TABLE OF CHARACTERS AND PLACE NAMES

Aloys	Ganelon’s cousin. He’s the traitor be­hind the traitor and in most ways the worse of the pair. Aloys is the real villain of the piece, a scoundrel you love to hate. It’s no coincidence that he appears in the later adventures as the bosom friend of Charlemagne’s the king’s infamous son, Charlot.  Where, of course, he does nothing but mischief.  Just ask Huon of Bordeaux. But that’s another story . . .
Aubrey	The eldest son of Duke Basyn.
Balan	The Admiral (i.e., Emir) of Spain and King of Kings. He holds broad lands, including the invincible town and bridge of Mantryble and the great walled city of Aygremore. His people seem to like him well enough despite (or maybe because of) a bad habit of foaming, spitting, and turning colors when our heroes defy him. He’s the father of Fierabras and Floripas, and the uncle of both King Clarion and Galafer, the warden of Man­tryble bridge.
Basyn	The Duke of Bordeaux, a Paladin, and Aubrey’s father. (For the sake of continuity, I like to think he’s also the father of Huon, who stars in his own epic set ten or fifteen years later).
Brullant	A Moorish king in fealty to Balan. This is the one to worry about – clever, loyal, brave and even a little wise. If only he were on the right side . . .
Charles the Great	Charlemagne, King of the Franks and Emperor of the West. it’s an odd fact that in many ways history treats him better than story. The real Charlemagne earned the title of “great.” The one in the stories is harder to rate. Indeed, he does so much wrong and so much right that it’s almost an im­possible task. He wounds those who love him uncount­able times, but he’s great enough to heal them; he swears rash oaths but is great enough to keep them; he does rash, impulsive things that turn out to be essential for the achieving of God’s greater goals; his strengths are so great they became his flaws, but he draws (and can trust) men of so high a caliber that his flaws are concealed; and his vision is so clear and so long that we know it endured to inspire an Age. The tale of Charlemagne’s death focuses on these same contradictions. It takes divine intervention to finally establish that he really was “right” after all. Charlemagne is also a doughty warrior in his own right.  His banner is the Oriflamme and his sword is Joyeuse.
Clarion	The nephew of Balan, the Admiral of Spain, he is the brother-king of Brul­lant and Sortibrant. A famous knight in his own right, he has a champion named Rampyr who’s even more dan­gerous. He should have known better than to take a magic saddle on a hunting trip, however.
Coldroe	Another Saracen who’s a good fighter but doesn’t know when to keep quiet.
Cornyfer	A king of the Turks who has come to serve Balan with an elite troop of 5,000 seasoned warriors. A sneak and a das­tard like all the Turks, he finds out the hard way that 5,000 is not enough when Roland’s on the other side.
Fierabras	Son of Balan, the Admiral of Spain, Fierabras is a noble knight de­spite being a Saracen who conquered Rome, cut the head off the Pope and spit down his neck. Ahhh, the foibles of unenlightened youth . . .
Floripas	The daughter of Balan and the sister of Fierabras. Wealthy, witty and wise in the ways of magic and herbs, she is also a famous beauty possessed of a clever mind – at least for a woman. During the Saracens’ sack of Rome she fell in love from afar with the young Guy of Burgundy. I wouldn’t rejoice too fast if I were you, Guy.
Galafer	A fierce but not-too-bright giant who guards the invincible Mantryble Bridge. He is the nephew of Admiral Balan.
Ganelon	The Duke of Mayence and a particu­larly wealthy and influential Paladin, if not particularly likeable. Some years later Ganelon will betray Roland, Oliver and others to their deaths at Roncevalles.  But . . . It is a truth of life that treason never hurts unless the traitor is loved, and worthily loved as well. Like Benedict Arnold in later days, Ganelon began as a hero. He earned the trust he betrayed. In this ad­venture we see him before the Fall, and it’s as poignant as scene as anyone could wish. He’s not just a Paladin, he’s a great Paladin. At one point in this story, his feats bring even Roland to tears and move Oliver to say, “May God preserve him, brother, I love the man with all my heart. Save you and Charles, there’s none I love any better.” Nevertheless, we know what happens in the end. Ganelon’s name meant treason for the better part of a thousand years, and the looming shadow of The Song of Roland pervades the story like smoke in the air. The clues are sprinkled with a heavy hand; the seeds of treason all too clear to see. Ganelon never hears of Oliver’s words, for example, far less of Roland’s tears. If only he’d known how they felt . . . And in another scene Aloys insists they leave the King for dead. “Who would ever know?” Ganelon refuses contemptuously, and ends up leading the charge that saved Charles’ life. But he never reveals what Aloys’ wanted, and he did pause to listen . . . In Charlemagne and the Admiral of Spain we get to see at work the acid that will ultimately wear the stone away: He resents the way Charles overlooks him, takes him for granted, and heaps all the praise on Roland. Make no mis­take – the King is wrong in this. Ganelon earned that praise, and the King is supposed to give it. There are many reasons he fails to do so; some we can even un­derstand. But the fact remains that it doesn’t get done. All it would take is a timely word – we know that – but the end is known, the fate is sealed, and we can’t reach inside to make it right. That’s why they call it “tragedy”. Ganelon’s fatal flaw is a combination of jealousy, ambition and a misplaced loyalty to his treacherous kin.
