Jourdain, Jourdaine Le lait de la parenté dans le Jourdain de Blaye en alexandrins

The reworking of Jourdain de Blaye into alexandrine verse—an example of epic production in the late Middle Ages—presents characteristics that are typical of contemporary texts in that it uses story-type 938, “the separated family.” Starting with the observation that the main innovations introduced by the one who reworked the text involve the hero’s descendants, this study analyzes the character of Jourdaine, the daughter of Jourdain, who takes the place of Gaudisse, the virtuous inheritor of the Lord of Blaye in the original chanson de geste.