Geste de Doon de Mayence

The so-called Cycle of the Revolted Knights groups those poems that tell of revolts of feudal subjects against the emperor (Charlemagne or, more usually, his son, Louis). The Cycle of the King consists of the songs in which Charlemagne himself is a principal figure.

The epics in the Geste de Doon de Mayence deal with rebellious vassals, among them Raoul de Cambrai, in a gripping story of injustice and strained loyalties. The fanciful 13th-century Huon de Bordeaux (Huon of the Horn), which introduces the fairy king Auberon (Shakespeare’s Oberon), has been placed here…

…belonging to a cycle called Geste de Doon de Mayence. This cycle tells of Charlemagne’s rebellious barons and contains the stories of heroes such as Girart de Roussillon, Raoul de Cambrai, Renaud de Montauban, and Ogier the Dane, all of whom are represented as opposing Charlemagne (though the emperor’s name…

…of these poems known as Geste de Doon de Mayence, which deals with the wars of the feudal barons against the emperor Charlemagne. The character of Ogier has a historical prototype in Autcharius, a follower of Carloman, Charlemagne’s younger brother, whose kingdom Charlemagne invaded in 771 after Carloman’s death. Although…