ond which lies Guiteclin's palace of 'Tremoigne' (supposed to be
Dortmund, in Westphalia). The river is too deep to be crossed by the
army, although the two young knights, Baldwin and Berard, succeed in
doing so in quest of adventure. The Saxons will not attack, trusting
that the French will be destroyed by delay and the seasons. And, indeed,
after two years and four months, the barons represent to the Emperor
the sad plight of the host, and urge him to call upon the men of Herupe
(North-west France) for performance of their warlike service. This
is done accordingly, and the Herupe barons make all haste to their
sovereign's aid, and come up just after the Saxons have made an
unsuccessful attack. They send to ask where they are to lodge their
troops. The Emperor points them laughingly to the other side of the
Rune, where float the silken banners of the Saxons, but says that any
of his men shall give up their camping-place to them. The Herupe men,
however, determine to take him at his word and, whilst the Archbishop
of Sens blesses the water, boldly fling themselves in and cross it, and
end, after a tremendous struggle, in taking up the quarters assigned to
them; but when he sees their prowess the Emperor recalls them to his own
side of the river.

"A bridge is built, the army passes over it, the Saxons are discomfited
in a great battle, and Guiteclin is killed in single combat by
Charlemagne himself.

"By this time the slender vein of historic truth which runs through the
poem may be considered as quite exhausted. Yet the real epic interest
of the work centres in its wholly apocryphal conclusion, connected
essentially with its purely romantic side.

"Sebile, the wife of Guiteclin, is a peerless beauty, wise withal and
courteous; 'hair had she long and fair, more than the shining gold, a
brow polished and clear, eyes blue and laughing, a very well-made nose,
teeth small and white, a savourous mouth, more crimson than blood;
and in body and limbs so winning was she that God never made the man,
howsoever old and tottering, if he durst look at her, but was moved with
desire.'"

Fair Helissend, the daughter of the murdered Milo of Cologne, is her
captive at once and her favourite, and when the French host takes up its
position before the Rune, names and points out young Baldwin to her.

With her husband's sanction, Sebile has her tent pitched on the bank,
and establishes herself there with her ladies to act as decoys to