Laisse
A laisse (f.) is the basic unit of the medieval French chansons de geste. It is made up of a varying number of lines, all of the same length (usually ten syllables1) and all assonating in the last accented syllable.
Blancandrins fut des plus saives paiEns ;
De vasselage fut asez chevalEr,
Prozdom i out pur sun seignur aidEr,
E dist al rei : « Ore ne vus esmaiEz !
Mandez Carlun, a l’orguillus e al fiEr,
Fedeilz servises e mult granz amistEz.
Vos li durrez urs e leons e chEns,
Set cenz camelz e mil hosturs muErs,
D’or e d’argent .IIII.C. muls cargEz,
Cinquante carre qu’en ferat cariEr :
Ben en purrat luer ses soldeiErs.
The laisse also normally has a unity of content; as a narrative unit it may be likened to a polaroid. Consult: the English Wikipedia stub on laisse.
- But an extra unaccented syllable can occur at the caesura and at the end of the line ↩