Oliver's Genealogy In the chason de geste Gérard de Vienne*, Olvier's family tree is as shown in the family tree here. Oliver's paternal grandfather was Garin de Monglane and his and his father was Renier (or Duc Rénier). Oliver's uncles Girart (or Gérard)* had been robbed of his fiancée by King Charles, and receives an investiture over the fiefdom of Vienne as recompense. *(→geography), however his unrequieted bitter spite escalates into war between his family and the royals. For a time, Girart and his kinsmen are besieged at Vienne until the matter is finally resolved by combat between champions (i.e., Roland vs. Oliver). (* More details from →plotline). The historical personage(→) who became the model for Girart de Vienne lived during a later era in the 8 th century, contemporaneous with Charles' son and grandson, Louis the Pious and Charles the bald. (* →Girart de Rousillon, a douzepere).	[Stemma of Oliver's Clan]     Garin de Monglane       |     ————————————————————————— |                                |                           |                     |   Girart de Vienne   Hernaud de Beaulande     Milon de Pouille   Renier de Gennes     | |       Roland ?   Olivier
	The chanson de geste of Oliver's grandfather Garin de Monglande has lent its name to one of the →Three Great Cycles into which French gestes are classified. Each of Girart's sibling (except Milon) also has a geste of his own.	Oliver has an uncle Milon de Pouille�i*Pouill is the province of Apulia* at the southern end of Italy, but what sort of personality is he? Roland's father Milon de Anglers may be of southern Italian origins, since Milon's father Bernard comes from Clermont(Chiaromonte) which is just next door to the province of Pouille(Apulia). It may have been the author's intention to make Roland and Oliver blood relatives.

• Hauteclaire, Haute-Claire[F], HALTECLERE[AF]
  Oliver's sword. The hilt is of gold, with a ball of crystal for its pommel.
  The blade is once again, forged of "brown steel" [rendered as "glittering" in the Japanese translation].
  The name means "High and Pure" [according to Iwanami].
  In a later chanson de geste or prose romance entitled Fierabras, or in Caxton's translation of
  it entitled Charles the Grete, Oliver gains possession of a sword named Baptism (or Baptême[F.]).
• ???
  *The Song of Roland does not specify the name of Oliver's steed, but in the later work Fierabras or
  its English translation, Caxton's Charles the Grete Oliver owns or gains possession of a horse named
  Ferraunt Despaygne or Feraunt of Spayne [Ferrant D'Espagne[F]], which means "an iron gray horse from Spain".
  [There is some confounding in the text. In Charles the Grete Book II, Part Two, Oliver seems to own
  a horse named Feraunt of Spayne in Chapter 5. But in Chapter 9, it is his single combat adversary Fierabras
  the saracen giant who owns Ferraunt Despaygne, which is later bequeathed to Oliver. ]

Hauteclaire the sword
107:1363-

{Japanese}Iwanami Notes to Line 1363: The meaning of the word is "high and pure" or 
"verily pure". Details of the sword can be found in [the chanson de geste] 
Gerard de Vienne (Gautier). 

{orig.}  
     («)U EST VOSTRE ESPEE ,KI HALTECLERE AD NUM$ D OR EST LI HELZ E DE 
     CRISTAL LI PUNZ.»
{Eng.}  
     (")Where is your sword, that Halteclere I knew?
     Golden its hilt, whereon a crystal grew."

147:1952-
{orig.}    
      OLIVER SENT,QUE A MORT EST FERUT,
      TIENT HALTECLERE,DUNT LI ACER FUT BRUNS. FIERT MARGANICES 
      SUR L ELME A OR AGUT,
      E FLURS E PIERRES EN ACRAVENTET JUS,
{Eng.}  
     Oliver feels that he to die is bound,
     Holds Halteclere, whose steel is rough and brown,
     Strikes the alcaliph on his helm's golden mount;
1955 Flowers and stones fall clattering to the ground,

• Joyeuse Joyeuse[F], JOIUSE[AF]
  The sword girded by Charles (first occurs li. 2501). Its golden hilt contains the tip of the
  so-called "Spear of Longinus" which is reputed to have pierced the crucified Jesus [and
  thus received a bath of His Blood. This is the reason why the sword was dubbed with
  this name which means "joyous" (li. 2509).
  Also, the French battle cry of "Monjoie!" (which means "my joy") also owes its derivation
  to the sword name.(li. 2510).
  *A French coronation sword once reputed to be Charlemagne's is preserved in the Louvre museum.

• Tencendor Tencendor [F], TENCENDUR [AF]
  The war-charger ridden by Charles. (first occurence/account of how he obtained it: li 2993).
  Its meaning is ??? (uncertain.)

• Shield of Girunde ESCUT DE BITERNE [AF]
  The shield which Charles suspended from his neck by a strap(guyge) (li 2991), we are told,
  was manufactured in "Biterne".
  According to Iwanami notes, "Biterne" is "probably the city Viterbe(Viterbo) north of Rome."
  *For some reason, Moncrieff has rendered this to be the département of Gironde
  in the Bordeau region, but is this perhaps from a different manuscript?
  * It would seem to be a mistaken when Moncrieff's English translation construes BRANDIR[AF] to mean "from Blandune" rather than "to brandish". I have a hard time placing where this Blandune might be.
  Brandune was glossed as an old spelling of Brandon in Warwickshire.

Charles' sword and its relic

184:2498-
{orig.}
      ICELE NOIT NE SE VOLT IL DESARMER,
      SI AD VESTUT SUN BLANC OSBERC SAFFRET
      LACIET SUN ELME,KI EST A OR GEMMET,
      CEINTE JOIUSE, UNCHES NE FUT SA PER,
      KI CASCUN JUR MUET XXX CLARTEZ.
      ASEZ SAVUM DE LA LANCE PARLER,
      DUNT NOSTRE SIRE FUT EN LA CRUIZ NASFRET. CARLES EN AD LA 
      MURE MERCIT DEU,
      EN L ORET PUNT L AD FAITE MANUVRER, 
      PUR CESTE HONUR E PUR CESTE BONTET
      LI NUMS JOIUSE L ESPEE FUT DUNET.
      BARUNS FRANCEIS NEL DEIVENT UBLIER,
      ENSEIGNE EN UNT DE MUNJOIE CRIER.
      PUR CO NES POET NULE GENT CUNTRESTER.

