in fact historical. Its composition is said to have taken place at the end of the eleventh century into the beginning of the twelfth century. Translated from the Anglo-Norman into modern French by Alex. De Saint-Albin; the Turpin Chronicle was originally written in Latin but is published here in French. A lovely edition of the epic poem integral to the French literary and historical canons. A bookplate from 1875 on the front pastedown, the faint odor of tobacco to the leaves.…