Geoffrey	A knight of Anjou and a Paladin.
Gerard	A knight of Montdidier, a Paladin and a very good friend to Oliver when he really needed one.
Guy of Burgundy	A younger Paladin and Roland’s cousin. Floripas likes him more than he might wish.
Lucifer	Balan’s favorite court knight and the promised husband of Floripas. Do you think his name’s a coincidence?
Maradas	A Moorish King and champion. He never learned that introductions should come before the battle. People might get hurt otherwise.
Maragonde	Floripas’ maid. She converted to Islam to save her life. Fat chance.
Mephistus	An enchanter hired by the Admiral of Spain to burn the Paladins out of their Tower retreat. He did fine with the men but forgot about the women.
Mervyn the Thief	A man of wondrous talents who never learned the lesson about “two in the bush.”
Duke Naymon	The Duke of Bavaria, and the oldest and wisest of the Paladins. He’s the one knight who (usually) thinks before he acts.  The King may speak with God, but it’s Naymon who sees through the cloudy world of men. Duke Naymon is also Charlemagne’s best friend and truest advisor, the only one who can say what the King doesn’t want to hear and have him pay attention. But that’s not his only worth. Naymon may be old and gray, but he’s still a man among men.
Ogier the Dane	A Paladin respected by all. With the ex­ception of Roland (and possibly the knight Renaud of Montalban – who stars in yet another long tale in the cycle), Ogier is the greatest knight of Charle­magne’s hall. He is also fair, generous, beloved by all, and a graceful 7’ tall. His sword is named Cortana. Ogier remains the national hero of Denmark to this very day. His evil stepmother delivered him as a hostage to Charlemagne’s court, and then caused his father to break an oath. Even as a boy, however, Ogier’s character shown like a shooting star. Wise Duke Naymon intervened with the King and took the boy under his wing.[1] The tale of Ogier and Charlemagne came to a tragic end, but that’s a tale for another day. He ended up ruling at home and is the Danish version of ‘The King Who Will Come Again.’
Oliver	Oliver is Roland’s bosom friend and comrade, and the conscience that keeps Roland human.  He is all that Roland is not, and all that we hope to be; the puri­fied essence of Chivalry. It’s no coincidence that Roland didn’t die of wounds at Roncevalles; he died of a broken heart when he discovered that he’d managed to get Oliver killed. Oliver is the son of Duke Reyner of Atri and bears the sword Hautclere.
Rampyr	The champion of King Clarion (see above).
Reyner	The Duke of Genoa and Atri, Oliver’s father, and the savior who gave food to Roland’s mother when she hid for her life in a cave. (But that’s another – well, you get the idea)
Richard of Normandy	The Duke of Normandy and a senior Paladin. A doughty fighter and the greatest horseman of the age.
Roland	The nephew and champion of Charlemagne, and most renowned of all the Paladins. He is the greatest knight of Christendom, passionate, loyal, blunt, and occasionally a wee bit headstrong and impulsive.  He’s also so arrogant that he’d have died long ago if he wasn’t in a class of his own. Ro­land’s the sort who would happily charge a thousand foes when everyone (except him) is sure it’s suicide. The heck of it is, he’s right. When the enemy sees him coming they start to think, “He wouldn’t do this if he didn’t have some edge.” That makes them hesitate until he’s close enough for sword work. Bad Mistake. Durandal in hand, he plunges into the mass and the heads start flying “like quail rising up from a field.” Before long, the 950 who still remain start to figure, “Maybe I’ll let someone else do the work.” When Oliver hits from another side, their panic and doom are writ in the stars. “For never did the sparrow flee from the hawk like the heathen ran from Roland.” Roland always wears a tabard quartered with red & white (for reasons told in another tale) and is the bosom friend and comrade of Oliver. He bears the sword Durandal.
Sortibrant	Another Moorish king in fealty to Balan. He’s not very nice, but he is very clever – just ask him. At least he doesn’t foam and spit like his lord.
Tenebres	The brother of King Sortibrant. You’d have thought with all those Paladins caught in the Tower a man could be safe, but nooooo . . .
Thierry	The Duke of Ardennes and one of the more famous Paladins.
William the Scot	Another Paladin.