{Eng.}
     That Emperour is lying in a mead;
     By's head, so brave, he's placed his mighty spear;
     On such a night unarmed he will not be.
     He's donned his white hauberk, with broidery,
2500 Has laced his helm, jewelled with golden beads,
     Girt on Joiuse, there never was its peer,
     Whereon each day thirty fresh hues appear.
     All of us know that lance, and well may speak
     Whereby Our Lord was wounded on the Tree:
2505 Charles, by God's grace, possessed its point of steel!
     His golden hilt he enshrined it underneath.
     By that honour and by that sanctity
     The name Joiuse was for that sword decreed.
     Barons of France may not forgetful be
2510 Whence comes the ensign "Monjoie," they cry at need;
     Wherefore no race against them can succeed.

Charles' sword, shield, lance, and destrier

216:2987-
{orig.}
      LI EMPERERES TUZ PREMEREINS S 
      ADUBET,
      ISNELEMENT AD VESTUE SA BRUNIE,
      LACET SUN HELME, SI AD CEINTE JOIUSE
      KI PUR SOLEILL SA CLARTET NEN ESCUNSET,
      PENT A SUN COL UN ESCUT DE BITERNE,
      TIENT SUN ESPIET, SIN FAIT BRANDIR LA HANSTE, EN TENCENDUR, 
      SUN BON CHEVAL, PUIS MUNTET- IL LE CUNQUIST ES GUEZ DESUZ 
      MARSUNE,
      SIN GETAT MORT MALPALIN DE NERBONE-
      LASCHET LA RESNE, MULT SUVENT L ESPERONET, FAIT SUN ESLAIS, 
      VEANT CENT MIL HUMES, AOI. RECLEIMET DEU E L APOSTLE DE 
      ROME.

{Eng.}
     First before all was armed that Emperour,
     Nimbly enough his iron sark indued,
     Laced up his helm, girt on his sword Joiuse,
2990 Outshone the sun that dazzling light it threw,
     Hung from his neck a shield, was of Girunde,
     And took his spear, was fashioned at Blandune.
     On his good horse then mounted, Tencendur,
     Which he had won at th'ford below Marsune
2995 When he flung dead Malpalin of Nerbune,
     Let go the reins, spurred him with either foot;
     Five score thousand behind him as he flew,
     Calling on God and the Apostle of Roum.

• Monjoie Monjoie[F], MUNJOIE[AF]

  The war-banner or oriflamme[E, F], ORIEFLAMBE[AF] of King Charles. The name given
  to the banner (li. 3095) was "Monjoie", the same as the French battle cry.
  Its standard-bearer was GEFREID D'ANJOU[AF], namely Geofroi d'Anjou [F] or Geoffrey of Anjou.
  * Question about the Iwanami version J. trans.: The original text does not enunciate that that the banner
  was "red" so the question arises whether one can assert that it was a "red" "sovereign flag of gold" [J. trans.]
  On, this please see my Question 1 below.
  In the Iwanami translation the relevant passage is translated to read that the oriflamme was once at the Saint
  Peter's old Cathedral in Rome, and was formerly called the "Rome banner", thence renamed "Monjoie" by
  the French.
  *Referring to the original text, the banner it actually says the old name was Romaine [F] (Roman [E]).
  I personally think it makes better sense to say this meant "the banner once had a Roman name"
  i.e. "it had somesuch name in Latin". Perhaps it was just called the vexillum.
  

Charles' war-banner
226:3093-
{orig.}
      ..OD ELS EST CARLEMAGNE. GEFREID D ANJOU PORTET L ORIEFLAMBE,
      SEINT PIERE FUT, SI AVEIT NUM ROMAINE.
      MAIS DE MUNJOIE ILOEC OUT PRIS ESCHANGE. AOI.
{Eng.}
     ..With them goes Charlemagne.
     Gefreid d'Anjou carries that oriflamme;
     Saint Peter's  twas, and bare the name Roman,
3095 But on that day Monjoie, by change, it gat.
                         AOI.

{Japanese}Iwanami notes for line 3094
3094 - The sovereign banner was once at St. Peter's Church and had the name Roman Banner — 
The line merely expounds upon the origins of where the oriflamme (previous line) came from. Accord-
ing to Gautier's investigations, the oldest (9th century) oriflamme is to be found on the mosaics of the 
"dining hall" of the Saint-Jean de Lateran Church, and of the two mosaics, one depicts Charlemagne 
being handed a green flag from Saint Peter, and this is the flag of the city of Rome and the pope. 
In the second mosaic, Charles is likewise given a flag from Christ, but this is the imperial, i.e., 
St. Peter's banner which had the name of "Rome Banner".  That is to say, the Carolingian oriflamme 
and the Capetian oriflamme were confounded.

*Question 2: History of the Mosaic in Rome -- Was the oriflamme green ?
The Iwanami notes to line 3094 says that the mosaic depicting Charlemagne receiving a banner from
St. Peter is in the Cathedral of Saint John Lateran [E] Basilique de Saint-Jean de Lateran[F]
San Giovanni Laterano [It.] but this is not precisely accurate.
  I find that it is a different building [at more or less the same site] with quite a different history, namely,
the Palazzo del Laterano. The history of this builiding is as follows:
  The palace was a gift by Constantine to the papacy, and it was used as papal residence for a thousand
years. However, the edifice fell into disrepair during the Avignon Period when the pope moved to
France, and was damaged in the fires of the years 1307 and 1361. An immense sum was devoted to
its restoration, but it never regained its former splendor. Pope Sixtus V (1585~90) demolished the
ruin and constructed the much smaller structure at the site, which remains today.

