A few days after Guyon, King of Denmark, arrived in France with a
chosen band of knights, and sent an ambassador to Charlemagne, to
say that he came, not as an enemy, but to render homage to him as
the best knight of the time and the head of the Christian world.
Charlemagne gave the ambassador a cordial reception, and mounting
his horse, rode forward to meet the King of Denmark.
These great princes, being assembled at the court of Charles, held
council together, and the ancient and sage barons were called to
join it.
It was decided that the united Danish and Mauritanian armies
should cross the sea and carry the war to the country of the
Saracens, and that a thousand French knights should range
themselves under the banner of Ogier, the Dane, who, though not a
king, should have equal rank with the two others.
We have not space to record all the illustrious actions performed
by Ogier and his allies in this war. Suffice it to say, they
subdued the Saracens of Ptolemais and Judaea, and, erecting those
regions into a kingdom, placed the crown upon the head of Ogier.
Guyon and Carahue then left him, to return to their respective
dominions. Ogier adopted Walter, the son of Guyon of Denmark, to
be his successor in his kingdom. He superintended his education,
and saw the young prince grow up worthy of his cares. But Ogier,
in spite of all the honors of his rank, often regretted the court
of Charlemagne, the Duke Namo, and Salomon of Brittany, for whom
he had the respect and attachment of a son. At last, finding
Walter old enough to sustain the weight of government, Ogier
caused a vessel to be prepared secretly, and, attended only by one
squire, left his palace by night, and embarked to return to
France.
The vessel, driven by a fair wind, cut the sea with the swiftness
of a bird; but on a sudden it deviated from its course, no longer
obeyed the helm, and sped fast towards a black promontory which
stretched into the sea. This was a mountain of loadstone, and, its
attractive power increasing as the distance diminished, the vessel
at last flew with the swiftness of an arrow towards it, and was
dashed to pieces on its rocky base. Ogier alone saved himself, and
reached the shore on a fragment of the wreck.
Ogier advanced into the country, looking for some marks of
inhabitancy, but found none. On a sudden he encountered two
monstrous animals, covered with glittering scales, accompanied by
a horse breathing fire. Ogier drew his sword and prepared to
defend himself; but the monsters, terrific as they appeared, made
no attempt to assail him, and the horse, Papillon, knelt down, and
appeared to court Ogier to mount upon his back. Ogier hesitated
not to see the adventure through; he mounted Papillon, who ran
with speed, and soon cleared the rocks and precipices which hemmed
in and concealed a beautiful landscape. He continued his course
till he reached a magnificent palace, and, without allowing Ogier
time to admire it, crossed a grand court-yard adorned with
colonnades, and entered a garden, where, making his way through
alleys of myrtle, he checked his course, and knelt down on the
enamelled turf of a fountain.
Ogier dismounted and took some steps along the margin of the
stream, but was soon stopped by meeting a young beauty, such as
they paint the Graces, and almost as lightly attired as they. At
the same moment, to his amazement, his armor fell off of its own
accord. The young beauty advanced with a tender air, and placed
upon his head a crown of flowers. At that instant the Danish hero
lost his memory; his combats, his glory, Charlemagne and his
court, all vanished from his mind; he saw only Morgana, he desired
nothing but to sigh forever at her feet.
We abridge the narrative of all the delights which Ogier enjoyed
for more than a hundred years. Time flew by, leaving no impression
of its flight. Morgana's youthful charms did not decay, and Ogier
had none of those warnings of increasing years which less favored
mortals never fail to receive. There is no knowing how long this
blissful state might have lasted, if it had not been for an
accident, by which Morgana one day, in a sportive moment, snatched
the crown from his head. That moment Ogier regained his memory,
and lost his contentment. The recollection of Charlemagne, and of
his own relatives and friends, saddened the hours which he passed
with Morgana. The fairy saw with grief the changed looks of her
lover. At last she drew from him the acknowledgment that he wished
to go, at least for a time, to revisit Charles's court. She
consented with reluctance, and with her own hands helped to
reinvest him with his armor. Papillon was led forth, Ogier mounted
him, and, taking a tender adieu of the tearful Morgana, crossed at
rapid speed the rocky belt which separated Morgana's palace from
the borders of the sea. The sea-goblins which had received him at
his coming awaited him on the shore. One of them took Ogier on his
back, and the other placing himself under Papillon, they spread
their broad fins, and in a short time traversed the wide space
that separates the isle of Avalon from France. They landed Ogier
on the coast of Languedoc, and then plunged into the sea and
disappeared.
