Go To Charlemagne Homepage

THE FOUR SONS OF AIMON

TABLE OF CHARACTERS AND PLACE NAMES

Aigremont	The name of the duchy and the impregnable fortress held by Duke Benes.
Alarde	The second-oldest of the Four Sons.  Alarde is the one who remembers the name of every knight in their troop along with his wife, his kids, his parents, and their assorted joys and woes.
Alain	One of Duke Benes’ cousins.
Aimon of Dordonne	The Duke of Dordonne and the father of Renaud, Alarde, Guichard and Richard.  He may be Charlemagne’s loyalest vassal but the King will never believe it.  The name is spelled “Aymon” in the original, but I’ve changed it to diminish the potential for confusion with Duke Naymon of Bavaria.
Bayard	A gift to Renaud from his cousin Maugis, Bayard is the greatest steed in all of Romance.  Yup.  A horse.  So what is he doing in a table of characters?  (A) He belongs to Renaud, and (B) when you’re the greatest steed in all of Romance, and no one would even argue the point, you’ve earned your spot.
Benes of Aigremont	The Duke of Aigremont and the favorite uncle of the Four Sons.  (See the family tree – he’s Aimon’s brother, along with Duke Gerard of Rousselon and Duke Ronald of Nantuell).  His sons are Maugis and Vivien.
Berengaer	Earl of the Midlands.  He fell defending the King’s banner, the Oriflamme, in the battle against the Saracen King Guithelm.  As the story opens, the King blames this loss on the failure of the Dukes Benes of Aigremont, the Gerard of Roussellon and Ronald of Nantuell to come to Lombardy as summoned.
Berthelot	A favorite nephew of Charlemagne who was born to the King’s older sister.  Less martial than most, he has the sort of  keen, insightful and organized mind that makes him an ideal Seneschal and Keeper of the Keys.  No one ever beat him over a chessboard until Renaud beat him with one.
Charles the Great	Charlemagne, King of the Franks and Emperor of the West. History treats him better than story. But even in the stories he’s too complicated a man to really judge.  All you can do is shake your head, in equal measure, at the glory and the gaffs.
Enguerrand	Charlemagne’s nephew.  He’s referred to in the story but never appears in person.
Four Sons of Aimon	In order of seniority: Renaud, Alarde, Guichard and Richard.
Fulkes of Morillon	A member of the King’s extended family and close comrade of Ganelon.  He’s the sort who firmly believes that “the King’s word is law,” but would happily forge the King’s name if there was no other way to make things go the way they ‘should’.  A vicious opponent of the Four Sons and their family.
Ganelon of Mayence	The Duke of Mayence and a son of Charlemagne’s cousin. Some years later he will betray Roland, Oliver and others to their deaths, but at this time he’s still loyal, if not particularly likeable. His desire to do the King’s dirty work causes some real problems, however.
Gerard of Rousselon	The Duke of Rousselon (or “Roussillon”) and another Uncle of the Four Sons.  (See the family tree – he’s the brother of Dukes Aimon and Benes, and the twin of Duke Ronald of Nantuell).  Gerard has only a cameo in this story, but he’s also the star of his own Chanson de Geste, Gerard de Rousselon.
Guichard	The third of the Four Sons.  Guichard is the best pure fighter of the family after Renaud.
Guithelm	A Saracen King mentioned at the beginning of the story.  He was slain by Charlemagne at great cost in the battle of Pavia (Lombardy) and his costly arms were given to Renaud when the King knighted him.
Guyon	The Earl of Aubeford, he takes over as Charlemagne's new Seneschal after Berhelot has his run-in with Renaud.  He's a lot more martial than Berthelot was, which makes him popular, and competent too.  At least for a while.
Lambrecht	A knight who fell defending the King’s banner, the Oriflamme, in the battle of Pavia against the Saracen King Guithelm.  As the story opens, the King blames this loss on the failure by Dukes Benes of Aigremont and his brother Dukes Gerard of Roussellon and Ronald of Nantuell to come to Lombardy as summoned.
Lohier	Charlemagne’s 16-year-old son.
Marjorie of Dordonne	The wife of Duke Aimon and mother of the Four Sons.