However, the apse portion that is covered with mosaic, which still remains today in open-air, is
a vestige of the Triclinium of Leo III[E.] Triclinio di Leone III [It.] which was the state dining
room used by Pope Leo.
The mosaic is in three parts. The mosaic on the right shows the disciple Peter seat in the center,
granting a green banner (vexillum) to Charlemagne on the right, while granting a pallium (a cape
or stole) to Pope Leo on the left.
The center mosaic is Christ giving his disciples the evangelical mission. The one on the left shows
Christ giving the pope St. Sylvester a key while giving Constantine the labarum banner
[The banner which combines Christ's monograms and thus also called the chi-rho(ΧΡ)].

                                    —source:Catholic Encylcopedia, on "Saint John Lateran".

The original mosaic work dates to ca. 800AD, around when Charlmagne had his coronation in Rome.
Since the portrait of Pope Leo is endowed with a square nimbus, this tells us it was made while Leo III
(pope 795 ~ 816) was still alive. (source: Chris Nyborg's guide to the churches of Rome).
The mosaic that remains today is largely restored, though there is possibility that some of the original
tiles still remain.

As for the green flag being handed to Charles, the heraldric scholar Donald Lindsay Galbraith has
described it as:

"it is a green flag of the gonfalon type with three tails, with numerous gold dots
and with 6 disks coloured red, black and gold, which doubtless are meant to represent embroidery."
                                    —from Heraldica.

• dart with golden feathers gay, ALGIER(KI D OR FUT ENPENET) [AF]
  A dart(javelin) which he is on the brink of casting in anger at Ganelon. (line 439)
• Gaignon, Gaignon[F], GAIGNUN[AF]
  Marsil's horse.(first occurence 143:1890). Means "domestic dog, guard dog, watchdog" (cf. glossaire de l'ancien Français

Dart with golden feathers gay
34:439-
{orig.}
      LI REIS MARSILIES EN FUT MULT ESFREED,
      UN ALGIER TINT, KI D OR FUT ENPENET,
      FERIR L EN VOLT, SE N EN FUST DESTURNET, AOI.
{Eng.}
     King Marsilies was very sore afraid,
     Snatching a dart, with golden feathers gay,
440  He made to strike: they turned aside his aim.
                         AOI.

Equipment and gear of the Saragosse force (Marsile and his men)
80:994-{orig.}
      PAIEN S ADUBENT DES OSBERCS SARAZINEIS,
      TUIT LI PLUSUR EN SUNT DUBLEZ EN TREIS,
      LACENT LOR ELMES MULT BONS SARRAGUZEIS,
      CEIGNENT ESPEES DE L ACER VIANEIS,
      ESCUZ UNT GENZ ESPIEZ VALENTINEIS
      E GUNFANUNS BLANCS E BLOIS E VERMEILZ,
{English}
     Ready they make hauberks Sarrazinese,
995  That folded are, the greater part, in three;
     And they lace on good helms Sarragucese;
     Gird on their swords of tried steel Viennese;
     Fine shields they have, and spears Valentinese,
     And white, blue, red, their ensigns take the breeze,
{Japanese}Iwanami Notes to Line 997
     steel Viennes— the expression steel from Vienne frequently occurs in old texts. 
     perhaps Vienne in the Dauphineé region?

81:1021-
{orig.}
«DEVERS ESPAIGNE VEI VENIR TEL BRUNUR
      TANZ BLANCS OSBERCS TANZ ELMES FLAMBIUS, 

{Eng.}
     "What sound is this, come out of Spain, we hear,
     What hauberks bright, what helmets these that gleam?
Iwanami Notes to Line 1022
      white hauberks(hauberks bright)— rather than being especially colorated, 
      it means that the new iron has been polished bright.  
      Quicherat cites there were also blue and green colorations. 

82:1030-
{orig.}
      E SARRAZINS,KI TANT SUNT ASEMBLEZ.
      LUISENT CIL ELME,KI AD OR SUNT GEMMEZ,
      E CIL ESCUZ E CIL OSBERCS SAFREZ
      E CIL ESPIEZ CIL GUNFANUN FERMEZ,

{Eng.}
     And Sarrazins, so many gathered.
     Their helmets gleam, with gold are jewelled,
     Also their shields, their hauberks orfreyed,
     Also their swords, ensigns on spears fixed.

Iwanami Notes to Line 1032
hauberks with saffre ornamented (hauberks orfreyed)— Some theorize 
this to mean armor colored yellow using "zinc oxide" (Foulet), while others 
interpret this to be chain armor with brass wires woven in (Gautier).

• Precieuse, Precieuse[F], PRCIEUSE, PRECIUSE[AF]
  Baligant's sword. (first occurence is probably the lacuna on 229:3146). Having heard the
  renown and repute of Charles'sword Joyeuse, Baligant has the temerity to mimic that name
  and name his own sword thusly. The sword name gave rise to the Saracen battle cry of
  "Precieuse!" The name means "precious".

• Maltet, Maltet[F, AF]
  Baligan's spear. (first occurence 229:3152). It is so stout, its spearpoint is heavy enough to burden a mule. Meaning uncertain.
* The kharwar (or harwar) which translates to an "ass load" is a unit of mass used in medieval Persia, and is equal to 100 mann or about 350 lb. This is likely what was meant by the expression "heavy enough to burden a mule".
? ? ? brown horse[E] destrier brun[F], DESTRER BRUN[AF]
Amir Baligant's brown/bay war-horse (202:2816). Its name is not known to us, but since it can
bear the weight of the mightily stout Maltet and yet leap a 50-foot ditch, so it is no ordinary horse(*2292:3152-4, 3265-7).