Ogier remounted on Papillon, who carried him across the kingdom
almost as fast as he had passed the sea. He arrived under the
walls of Paris, which he would scarcely have recognized if the
high towers of St. Genevieve had not caught his eye. He went
straight to the palace of Charlemagne, which seemed to him to have
been entirely rebuilt. His surprise was extreme, and increased
still more on finding that he understood with difficulty the
language of the guards and attendants in replying to his
questions; and seeing them smile as they tried to explain to one
another the language in which he addressed them. Presently the
attention of some of the barons who were going to court was
attracted to the scene, and Ogier, who recognized the badges of
their rank, addressed them, and inquired if the Dukes Namo and
Salomon were still residing at the Emperor's court. At this
question the barons looked at one another in amazement; and one of
the eldest said to the rest, "How much this knight resembles the
portrait of my grand-uncle, Ogier the Dane." "Ah! my dear nephew,
I am Ogier the Dane," said he; and he remembered that Morgana had
told him that he was little aware of the flight of time during his
abode with her.
The barons, more astonished than ever, concluded to conduct him to
the monarch who then reigned, the great Hugh Capet.
The brave Ogier entered the palace without hesitation; but when,
on reaching the royal hall, the barons directed him to make his
obeisance to the King of France, he was astonished to see a man of
short stature and large head, whose air, nevertheless, was noble
and martial, seated upon the throne on which he had so often seen
Charlemagne, the tallest and handsomest sovereign of his time.
Ogier recounted his adventures with simplicity and affectedness.
Hugh Capet was slow to believe him; but Ogier recalled so many
proofs and circumstances, that at last he was forced to recognize
the aged warrior to be the famous Ogier the Dane.
The king informed Ogier of the events which had taken place during
his long absence; that the line of Charlemagne was extinct; that a
new dynasty had commenced; that the old enemies of the kingdom,
the Saracens, were still troublesome; and that at that very time
an army of those miscreants was besieging the city of Chartres, to
which he was about to repair in a few days to its relief. Ogier,
always inflamed with the love of glory, offered the service of his
arm, which the illustrious monarch accepted graciously, and
conducted him to the queen. The astonishment of Ogier was
redoubled when he saw the new ornaments and head-dresses of the
ladies; still, the beautiful hair which they built up on their
foreheads, and the feathers interwoven, which waved with so much
grace, gave them a noble air that delighted him. His admiration
increased when, instead of the old Empress Bertha, he saw a young
queen who combined a majestic mien with the graces of her time of
life, and manners candid and charming, suited to attach all
hearts. Ogier saluted the youthful queen with a respect so
profound that many of the courtiers took him for a foreigner, or
at least for some nobleman brought up at a distance from Paris,
who retained the manners of what they called the old court.
When the queen was informed by her husband that it was the
celebrated Ogier the Dane whom he presented to her, whose
memorable exploits she had often read in the chronicles of
antiquity, her surprise was extreme, which was increased when she
remarked the dignity of his address, the animation and even the
youthfulness of his countenance. This queen had too much
intelligence to believe hastily; proof alone could compel her
assent; and she asked him many questions about the old court of
Charlemagne, and received such instructive and appropriate answers
as removed every doubt. It is to the corrections which Ogier was
at that time enabled to make to the popular narratives of his
exploits that we are indebted for the perfect accuracy and
trustworthiness of all the details of our own history.
King Hugh Capet, having received that same evening couriers from
the inhabitants of Chartres, informing him that they were hard
pressed by the besiegers, resolved to hasten with Ogier to their
relief.
