as pledged to Girart. As a compensation for the
loss of his bride, he was given the Comte of Vienne, in Dauphine.
When he presented himself before Charlemagne to do homage, the
queen, whose affection for her old lover had changed to contempt,
forced him by a trick to kiss her foot instead of that of her
husband. Some time after, Girart learnt the truth, and, furious at
the insult placed upon him, he rebelled against his sovereign.
Renier, who had been made duke of Genoa, with his son Olivier
and his daughter 'la belle Aude,' came to help him. Charlemagne
besieged Vienne with a great army, and amongst his warriors was
his nephew Roland, who was his principal champion, just as Olivier
was that of Girart. A siege, like that of Troy, ensued, many
doughty deeds being done by the two heroes. In the course of the
fighting Roland sees Aude and falls in love with her. He takes her
prisoner, and almost succeeds in carrying her off to his tent, but
Olivier rescues her. Finally, it is agreed that the quarrel between
the monarch and his vassal shall be settled by a duel between the
two champions. Needless to say, the latter fall in readily with the
proposal. Olivier is armed by an aged Jew, Joachim, who with others
of his nation had fled to Vienne with Pontius Pilate after the
Crucifixion, and had not yet succeeded in dying. The combat takes
place in an island in the Rhone, and la Belle Aude, with mingled
feelings, watches from a window her brother and her lover
contending for victory. The struggle is full of tremendous incident.
At the outset each of the champions cuts the horse of the other in
two and the fight is continued on foot. Olivier's sword is broken,
and Roland invites him to send for another and take a little rest
and refreshment. A boatman goes to Vienne and procures from the
old Jew a famous sword, called Hauteclere, and some wine. The fight
is renewed and lasts till nightfall, when an angel descends from
heaven, and orders the two heroes to be reconciled and to fight
together against the Saracens. The warriors embrace and Olivier
promises Roland the hand of his sister. Such was the beginning of
the friendship of the two mighty champions ofChristendom.

Hugo's poem, however, is not based directly on the story, but on a
modern prose adaptation by Achille Jubinal which appeared in _Le
Journal du Dimanche_ in 1846. Leon Gautier indeed, in _Les Epopees
francaises, says: `Victor Hugo s'est propose de traduire notre
vieux