229:3144-
{orig.}
      PAR SUN ORGOILL LI AD UN NUM TRUVET,
      PUR LA CARLUN DUNT IL OIT PARLER
      . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
      CO ERT S ENSEIGNE EN BATAILLE CAMPEL,
      SES CEVALERS EN AD FAIT ESCRIER.
      PENT A SUN COL UN SOEN GRANT ESCUT LET,
      D OR EST LA BUCLE E DE CRISTAL LISTET,
      LA GUIGE EN EST D UN BON PALIE ROET.
      TIENT SUN ESPIET, SI L APELET MALTET,
      LA HANSTE GROSSE CUME UNS TINELS,
      DE SUL LE FER FUST UNS MULEZ TRUSSET.
      EN SUN DESTRER BALIGANT EST MUNTET,

{English}
3145 Like to Carlun's, as he has heard it said,
     So Preciuse he bad his own be clept;
     Twas their ensign when they to battle went,
     His chevaliers'; he gave that cry to them.
3150 His own broad shield he hangs upon his neck,
     (Round its gold boss a band of crystal went,
     The strap of it was a good silken web;)
     He grasps his spear, the which he calls Maltet; --
     So great its shaft as is a stout cudgel,
     Beneath its steel alone, a mule had bent;
3155 On his charger is Baligant mounted,

Baligant's war-charger

202:2813-
�oorig.�p
      LI AMIRALZ, KI TRESTUZ LES ESMUT,
      SIN APELET GEMALFIN, UN SUN DRUT,
      [JO TE CUMANT DE TUTE MES OZ L AUN[.
      PUIS EST MUNTE EN UN SUN DESTRER BRUN,
{Eng.}
     Their admiral, by whom they all were ruled,
     Called up to him Gemalfin, whom he knew:
     "I give command of all my hosts to you."
     On a brown horse mounted, as he was used,

---

List of horses
	«Alcaliph's sorrel »	un ceval sor de Marganices [AF]
	Marganices	War-horse of a sorrel coat (lighter than chestnut) ridden by the Marganice, the Algalyph and uncle to Marsile.	(*La chanson de Roland CXLVI:1943)
	«Baligant's brown horse»	destrer brun (de Baligant) [AF]
	Baligant	War-horse of a brown coat (CCII: 2816) which is ridden by Baligant, the amiral of the Saracens. Though unnamed, it must be an extraordinary horse to be able to leap a fifty foot trench while bearing Baligant, whose spearhead alone weighs a mule-load.	(*La chanson de Roland CCXCII:3152-4, 3265-7)
	Barbamouche	Barbamusche[F,AF]
	Climborins	Climborins(Climorins) the saracen owns this horse	(*La chanson de Roland CCV:1491)
?	Ferrant d'Espagne	Ferrant d'Espayne
	Oliver	"dull iron-gray horse of Spain", which suggest as gray coat. It was originally the horse of Fierabras of Alexander, a pagan of giant stature who did single combat with Oliver. Since Fierabras' slashing of the sword slew Oliver's horse, the pagan offered to his own to replace it.	(*Caxton, Charles the Grete Book II, Part II, Chap. 9 *, however, in Chap. 5, the horse Oliver had to begin with bore the same name.
	Gaignon	GAIGNUN[AF]
	Marsile	Horse mounted by Marsile, the Saracen king of Sargossa, Spain.	(*La chanson de RolandCXLIII:1890. )
	Gramimond	GRAMIMUND[AF]
	Valdabron	Horse of the saracen who gave Ganelon a fine sword and one thousand mangon pieces as a gift near the beginning of the tale. Swifter than a hawk, so it is said.	(*La chanson de RolandCXVII:(1571))
	Saut-Perdut	SALTPERDUT[AF]
	Malquiant	"curvets and is lost[from sight]"? Horse of the pagan Malquiant from Africa. It is said that no horse racing it was its equal.	(*La chanson de RolandCXIX:1554)
	Sorrel	Sorel[E, AF]
	Gerins	A "sorrel" coat is a tone of bay-brown that is lighter than a chestnut. The horse belonging to Gerins, one of the douzepeers of France.	(*La chanson de RolandCIX:1379)
	Marmoire	Marmore[E], MARMORIE[AF]
	Grandones (Grandoines)	Since the name is "marbled" it probably had marbling streak marks, i.e., was brindled. Horse of Grandones, a son of a Cappadocian king. Swifter than a flying bird, so it is said.	(*La chanson de RolandCXXI:1571)
	Passe-Cerf	PASSECERF[AF]
	Gerers	"Passes Deer"? Horse of the peer Gerers(Geriers), a friend of Gerins.	(*La chanson de RolandCIX:1380)
	Tachebrun	Tachebrun
	Ganelon	"brown spot"? "brown with a spot"? Horse of Ganelon the traitor.	(*La chanson de RolandXXVIII:347)
?	Tencendor	Tencendur(Tencendor)
	Charlemagne	"All cinder-colored"? Charlemagne's horse.	(*La chanson de RolandCCXVI: 2993)
	Vaillant	Vaillant [F]
	Mitaine	"valiant or courageous"? Horse ridden by Mitaine, a brave girl who was the daughter of Charles' godfather, accordng to the modern romance novel. She mounts on a quest for the Fortress of Fear, and accomplishes this feat. She accompanies Roland as his page, but her life is also lost at Roncevalles.	(* Croquemitaine, Part III)
	Veillantif	Veillantif[AF]; Vegliantino[It.]
	Roland	"Olde Ancient One?" Roland's destrier. In the Italian version, Orlando mounts a horse named Vegliantino.	(*La chanson de RolandXCII:1155)

