Chanson De Gestes (i.e. Songs of Deeds), poems of a narrative kind much in favour in the Middle Ages, relating in a legendary style the history and exploits of some famous hero, such as the “Chanson de Roland,” ascribed to Théroulde, a trouvère of the 9th century.
Definition taken from The Nuttall Encyclopædia, edited by the Reverend James Wood (1907)
Channing, William Ellery * Chantrey, Sir Francis