Le clerc obscur Rôle et représentation du clerc dans les chansons de geste tardives

Although their clerical inspiration is obvious, chansons de geste composed in the fourteenth century valorise the knightly ideal while they present a very negative image of the clergy, typically perceived as cowardly, greedy or lascivious. Moreover, the figure of the fighting clergyman, represented in epic tradition by Archbishop Turpin is eclipsed in these texts by the more ambiguous, but more picturesque, character of the enchanter.