---

J. trans.	English	Example	O ms. text	modern	Definition
"Algalife"	alcalyph	Marganices, uncle of Marsile (38:493 alcalyph is his uncle; 144:1914 Marganices is his uncle.)	ALGALIFE	caliph, calif	[(1393) ¬ OF caliphe ¬ (Arab.) khalí¯fah 'successor'<-khálafa 'to succeed'] « the word means the successor to the prophet Mohammed, and is the political and spiritual leader of Islam » —Kenkyusha EJ Dictionary *The English translation clearly translates this as a title "the alcalyph" and not a proper name.
"governor-general"	admiral	Baligant (190:2614)	AMIRAL	émir/emir	[(1625) ¬ (Arab.) amí¯r 'commander'<-amara 'to command' => amir, admiral] 1. leader, commander: title of provincial heads of state since the Abbas monarchy; title of princes and high officials of petty monarchies. 2. chieftain « heads of state of Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and UAE.» 3. (Obs.) honorific title for descendants of Mohamet —Kenkyusha EJ Dictionary * admiral nowadays usually refers to a naval commander.
"municipal governor"	admiral	Galafe (127:1665)	AMIRAFLE, AMIRAL	émir/emir
"provincial chief"	almacour	almacour of Moriane (74:909�s)	ALMAÇUR,	almaçour	[a OFr. almaçor, -ur, aumaçor / aumansour ¬ (perh. indirectly) (Arab.) al-mançûr (heaven-) defended, august ' <-naçara defend] A (Saracen) grandee or magnifico. A common title in OFr. romances, but not so used in Arabic. —Oxford English Dictionary
"captain"(cuntur)	n/a	-----	CUNTUR	comte/count[?]	I could not find any word remotely close to "cuntur" that might mean "captain" *In the Iwanami version, Arinaga translates this as "LES FILZ AS CUNTURS" as "sons of captains" (line 850), but I see it as unnatural that sons of captains should be selected to the war-field. Shouldn't this phrase read "sons of counts" �icp. Marsile's counts are "SES CUNTES" in 2:14) Moncrieff renders this phrase as "cadets nobly born". I rather suspect that modern French translations might also used the word "cadet". Perhaps Arinaga read it, and instead of construing it as a "young noble in military service", confounded it to mean "junior officer" and thus "captain"?

Other Works in the Charlemagne Legend Cycle

Below I have replicated the original English passage, instead of the my translation of it into Japanese
(as I have on my original page).
  Information on this passage was obtained and translated/transplanted onto my page courtesy
Vika Zafrin from her Roland^HT site.
  To view the full extract from J. W. Thomas' translation of Rolandslied, please visit Mr. Zafrin's chapter
"Roland speaks to his sword" chapter (or if you encounter browser compatibility glitches, you might try
"Roland speaks to his sword" on his old server).

{Eng.}

   Your like has never been forged or ever will be; you proved it on this field. 
   You were brought to my lord in the valley of Maurienne by an angel who 
   graciously remembered me by name and said that Emperor Karl should gird you,
   Durendart, at my side so that I might protect widows and orphans. 
   How could I be so blind! May the Lord of heaven forgive me for wantonly trying to break you! 
   The emperor insisted that great power be sealed in your hilt: 
                 :
   St. Peter's blood, relics of St. Blasius, some hair of St. Denys, 
   and a piece of cloth from St. Mary's garment. 

{orig. text - Middle High German} 

This was obtained from the MHDBDB database.  
  
     iane wart din geliche                                        
     nie gesmidet uf dirre erde,                  
6860 noch newirt ouh hinne fur niemir mere:   
     daz bewartestu wol an disem wal.     
     ze Moriana in dem tal   
     der engel dich mine herren brachte.   
     gnadiclichen er min gedachte              
6865 benamen er mich nante:   
     er hiez mir Rovlante                           
     Karln den kaiser   
     zebeschirmen witewen unt waisen   
     dich Durndarten umbe binten.            
6870 daz ich ie sa erplinde!                     
     daz riwet mich uil sere,   
     nu uergip du mir, himilischer herre,   
     daz ich iz ungezogenlichen sluoc.  
     mines herren sent Petres bluot,   
6875 diu herschaft sent Plasien,   
     des hares mines herren sent Dionisien,   
     des gewates miner frouwen sent Marien,   
     der kaiser newolte nie beliben   
     unz in dir uersigelet wart                      
6880 diu uil groze herschaft. 

* Again, I am going to clip out my Japanese translation of the paragraph and replace it with the
corresponding paragraph from V. Zafrin's site. Roland^HT site.
To view the full excerpts of Constance B. Hieatt's English translation of the saga, you should go to
Karl's Swords (or if you encounter browser trouble you might try "Karl's Swords" on his old server).
I do not have access to text in the original language however.
* The icons are there as a device for me to display the spelling of the Proper Names to the Japanese readers
(The English/French, etc. should appear in a speech bubble when you point the cursor at the icons)

The Manner in which Karl(Charlemagne) Obtained the Swords and his Testing of them

{Japanese}

...Malakin son of Ivin  came [to Karl's castle] and asked if King Karlamagnus 
would release Abraham, his brother, who had been in prison for more than 
fourteen years: "and I have three swords which are the best possible. 
Galant the smith, of England, made them, and he heated them in the forge for 
seven years; King Faber gave them to me as a surety for seven hundred gold coins. 
The swords were good - and I ask you to release my brother."

[K. has A. released and gets the three swords.]

As soon as King Karlamagnus came home, he called Namlun to him and told him to bring the swords which Malakin of Ivin had given him. He drew the swords 
from their scabbards and looked at them, and they seemed to be good. After 
that he went to the steel mound before his hall, and struck the first of the 
swords into it a hand's breadth, so that there was a little notch in it. 
"Certainly that is a good sword," says the king, "and I shall call it Kurt."

Then he struck in the second a hand's breadth or more, and called that Almacia, 
and said it was good to strike heathens with. He then struck with the third, 
and rent more than half the length of a man's foot; he said, "That sword shall 
be named Dyrumdali," and he kept that with him, for he loved it dearly.
(cont.) 

Angel seen by Karl in his Dreams / The Three Relics

  Now that King Karlamagnus was home, a letter came to him from the pope, 
saying that a great war had broken out between the Lombards and the men 
of Bretland , and it was doing much harm to the Romans. The king was 
most unhappy about that; he wrote a letter asking all those who were at war 
to come to him in Montardal and he swore by his beard that whoever would 
not come to a settlement would be hanged. 

