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Secondary sourceBookc. 1130

Roman d'Alexandre

Alexander of Paris · c. 1130

A long Old French verse romance of Alexander the Great, whose twelve-syllable verse gave the 'alexandrine' line its name.

A medieval French romance that turned Alexander into a chivalric hero for noble audiences.

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Manuscript miniature of a medieval battle: a crowned rider in a red robe with a feathered crest, lance raised, strikes a mail-armored rider on a grey horse, who is falling. Mounted knights with lances and a trumpeter fill the background under a blue sky with gold stars.
Alexander unhorses Porrus, king of India; miniature from the Roman d'Alexandre, British Library Royal MS 20 B xx, f. 53r.

About this source

What it is

The Roman d'Alexandre is a 16,000-verse twelfth-century Old French romance about the life of Alexander the Great, compiled from several earlier sources into its final form largely by Alexandre de Paris around 1130. Many manuscripts of the text are illustrated.

Why it matters

This romance shaped Alexander into a chivalric hero for medieval French nobility, exploring his bravery, generosity, and curiosity about the unknown world, while also questioning his downfall and death. Its twelve-syllable verse form gave its name to the 'alexandrine' line used in later French poetry. It shows how differently Alexander could be imagined centuries after his death.

Look closer

  • What does the illustrated scene of Alexander in battle tell us about how medieval artists pictured ancient warfare?
  • Why might medieval writers want their noble readers to see Alexander as a model knight?
  • How does legend differ from historical fact in this kind of romance?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Alexander the Great on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Detail of the Alexander Mosaic: a large ancient mosaic of a battle scene, with riders on horseback, spears raised, and fallen figures, in warm earth tones with a decorative border.Artifact

Secondary source

Alexander Mosaic

Philoxenus of Eretria · c. 120-100 BCE (copy of an earlier Hellenistic painting)

Medieval manuscript page with a pen-and-ink drawing in a blue and red border of a crowned rider on a horse, holding a raised sword, with Latin text above, beside and below the image.Painting

Secondary source

Alexander the Great riding Bucephalus

1460

Reverse side of a silver coin showing a seated Zeus holding an eagle on his outstretched left hand and a scepter in his right, with the inscription ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ on the right and ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ below.Artifact

Primary source

Silver Tetradrachm of Alexander the Great

Royal mints of Alexander III · c. 336-323 BCE

Oil painting of a reclining young man in a white tunic and red blanket, drinking from a gold cup held by an attendant. An older bearded man in a yellow cloak reads a scroll at left, and two standing men, one shirtless with a blue cloak, one in an orange tunic, look on. A spear, shield and helmet hang on the wall.Painting

Secondary source

Alexander the Great on his Sickbed

1806

Title page of a 1575 printed edition of Arrian's Anabasis of Alexander, in Greek and Latin. Title lines read Arrianou peri anabaseos Alexandrou, with Arriani De expedit. Alex. Magni, Historiarum Libri VIII. Woodcut of a man beneath a tree with a banner reading Nolo Altum Sapere.Book

Secondary source

Anabasis of Alexander

Arrian · c. 150 AD

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