Ogier terminated this affair as expeditiously as he had so often
done others. The Saracens having dared to offer battle, he bore
the Oriflamme through the thickest of their ranks; Papillon,
breathing fire from his nostrils, threw them into disorder, and
Cortana, wielded by his invincible arm, soon finished their
overthrow.
The king, victorious over the Saracens, led back the Danish hero
to Paris, where the deliverer of France received the honors due to
his valor. Ogier continued some time at the court, detained by the
favor of the king and queen; but erelong he had the pain to
witness the death of the king. Then it was that, impressed with
all the perfections which he had discerned in the queen, he could
not withhold the tender homage of the offer of his hand. The queen
would perhaps have accepted it, she had even called a meeting of
her great barons to deliberate on the proposition, when, the day
before the meeting was to be held, at the moment when Ogier was
kneeling at her feet, she perceived a crown of gold which an
invisible hand had placed on his brow, and in an instant a cloud
enveloped Ogier, and he disappeared forever from her sight. It was
Morgana, the fairy, whose jealousy was awakened at what she
beheld, who now resumed her power, and took him away to dwell with
her in the island of Avalon. There, in company with the great King
Arthur of Britain, he still lives, and when his illustrious friend
shall return to resume his ancient reign he will doubtless return
with him, and share his triumph.
GLOSSARY
Abdalrahman, founder of the independent Ommiad (Saracenic) power
in Spain, conquered at Tours by Charles Martel
Aberfraw, scene of nuptials of Branwen and Matholch
Absyrtus, younger brother of Medea
Abydos, a town on the Hellespont, nearly opposite to Sestos
Abyla, Mount, or Columna, a mountain in Morocco, near Ceuta, now
called Jebel Musa or Ape's Hill, forming the Northwestern
extremity of the African coast opposite Gibraltar (See Pillars of
Hercules)
Acestes, son of a Trojan woman who was sent by her father to
Sicily, that she might not be devoured by the monsters which
infested the territory of Troy
Acetes, Bacchanal captured by Pentheus
Achates, faithful friend and companion of Aeneas
Achelous, river-god of the largest river in Greece - his Horn of
Plenty
Achilles, the hero of the Iliad, son of Peleus and of the Nereid
Thetis, slain by Paris
Acis, youth loved by Galatea and slain by Polyphemus
Acontius, a beautiful youth, who fell in love with Cydippe, the
daughter of a noble Athenian.
Acrisius, son of Abas, king of Argos, grandson of Lynceus, the
great-grandson of Danaus.
Actaeon, a celebrated huntsman, son of Aristaeus and Autonoe, who,
having seen Diana bathing, was changed by her to a stag and killed
by his own dogs.
Admeta, daughter of Eurystheus, covets Hippolyta's girdle.
Admetus, king of Thessaly, saved from death by Alcestis
Adonis, a youth beloved by Aphrodite (Venus), and Proserpine;
killed by a boar.
Adrastus, a king of Argos.
Aeacus, son of Zeus (Jupiter) and Aegina, renowned in all Greece
for his justice and piety.
Aeaea, Circe's island, visited by Ulysses.
Aeetes, or Aeeta, son of Helios (the Sun) and Perseis, and father
of Medea and Absyrtus.
Aegeus, king of Athens.
Aegina, a rocky island in the middle of the Saronic gulf.
Aegis, shield or breastplate of Jupiter and Minerva.
Aegisthus, murderer of Agamemnon, slain by Orestes.