He went off, with his trumpets blowing. And when he arrived in Moniardal, all 
of those to whom he had sent word had come there. He ordered them all to reach 
a settlement if they wished to keep their lives, and asked the pope to act as judge 
between them in their differences. 

The night after this, as Karlamagnus lay in his bed, the angel Gabriel came to him 
and told him that his sword contained a precious, holy relic: "There is in it a tooth 
of Peter the apostle, and a hair of Maria Magdalene, and some blood of Bishop 
Blasius; you shall give the sword to Rollant, your kinsman, for it will then be in 
good hands."

Karlamagnus did as the angel told him. He gave Rollant the sword and girded him 
with it, and tapped him on the neck, saying, "Good nephew, take Dyrumdali now, 
and use it, best of men, in the memory that God gave his apostles a dwelling in Paradise."

 
Caxton's Charles the Grete, II, ii, Ch. 9 p. 52


Whan Fyerabras was wel armed he thanked moche Olyuer, And after gyrde 
hys swerde named Plourance. and in the arson of his sadyl he had tweyne 
other of whom that one was named Baptysme and that other Grabam,2 the 
whyche swerdes were maad in suche wyse that there was none harnoys but they 
wold breke and cutte a-sondre. And who that wyl demaunde the manyer how 
they were made & by whom I wyl saye after that whyche I haue founden by 
wrytyng. 
On a tyme there were thre brethern of one fader engendred, of whome that one 
was named Galaus, that other Munyfycans, & the thyrd was called Agnisiax.4 
These iij brethern made ix swerdes, eche of them thre. Agnisiax the thyrd brother 
maad the swerde named Baptesme, whiche had the pomel of gold and wel enameld, 
& also Plourance, and after Grabam; whyche thre swerdes Fyerabras had as I haue 
sayd. 
Munyficans, that other brother, made another swerde whyche was named Durandal, 
Whyche Rolland had. that other was called Sauuognye(sic.) and that other Cortan 
whyche Ogyer the Danoyshad5.
And Galaus, that other brother, maad the swerd that was named Floberge, another 
called Haulteclere, and that other Ioyouse, whyche Charlemayn had for a grete 
specyalte. and these iij brethern aforesayd were smythes & wrought the sayd swerdes. 

4In the verse Fierabras the names appear as Galans, Munificans, and Aurisas
5The verse Fierabras gives the names of the swords made by Munificans as 
Durendal, Musaguine, and Courtain

* Floberge is likely a variant spelling of Flamberge, usually attributed to Renaud de Montauban .
* Here I have inferred that Courtain was Ogier's sword and Sauvagine's owner went unmentioned [and translated the
passage into Japanese accordingly]. However, in [the English translation of] the modern adaptive work Croquemitaine,
both swords are attributed to Ogier.
*I made the assumption that the correction Sauuognye -> Sauuogyne was needed, although I do not know if
the error is orignal to Caxtion's printed book or was an input error during the preparation of the electronic text.

Croquemitaine (1863)
This is a retelling of the Charlemagne legends by the modern writer Ernest L'Épine (1826-1893. penname Quatrelle).
  The work is in three parts, the first part about a tournament held in Fransac where Marsile's
Moorish knights combat Charlemagne's French contingent; the second part about Charlemagne's
siege of Saragossa, and the third part being the parable of the Fear Fortress.
 As for an English version, a translation (1867) done by Tom Hood (1835-1874)exists,
and a reprint is newly put out by

Now, according to this modern retelling, the legendary swords were crafted as follows:
(I have used the English spelling here.)

Ansias, Galas, and Munifican each crafted three swords respectively,
and every sword required three years in their making .

Ansias

The three swords made by this cutler were Baptism , Florence, and Graban,
all made for Strong-i'-the-Arm. .

Galas

The three swords made by this cutler were Flamberge and Joyeuse for Charlemagne, and
Hauteclaire for Closamont.

Munifican

The three swords made by this cutler were Durandal for Roland; Sauvagins and Cortain for
Ogier the Dane.

          :
N.B. Oliver's sword, called Glorious, hacked all the nine swords of Ansias, Galas, and Munifican “ a foot from the pommel. ” (Croquemitaine)

Girart de Vienne (ca. 1190-1217)
Girart de Vienne

[Preface: The Three Cycles]

This work is a chanson de geste written by Bertrand de Bar-Sur-Aube around 1190-1217. In its preface, Bertrand divides the French chasons de geste into three cycles.

Plotline (The text was in French and I relied on machine translation, so I'm not 100% certain.) 

On an island amid the river Rhone, two warriors are matched up in single combat. 
It is a most stupendous battle. As for the combatants — their names are Oliver and Roland.  

Oliver is the son of Gerard de Vienne.
His shield was made by Bacchus, his helm was one found under the wings of the hydra; 
his  hauberk was once worn by Solomon, and his estoc bears an inscription of its name.

Roland was armored cap-á-pie in iron, and held Durendal in his hand.  
Early on, Roland has the advantage, and he scores a masterful stroke to his opponent's helm
and Oliver loses grip of his sword.  But a man will not live down the shame if he were to 
strike an unarmed foe, and a nephew of Charlemagne's no less.  Roland declares:  
 "Let us enjoy a bit of respite.  I suggest you sir, have your servant bring you another weapon.
And I am feeling dreadful thirsty.  I prithee you have your man bring me something to drink as well."
Thus Oliver instructs his boatman to go fetch from Vienne the goodly sword Closamont (which 
others know as Haute-Claire).

  The brave warriors resume the fight, but as night sets, Oliver is feeling unwell.  
He can barely stay on his feet.  Oh Sir Roland, will you not concede to a truce?
 "Indeed you do seem to have come down with a fever, sir.  And not on account of being 
overcome by my sword.  Very well, go ahead and lie youreself down on the sward, 
to your heart's content." 
  "Nay, no need of that," answers Oliver. "I was merely testing your sense of 
honor, sir.  I am full capable of sustaining the fight for another four days and nights."

