in Italy. Jehan, Ganelon’s nephew, has obtained from Charlemagne a duchy in southern
Italy but converts to paganism; the ungrateful vassal then plots with Ganelon and Alori
against his benefactor, after which the latter exiles Alori for murder but Jehan offers him
hospitality. Charlemagne sends Roland and the twelve peers against the traitors; although
Roland kills Jehan’s father, Nivard, the peers are in great danger but are saved thanks to
the artifices of the magician Basin of Gennes. This poem makes many borrowings from
the Quatre fils Aymon and Maugis d’Aigremont; Basin, its real hero, is clearly an avatar
of the popular and valiant magician Maugis, cousin of Aymon’s sons. Among poems
having the wars in Italy as subject, Ogier le Danois, which takes place in upper Italy from
line 3,366 to 9,039 (in a poem of 12,346 lines), should also be mentioned.
Charlemagne’s war against Widukind’s Saxons was reflected in the lost Guiteclin de
Sassoigne of the second half of the 12th century, of which only traces remain in the
Karlamagnús saga and the Middle Dutch Gwidekijn van Sassen (late 14th c.); Jehan
Bodel’s incomplete Chanson des Saisnes (late 12th-early 13th c.) represents a courtly as
well as satirical reworking of the story.
Aiquin ou la conquête de la Bretagne par le roi Charlemagne (late 12th-early 13th c.;
preserved only in an incomplete 15th-c. manuscript, B.N. fr. 2233) narrates Charles’s
reconquest of Brittany from the Saracen Aiquin while returning with Roland’s father and
Naimes from a military expedition against the Saxons. Roland, Oliver, Ogier, and the
other peers are still too young to participate, although the poem alludes to young
Roland’s deeds in Aspremont and underscores his Breton birth.
In the Entrée d’Espagne, composed by a Padovan poet in the early 14th century,
Charles, having successfully fought the giant Ferragu, must besiege Pamplona; he has a
falling out with Roland because of the latter’s unauthorized conquest of the city of
Nobles, following which Roland leaves the French camp in a huff. This incomplete poem
was continued ca. 1343 in a much purer French by Nicholas of Verona in the Prise de
Pampelune (also called Guerre de Spagne), in which the action continues until after
Charlemagne’s return from Roncevaux. Between the conquest of Pamplona and the battle
of Roncevaux is Gui de Bourgogne (first quarter of the 13th c.; preserved in two copies
of the same century), an epic with moralistic intent in which the young knights around
Gui, whom they elect king of France, are pitted against the old peers surrounding
Charles, and Gui in particular against Roland. The action comes to a head at the siege of
Luiserne, the last pagan stronghold besides Saragossa. Competition between the armies
of “the young” and “the old” barons before Luiserne is so fierce—and the poet does not
hide his sympathy for the younger generation—that Charlemagne wishes Luiserne could
sink into the sea to end this rivalry. The poet’s creative verve gives the stock epic features
the charm of novelty, and the vivacity of his dramatic sense carries much of the poem.
The epilogue of the battle of Roncevaux is developed in two poems. Gaidon (1230–
34; three manuscripts) is a hybrid between the King and Rebellious Vassal cycles. It
begins after Ganelon’s punishment, which takes place in Spain, where the hero, Thierry
(surnamed Gaidon because a jay [OFr. gai], once perched on his helmet), is victorious
over Pinabel. Because of the intrigues of Ganelon’s clan and his own pitiful weakness,
Charlemagne neglects those who are loyal to him, among whom are Naimes, Ogier, and
Thierry-Gaidon; the latter is pushed into a lengthy feud with the emperor, in which the
young knights side with Gaidon while their fathers fight for Charlemagne, as in Gui de
Bourgogne. However, Gaidon continuously seeks reconciliation and finally succeeds
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