Aeneas, Trojan hero, son of Anchises and Aphrodite (Venus), and
born on Mount Ida, reputed first settler of Rome,
Aeneid, poem by Virgil, relating the wanderings of Aeneas from
Troy to Italy,
Ae'olus, son of Hellen and the nymph Orseis, represented in Homer
as the happy ruler of the Aeolian Islands, to whom Zeus had given
dominion over the winds,
Aesculapius, god of the medical art,
Aeson, father of Jason, made young again by Medea,
Aethiopians, inhabitants of the country south of Egypt,
Aethra, mother of Theseus by Aegeus,
Aetna, volcano in Sicily,
Agamedes, brother of Trophonius, distinguished as an architect,
Agamemnon, son of Plisthenis and grandson of Atreus, king of
Mycenae, although the chief commander of the Greeks, is not the
hero of the Iliad, and in chivalrous spirit altogether inferior to
Achilles,
Agave, daughter of Cadmus, wife of Echion, and mother of Pentheus,
Agenor, father of Europa, Cadmus, Cilix, and Phoenix,
Aglaia, one of the Graces,
Agni, Hindu god of fire,
Agramant, a king in Africa,
Agrican, fabled king of Tartary, pursuing Angelica, finally killed
by Orlando,
Agrivain, one of Arthur's knights,
Ahriman, the Evil Spirit in the dual system of Zoroaster, See
Ormuzd
Ajax, son of Telamon, king of Salamis, and grandson of Aeacus,
represented in the Iliad as second only to Achilles in bravery,
Alba, the river where King Arthur fought the Romans,
Alba Longa, city in Italy founded by son of Aeneas,
Alberich, dwarf guardian of Rhine gold treasure of the Nibelungs
Albracca, siege of,
Alcestis, wife of Admetus, offered hersell as sacrifice to spare
her husband, but rescued by Hercules,
Alcides (Hercules),
Alcina, enchantress,
Alcinous, Phaeacian king,
Alcippe, daughter of Mars, carried off by Halirrhothrus,
Alcmena, wife of Jupiter, and mother of Hercules,
Alcuin, English prelate and scholar,
Aldrovandus, dwarf guardian of treasure,
Alecto, one of the Furies,
Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia, conqueror of Greece,
Egypt, Persia, Babylonia, and India,
Alfadur, a name for Odin,
Alfheim, abode of the elves of light,
Alice, mother of Huon and Girard, sons of Duke Sevinus,
Alphenor, son of Niobe,
Alpheus, river god pursuing Arethusa, who escaped by being changed
to a fountain,
Althaea, mother of Meleager, whom she slew because he had in a
quarrel killed her brothers, thus disgracing "the house of
Thestius," her father,
Amalthea, nurse of the infant Jupiter in Crete,
Amata, wife of Latinus, driven mad by Alecto,
Amaury of Hauteville, false hearted Knight of Charlemagne,
Amazons, mythical race of warlike women,
Ambrosia, celestial food used by the gods,
Ammon, Egyptian god of life identified by Romans with phases of
Jupiter, the father of gods,
Amphiaraus, a great prophet and hero at Argos,
Amphion, a musician, son of Jupiter and Antiope (See Dirce),
Amphitrite, wife of Neptune,
Amphyrsos, a small river in Thessaly,
Ampyx, assailant of Perseus, turned to stone by seeing Gorgon's
head,
Amrita, nectar giving immortality,
Amun, See Ammon
Amymone, one of the fifty daughters of Danaus, and mother by
Poseidon (Neptune) of Nauplius, the father of Palamedes,
Anaxarete, a maiden of Cyprus, who treated her lover Iphis with
such haughtiness that he hanged himself at her door,
Anbessa, Saracenic governor of Spain (725 AD),
Anceus, one of the Argonauts,
Anchises, beloved by Aphrodite (Venus), by whom he became the
father of Aeneas,
Andraemon, husband of Dryope, saw her changed into a tree,
Andret, a cowardly knight, spy upon Tristram,
Andromache, wife of Hector
Andromeda, daughter of King Cephas, delivered from monster by
Perseus
Aneurin, Welsh bard
Angelica, Princess of Cathay
Anemone, short lived wind flower, created by Venus from the blood
of the slain Adonis
Angerbode, giant prophetess, mother of Fenris, Hela and the
Midgard Serpent
Anglesey, a Northern British island, refuge of Druids fleeing from
Romans
Antaeus, giant wrestler of Libya, killed by Hercules, who, finding
him stronger when thrown to the earth, lifted him into the air and
strangled him
Antea, wife of jealous Proetus
Antenor, descendants of, in Italy
Anteros, deity avenging unrequited love, brother of Eros (Cupid)
Anthor, a Greek
Antigone, daughter of Aedipus, Greek ideal of filial and sisterly
fidelity
Antilochus, son of Nestor
Antiope, Amazonian queen. See Dirce
Anubis, Egyptian god, conductor of the dead to judgment
Apennines
Aphrodite See Venus, Dione, etc.
