At this crisis he received a message from Bruhier, proposing to put the issue upon the result of a combat between himself and the Emperor or his champion; promising, if defeated, to withdraw his army. Charlemagne would willingly have accepted the challenge, but his counsellors all opposed it. The herald was therefore told that the Emperor would take time to consider his proposition, and give his answer the next day.
It was during this interval that the three Dukes succeeded in prevailing upon Charlemagne to pardon Ogier, and to send for him to combat the puissant enemy who now defied him; but it was no easy task to persuade Ogier. The idea of his long imprisonment and the recollection of his son, bleeding and dying in his arms by the blow of the ferocious Charlot, made him long resist the urgency of his friends. Though glory called him to encounter Bruhier, and the safety of Christendom demanded the destruction of this proud enemy of the faith, Ogier only yielded at last on condition that Charlot should be delivered into his hands to be dealt with as he should see fit.
The terms were hard, but the danger was pressing, and Charlemagne, with a returning sense of justice, and a strong confidence in the generous though passionate soul of Ogier, at last consented to them.
Ogier was led into the presence of Charlemagne by the three peers. The Emperor, faithful to his word, had caused Charlot to be brought into the hall where the high barons were assembled, his hands tied, and his head uncovered. When the Emperor saw Ogier approach he took Charlot by the arm, led him towards Ogier, and said these words: "I surrender the criminal; do with him as you think fit." Ogier, without replying, seized Charlot by the hair, forced him on his knees, and lifted with the other hand his irresistible sword. Charlemagne, who expected to see the head of his son rolling at his feet, shut his eyes and uttered a cry of horror.
Ogier had done enough. The next moment he raised Charlot, cut his bonds, kissed him on the mouth, and hastened to throw himself at the feet of the Emperor.
Nothing can exceed the surprise and joy of Charlemagne at seeing his son unharmed and Ogier kneeling at his feet. He folded him in his arms, bathed him with tears, and exclaimed to his barons, "I feel at this moment that Ogier is greater than I." As for Charlot, his base soul felt nothing but the joy of having escaped death; he remained such as he had been, and it was not till some years afterwards he received the punishment he deserved, from the hands of Huon of Bordeaux, as we have seen in a former chapter.
OGIER, THE DANE (Continued)
WHEN Charlemagne had somewhat recovered his composure he was surprised to observe that Ogier appeared in good case, and had a healthy color in his cheeks. He turned to the Archbishop, who could not help blushing as he met his eye. "By the head of Bertha, my queen," said Charlemagne, "Ogier has had good quarters in your castle, my Lord Archbishop; but so much the more am I indebted to you." All the barons laughed and jested with Turpin, who only said, "Laugh as much as you please, my lords; but for my part I am not sorry to see the arm in full vigor that is to avenge us on the proud Saracen."
Charlemagne immediately despatched his herald, accepting the challenge, and appointing the next day but one for the encounter. The proud and crafty Bruhier laughed scornfully when he heard the reply accepting his challenge, for he had a reliance on certain resources besides his natural strength and skill. However, he swore by Mahomet to observe the conditions as proposed and agreed upon.
Ogier now demanded his armor, and it was brought to him in excellent condition, for the good Turpin had kept it faithfully; but it was not easy to provide a horse for the occasion. Charlemagne had the best horses of his stables brought out, except Blanchard, his own charger; but all in vain, the weight of Ogier bent their backs to the ground. In this embarrassment the Archbishop remembered that the Emperor had given Beiffror to the Abbot of St. Faron, and sent off a courier in haste to re-demand him.
Monks are hard masters, and the one who directed the laborers at the abbey had but too faithfully obeyed the orders of the Abbot. Poor Beiffror was brought back, lean, spiritless, and chafed with the harness of the vile cart that he had had to draw so long. He carried his head down, and trod heavily before Charlemagne; but when he heard the voice of Ogier he raised his head, he neighed, his eyes flashed, his former ardor showed itself by the force with which he pawed the ground. Ogier caressed him, and the good steed seemed to return his caresses; Ogier mounted him, and Beiffror, proud of carrying his master again, leapt and curvetted with all his youthful vigor.