Maugis the Enchanter	Cousin of the Four Sons, he’s the son of Duke Benes of Aigremont.  Maugis is a good guy even though he dabbles in the arcane arts.  Well, more than “dabbles”.  Maugis is the most famous enchanter of the Carolingian cycle and the star of his own Chanson de Geste, Maugis d’Aigremont et Vivien son Frìre.  Whenever you hear his name think of a younger and more active version of Merlin – the model of a Fairy Knight as opposed to a Wise Old Wizard.  That Bayard and Flamberge came from Maugis means something. But Maugis has his limits too, and they’re never clearer than in this story.  As a knight of the realms both near and far he has special abilities, but also special duties that make it impossible to act as a leader of men. He can travel to on paths that others can not, but can only do it alone. He has friends that others lack, but they can only help him and no one else. He can’t stay in one place for more than a few months, for outside oaths will claim his time. In the Four Sons of Aimon those powers are great, but the limits are a bitter fruit to swallow.[1]
Naymon of Bavaria	The Duke of Bavaria, and the oldest and wisest of the Paladins. He’s the one knight who (usually) thinks before he acts.  A paternal uncle of the four sons.
Ogier the Dane	A highly respected Paladin.  A maternal uncle of the four sons, he is fair, generous, beloved by all, and a graceful 7’ tall. His sword is named Cortana. Ogier was under Charlemagne’s sentence of death for most of his youth (a small matter of his wicked stepmother maneuvering to have the hostage condemned).[2]  Duke Naymon took him on as a ward, however, and raised him to what he is.  As the story begins Ogier has finally been reprieved and knighted by incredible heroics at the Battle of Pavia.  See the Backstories page for more details.
Oliver	One of the twelve Paladins and probably the noblest in bearing and character. He is the bosom friend and comrade of Ro­land and bears the sword Hautclere.  They are both six years younger than Renaud.
Renaud	The oldest of the four sons and, at the time of this story, the greatest knight in the world.  He rides Bayard and his sword is Flamberge (“Flame Blade”).
Richard	The Fourth of the Four Sons.  Richard enjoys what the modern world would call “extreme” situations.  Got a mountain that needs to be climbed?  A bear that needs to be wrestled?  A fortified wall that needs to be stormed?  Richard’s your guy.  He’s all of 16 when the story begins, and 18 when the Four Sons begin to have troubles.
Richard of Normandy	The Duke of Normandy, he took in the King’s 10-year old nephew and agreed to teach him the arts of chivalry.  Some punk kid named Roland, I think it was . . .
Roland	The nephew and champion of Charlemagne, and most renowned of all the Paladins. Later on he will become the greatest knight of Christendom, but in this story we see him as a fledgling, six years younger than Renaud. 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.
Ronald of Nantuell	The Duke of Nantuell and an uncle to the Four Sons.  (See the family tree – he’s the brother of Dukes Aimon and Benes, and the twin of Duke Gerard of Rousselon.
Salomon of Bretagne	A good knight who rescued the King in Lombardy during the battle that immediately precedes this story.  He arrived unexpectedly at the last moment with 30,000 men.
Savarin	The right hand man of Lohier, Charlemagne’s son.
Stefan	A good and level-headed knight who serves Duke Benes of Aigremont.

Maugis shortly afterwards achieved his first adventure, in which he gained the enchanted horse Bayard on the isle of Boucaut. Of Bayard it is said, when Maugis spoke to him, “Bayard estoit feyé, si entendoit aussi bien Maugis comme s’il (Bayard) eust parlé.” On his return from the island, Maugis conquered and slew the Saracen admiral Anthenor, who had come to win the lands and castle of Oriande. From Anthenor he gained the sword Flamberge, which, together with Bayard, he afterwards gave to his cousin Renaud.

[2]  Shades of William Marshal!  Sir William was the real-life exemplar of the knightly virtues; the greatest jouster of the age (he had a prestige comparable to our modern sports superstars), the most trusted knight of Henry II and Queen Eleanor, and eventually the de facto ruler of England who pulled John’s fat out of the fire.  When he was just a boy, however, King Stephen took him as a hostage against the good behavior of his father, who served the Empress Maude.  The father refused to treat for young William’s life, saying something along the lines of “I can always make another son.” The boy’s courage was so impressive, however, that Stephen hadn’t the heart to kill him. And the rest, as they say, is history. One can’t help but wonder if the tale of Ogier, which King Stephen certainly knew, didn’t play a part in the decision. The eerie thing is, you could draw many more parallels if you chose to look.