Apis, Egyptian bull god of Memphis
Apollo, god of music and song
Apollo Belvedere, famous antique statue in Vatican at Rome
Apples of the Hesperides, wedding gifts to Juno, guarded by
daughters of Atlas and Hesperis, stolen by Atlas for Hercules,
Aquilo, or Boreas, the North Wind,
Aquitaine, ancient province of Southwestern France,
Arachne, a maiden skilled in weaving, changed to a spider by
Minerva for daring to compete with her,
Arcadia, a country in the middle of Peloponnesus, surrounded on
all sides by mountains,
Arcady, star of, the Pole star,
Arcas, son of Jupiter and Callisto,
Archer, constellation of the,
Areopagus, court of the, at Athens,
Ares, called Mars by the Romans, the Greek god of war, and one of
the great Olympian gods,
Arethusa, nymph of Diana, changed to a fountain,
Argius king of Ireland, father of Isoude the Fair,
Argo, builder of the vessel of Jason for the Argonautic
expedition,
Argolis, city of the Nemean games,
Argonauts, Jason's crew seeking the Golden Fleece,
Argos, a kingdom in Greece,
Argus, of the hundred eyes, guardian of Io,
Ariadne, daughter of King Minos, who helped Theseus slay the
Minotaur,
Arimanes SEE Ahriman.
Arimaspians, one-eyed people of Syria,
Arion, famous musician, whom sailors cast into the sea to rob him,
but whose lyric song charmed the dolphins, one of which bore him
safely to land,
Aristaeus, the bee keeper, in love with Eurydice,
Armorica, another name for Britain,
Arridano, a magical ruffian, slain by Orlando,
Artemis SEE Diana
Arthgallo, brother of Elidure, British king,
Arthur, king in Britain about the 6th century,
Aruns, an Etruscan who killed Camilla,
Asgard, home of the Northern gods,
Ashtaroth, a cruel spirit, called by enchantment to bring Rinaldo
to death,
Aske, the first man, made from an ash tree,
Astolpho of England, one of Charlemagne's knights,
Astraea, goddess of justice, daughter of Astraeus and Eos,
Astyages, an assailant of Perseus,
Astyanax, son of Hector of Troy, established kingdom of Messina in
Italy,
Asuias, opponents of the Braminical gods,
Atalanta, beautiful daughter of King of Icaria, loved and won in a
foot race by Hippomenes,
Ate, the goddess of infatuation, mischief and guilt,
Athamas, son of Aeolus and Enarete, and king of Orchomenus, in
Boeotia, SEE Ino
Athene, tutelary goddess of Athens, the same as Minerva,
Athens, the capital of Attica, about four miles from the sea,
between the small rivers Cephissus and Ilissus,
Athor, Egyptian deity, progenitor of Isis and Osiris,
Athos, the mountainous peninsula, also called Acte, which projects
from Chalcidice in Macedonia,
Atlantes, foster father of Rogero, a powerful magician,
Atlantis, according to an ancient tradition, a great island west
of the Pillars of Hercules, in the ocean, opposite Mount Atlas,
Atlas, a Titan, who bore the heavens on his shoulders, as
punishment for opposing the gods, one of the sons of Iapetus,
Atlas, Mount, general name for range in northern Africa,
Atropos, one of the Fates
Attica, a state in ancient Greece,
Audhumbla, the cow from which the giant Ymir was nursed. Her milk
was frost melted into raindrops,
Augean stables, cleansed by Hercules,
Augeas, king of Elis,
Augustan age, reign of Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar, famed for
many great authors,
Augustus, the first imperial Caesar, who ruled the Roman Empire 31
BC - 14 AD,