  In fact the fight drags on for three days, and Olivier's father Gerard is on edge.  
He summons an augurer to read the omen.  The augurur says, "My lord, the gentlemen 
are bound to keep fighting forever on."


  On the fourth day, it is Oliver who manages to grab away Roland's sword and toss it in the river.
  "Now it is my turn to return the favor.  At Vienne, I keep the sword of the Giant 
 Sinnagog  so I will have that fetched for you.  Next to Durendal, that is the only sword worthy of thee."
  Roland laughs and says, "I will make do with this bit of stick," as he uproots a tree of oak.  
Oliver answers in kind by pulling up an elm-tree from the ground.
  On the fifth day, Oliver finally rests his hand and says, "At this rate, we will surely fight 
forever and on like a lion and a pard.  This is a most fruitless exercise.  What if you were to 
be my brother-in-law?  I happen to have a beautiful sister, who goes by the name of 
Aude of the white arm.  What if you were to take her hand in marriage?"
  "That suits me just fine," answered Roland.  "Then let us have our drink now, we have 
lost plenty of sweat over these few days. "  

 And it was thus that Roland was married to the belle Aude. 

{original text}
Please see the "La Mariage de Roland" links below for links to the text file.

• Ogurisu Hitoshi's Hruodlandus-et-Alda
  Website partly in Japanese, English, and French. Distributing his own electronic-text version.
• Mr. Syugo Asakura's SYUGO site: Reading companion notes:
  For La Chanson de Roland (Japanese translation), he has compiled very nicely organized and legible
  sets of pages, which is comprehensive and without omission. A brief description of the principal characters,
  tabulated data of all characters (nicely sorted into French forces, Spanish forces, etc. by color).
  I particularly recommend the items data, which lists all the horse names as well.
• Vika Zafrin's Roland HyperText (R^HT) Page
  (In English) For devotees, a site with many highly sought-after offerings. Aside form extracts of the
  Karlamagnus saga and the Middle High German Rolandslied I have discussed above, the
  site also discusses/excerpts a Welsh version of Roland, Ariosto's Orlando Furioso. She has high-
  lighted key passages in the text which allow you to compare the similarities/differences between these texts.
  Her new server is Word's End. (which is only tested for Windows+IE5.0 compatibility)
  On her old server at Brown U., the sitemap provides a link to most of the pages.
• Celtic Twilight
  The site carries e.g. full texts of Bullfinch's Charlemagne (English), Caxton's Charles the Grete and a
  Latin/English bilingual version of Eginhard's Life of Charlemagne (Vita Karoli). A very valuable repository.
  The Celtic Twilight family of sites covers other mythology, but the one dedicated to Charlmagne cycle is at
  Celtic Twilight's Charlemagne page.
  
• Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
  Tremendous wealth of information that one can enjoy just browsing. Particularly of note are the
  Sword Owners List, Swordsmiths and Swords, Horses.
  • Bartleby site:‚P898 edition
  • Bootlegbooks site:1894 edition
• Kobo "L" (L'Atelier "L") or "Seven Courts"
  A budding Japanese site dedicated to The Song of Roland.
  It has a synopsis of the tale, a J translation of the Chanson de Guillaume, and an the webauthor's attempt
  at a prose retelling of the work.
  It is divided into several sections. (I think the name "seven courts" derives from this, the allusion is probably tennis).
  A BBS for deep discussions on Roland is found at Le monastère de Turold (new url).
  There is a short but a very selective list of Roland related links in Japan.
  (His sections are really in Japanese, but I've used French here because the webauthor specifically told me that "English brings on trauma.")
• Japanese Translations in Print
  
  • Rolan no uta, tr. Hiroto Arinaga, Iwanami Library paperback (Red N501-1) 1965 ¥660
  • Chusei Bungaku shu (2) (Anth. of Literature of the Middle Ages vol. 2) tr. Teruo Sato, Chikuma paperback 1986 ¥780
    contains Song of Roland and the Tale of Renard the Fox.
  • Chusei Furansu bungaku shu - 1-kan(Anthology of Medieval French Literature Vol. 1), Hakusuisha 1990 ¥5600
    contains several works incl. the Song of Roland tr. Eizo Kamizawa


• The Oxford Manuscript of the Song of Roland
  La Chanson de Roland (Oxford ms.) (ca 1100)
  "CARLES LI REIS NOSTRE EMPERERE MAGNES" begins the Anglo-French(Anglo-Norman)
  text. Electronic texts available at several sites.
  The manuscript was written down around 1170, but the compositon, it is guessed, dates from around 1100.
  
  • Bibliotheca Augustana version is most useful, since it is organized into the numbered stanzaic chapters (laisses).
  A nonformatted flatfile (fiche) version, which can be freely distributed if you leave in the accompanying descriptor
  can be found on several places.
  • Stanford U. (lines are mechanically numbered)
  • La Bourse du Livre
  • U. of Vienna
• English translation of The Song of Roland
  The Online Medieval and Classical Library (OMACL) carries a 1919 translation by Charles K. Scott-Moncrieff
  of the "Song of Roland" at e-text of Roland. (I believe Moncrieff is
  the correct spelling, btw.)
• Eginhard's Life of Charlemagne
  Vita Karoli (Vita Karoli Magni Eginhardi) (830”N)
  A biography of Charles written by Eginhard/Einhardus (c.775-840) based on his own 23-year service with the king.
  It records the historical fact of Hruodlandus a.k.a. Roland being assaulted by the Wascones (said to be Basques or Gascons) .
  