Aulis, port in Boeotia, meeting place of Greek expedition against
Troy,
Aurora, identical with Eos, goddess of the dawn,
Aurora Borealis, splendid nocturnal luminosity in northern sky,
called Northern Lights, probably electrical,
Autumn, attendant of Phoebus, the Sun,
Avalon, land of the Blessed, an earthly paradise in the Western
Seas, burial place of King Arthur,
Avatar, name for any of the earthly incarnations of Vishnu, the
Preserver (Hindu god),
Aventine, Mount, one of the Seven Hills of Rome,
Avernus, a miasmatic lake close to the promontory between Cumae
and Puteoli, filling the crater of an extinct volcano, by the
ancients thought to be the entrance to the infernal regions,
Avicenna, celebrated Arabian physician and philosopher,
Aya, mother of Rinaldo,
Aymon, Duke, father of Rinaldo and Bradamante,
B
Baal, king of Tyre,
Babylonian River, dried up when Phaeton drove the sun chariot,
Bacchanali a, a feast to Bacchus that was permitted to occur but
once in three years, attended by most shameless orgies,
Bacchanals, devotees and festal dancers of Bacchus,
Bacchus (Dionysus), god of wine and revelry,
Badon, battle of, Arthur's final victory over the Saxons,
Bagdemagus, King, a knight of Arthur's time,
Baldur, son of Odin, and representing in Norse mythology the sun
god,
Balisardo, Orlando's sword,
Ban, King of Brittany, ally of Arthur, father of Launcelot,
Bards, minstrels of Welsh Druids,
Basilisk SEE Cockatrice
Baucis, wife of Philemon, visited by Jupiter and Mercury,
Bayard, wild horse subdued by Rinaldo,
Beal, Druids' god of life,
Bedivere, Arthur's knight,
Bedver, King Arthur's butler, made governor of Normandy,
Bedwyr, knightly comrade of Geraint,
Belisarda, Rogero's sword,
Bellerophon, demigod, conqueror of the Chimaera,
Bellona, the Roman goddess of war, represented as the sister or
wife of Mars,
Beltane, Druidical fire festival,
Belus, son of Poseidon (Neptune) and Libya or Eurynome, twin
brother of Agenor,
Bendigeid Vran, King of Britain,
Beowulf, hero and king of the Swedish Geats,
Beroe, nurse of Semele,
Bertha, mother of Orlando,
Bifrost, rainbow bridge between the earth and Asgard
Bladud, inventor, builder of the city of Bath,
Blamor, a knight of Arthur,
Bleoberis, a knight of Arthur,
Boeotia, state in ancient Greece, capital city Thebes,
Bohort, King, a knight of Arthur,
Bona Dea, a Roman divinity of fertility,
Bootes, also called Areas, son of Jupiter and Calisto, changed to
constellation of Ursa Major,
Boreas, North wind, son of Aeolus and Aurora,
Bosporus (Bosphorus), the Cow-ford, named for Io, when as a heifer
she crossed that strait,
Bradamante, sister to Rinaldo, a female warrior,
Brademagus, King, father of Sir Maleagans,
Bragi, Norse god of poetry,
Brahma, the Creator, chief god of Hindu religion,
Branwen, daughter of Llyr, King of Britain, wife of Mathclch,
Breciliande, forest of, where Vivian enticed Merlin,
Brengwain, maid of Isoude the Fair
Brennus, son of Molmutius, went to Gaul, became King of the
Allobroges,
Breuse, the Pitiless, a caitiff knight,
Briareus, hundred armed giant,
Brice, Bishop, sustainer of Arthur when elected king,
Brigliadoro, Orlando's horse,
Briseis, captive maid belonging to Achilles,
Britto, reputed ancestor of British people,
Bruhier, Sultan of Arabia,
Brunello, dwarf, thief, and king
Brunhild, leader of the Valkyrie,
Brutus, great grandson of Aeneas, and founder of city of New Troy
(London), SEE Pandrasus