  • Latin/English version is available at Celtic Twilight.
• Girart de Vienne (ca, 1190-1217)
  An English translation has been published as..
  The Song of Girart of Vienne by Bertrand De Bar-Sur-Aube: A Twelfth-Century Chanson De Geste (Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies (Series), V. 196, tr. Michael A. Newth , 1999, ISBN: 0866982388, 200pp. (Amazon)

  
  

• Wace Roman de Rou
  Roman de Rou (de Wace) (1155)
  Wace (b. 11115), known for his composition of the part Arthurian Roman de Brut)
  has also penned this history of the line of the Dukes of Normandy since its legendary founder Rollo.
  According to it, during the Norman invasion of England (Battle of Hastings), a minstrel named ⇒Taillefer
  sung of "Charles the Great and Roland, and Olivier and the Peers" before the audience of the duke (William the Conqueror).
  • Glyn S. Burgess's published English translation is described at The Roman de Rou.
  • Julia Bolton Holloway's paper "The Song of Roland:Apocalypse Palimpsest"
    
  It is this Holloway thesis which states that William of Malmesbury(1095-c.1143), the author of
  Historia Regum Anglorum has stated:
  

  "Tunc cantilena Rollandi inchoata, ut martium viri exemplum pugnatores accenderet,"
  Attempted translation: 
  "Then an old song of Rolland was begun, wherewith the warriors were incited 
  by example of a virile war-god/hero."
  
  

  And Wace states in Roman de Rou that:

  Taillefer, qui mult bien chantout, sor un cheval qui tost alout, devant le duc alout chantant de Karlemaigne e de Rollant, e d'Olivier e des vassals qui morurent en Rencevals.

  [Taillefer, who sang very well, on a horse, which went very quickly before the Duke went singing of Charlemagne and of Roland and of Oliver and of the vassals who died at Roncesvalles.]

  [Holloway footnotes her sources as: Wace, Le Roman de Rou, ed. A.J. Holden (Paris: Picard, 1972), Société des Anciens Textes Francais, II, 183, lines 8013-8018; for William of Malmesbury, III, 157.]
• Priest Konrad's Rolandslied
  Rolandslied (der Pfaffe Konrad) (ca. 1170)
  
  It is also referred to in the endnotes to the Iwanami translation. Written by a Bavarian priest named Konrad.
  In Middle High German, the name may be spelt Rolant, Roland, Rovlant, Ruolant, etc.
  • Excerpt of MHG vs. modern German at Notre Dame U. (Indiana).
  • Searchable databased text is found at MHDBDB.
  • English translation in print:
    Priest Konrad's Song of Roland, trans. J. W. Thomas, Columbia, SC: Camden House, 1994.


• Pseudo-Turpin
  a.k.a. (Historia Karoli Magni et Rotholandi) (ca. 1150)
  The so-called Pseudo-Turpin is the fourth book of the Liber sancti Jacobi, "the Book(s) of St. James".
  Much of "the Book(s) of St. James" were authored by Pope Calixtus II. The manuscript dubbed "Codex Calixtinus". See the Codex Calixtinus (deluxe facsimilie edition) for a magnificent illuminate lettering which features the archbishop.

• The Saga of Karlamagnus
  Karlamagnússaga (13c.)
  
  V.Zafrin's RolandHT has a brief description about the work. For text excerpts, navigate from the
  • Sitemap(or perhaps the old server Sitemap).
  • English translation in print:
    Hieatt, Constance B., trans. Karlamagnús Saga: The Saga of Charlemagne and His Heroes.
    Medieval Sources in Translation 13. Vol. 1. Toronto: Pontifical Inst. of Mediaeval Studies, 1975.
  
  
• Caxton's Charles the Grete (1485)
  The French prose Fierabras was translated into English and published by Caxton under the title
  "Charles the Grete".
  The charlemagne.celtic-twilight.com holds the e-text‚ ‚è.
• Orlando Furioso (1516)
  Prodigiously long verse composition by Ludovico Ariosto.
  English translation by William Stewart Rose available at OMACL's Orlando page.
  
  • The above work is in principle a sequel to Mateo Boyardo's Orlando Innamorato (1495)
    but general cosensus is that the sequel far surpasses it in quality.
• Gerusalemme Liberata (1581)
  Verse work by Torquatto Tasso (1544 - 1595) which runs from Book 1~20.
  A contemporary English translation cna be found at OMACL's "Jerusalem Delivered" page.
* I'm not sure anymore why I listed this work here, except that the presence of "Godfrey de Bouillon" makes it French heroic material. The French count Godfrey, Charlemagne and Arthur as the three Christian members of the 9 worthies, whereas the English tend to name Guy of Warwick instead of Godfrey.

[There are still other historical works, medieval romances, and chansons de geste by the dozens.
They may be added here in due course ???]

• Huon de Bordeaux
  Huon, a knight of Bordeaux (heir of Seguin of Bordeaux) is ambushed by the dastardly Prince Charlot who has
  designs on the dominion Huon is to inherit, but Huon manages to slay him, not realizing Charlot is the doted-on
  favorite son of Charlemagne. The act infuriates the emperor who condemns Huon to death on the hanging noose,
  though Huon is granted a reprieve on one condition: he must fulfill an impossible prescribed ordeal. Huon is to
  journey to the land of the orient, where he is to slay the most valiant knight serving under Gaudisse, the
  Amir of Babylon (=Bagdhad), kiss his daughter Esclarmonde three times in the most passionate
  manner, and obtain four back teeth (molars) from the mouth of the Amir as token to bring back to Charles.
  However Huon gains the help of the fairy king Oberon, with which he is able to complete the mission.
  Charlot may have been modeled after Charles l'Enfant (son of Charles the Bald and Irmintrude) who
  died in 866 after receiving a fatal wound from one Aubouin in similar circumstances (according to
  A. Longnon (Romania viii. I-i,)
  
  An ur- or original form of Oberon is said to be Alberich the dwarf of German legend (who appears in the late
  medieval heroic tale Ortnit as a magically gifted dwarf who was the true biological father of King Ortnit
  of Lombardy).
    The character entered France and was altered into the elf or fairy king Albe