Nothing being now wanted, Charlemagne, at the head of his army, marched forth from the city of Paris, and occupied the hill of Montmartre, whence the view extended over the plain of St. Denis, where the battle was to be fought.
When the appointed day came the Dukes Namo and Salomon, as seconds of Ogier, accompanied him to the place marked out for the lists, and Bruhier, with two distinguished Emirs, presented himself on the other side.
Bruhier was in high spirits, and jested with his friends, as he advanced, upon the appearance of Beiffror. "Is that the horse they presume to match with Marchevallee, the best steed that ever fed in the vales of Mount Atlas?" But now the combatants, having met and saluted each other, ride apart to come together in full career. Beiffror flew over the plain, and met the adversary more than half-way. The lances of the two combatants were shivered at the shock, and Bruhier was astonished to see almost at the same instant the sword of Ogier gleaming above his head. He parried it with his buckler, and gave Ogier a blow on his helmet, who returned it with another, better aimed or better seconded by the temper of his blade, for it cut away part of Bruhier's helmet, and with it his ear and part of his cheek. Ogier, seeing the blood, did not immediately repeat his blow, and Bruhier seized the moment to gallop off at one side. As he rode he took a vase of gold which hung at his saddle-bow, and bathed with its contents the wounded part. The blood instantly ceased to flow, the ear and the flesh were restored quite whole, and the Dane was astonished to see his antagonist return to the ground as sound as ever.
Bruhier laughed at his amazement. "Know," said he, "that I possess the precious balm that Joseph of Arimathea used upon the body of the crucified one, whom you worship. If I should lose an arm I could restore it with a few drops of this. It is useless for you to contend with me. Yield yourself, and, as you appear to be a strong fellow, I will make you first oarsman in one of my galleys."
Ogier, though boiling with rage, forgot not to implore the assistance of Heaven. "O Lord!" he exclaimed, "suffer not the enemy of thy name to profit by the powerful help of that which owes all its virtue to thy divine blood." At these words he attacked Bruhier again with more vigor than ever; both struck terrible blows, and made grievous wounds; but the blood flowed from those of Ogier, while Bruhier stanched his by the application of his balm. Ogier, desperate at the unequal contest, grasped Cortana with both hands, and struck his enemy such a blow that it cleft his buckler, and cut off his arm with it; but Bruhier at the same time launched one at Ogier, which, missing him, struck the head of Beiffror, and the good horse fell, and drew down his master in his fall.
Bruhier had time to leap to the ground, to pick up his arm and apply his balsam; then, before Ogier had recovered his footing, he rushed forward with sword uplifted to complete his destruction.
Charlemagne, from the height of Montmartre, seeing the brave Ogier in this situation, groaned, and was ready to murmur against Providence; but the good Turpin, raising his arms, with a faith like that of Moses, drew down upon the Christian warrior the favor of Heaven.
Ogier, promptly disengaging himself, pressed Bruhier with so much impetuosity that he drove him to a distance from his horse, to whose saddle-bow the precious balm was suspended; and very soon Charlemagne saw Ogier, now completely in the advantage, bring his enemy to his knees, tear off his helmet, and, with a sweep of his sword, strike his head from his body.
After the victory, Ogier seized Marchevallee, leaped upon his back, and became possessed of the precious flask, a few drops from which closed his wounds and restored his strength. The French knights who had been Bruhier's captives, now released, pressed round Ogier to thank him for their deliverance.
Charlemagne and his nobles, as soon as their attention was relieved from the single combat, perceived from their elevated position an unusual agitation in the enemy's camp. They attributed it at first to the death of their general, but soon the noise of arms, the cries of combatants, and new standards which advanced, disclosed to them the fact that Bruhier's army was attacked by a new enemy.
The Emperor was right; it was the brave Carahue of Mauritania, who, with an army, had arrived in France, resolved to attempt the liberation of Ogier, his brother in arms. Learning on his arrival the changed aspect of affairs, he hesitated not to render a signal service to the Emperor, by attacking the army of Bruhier in the midst of the consternation occasioned by the loss of its commander.
Ogier recognized the standard of his friend, and leaping upon Marchevallee, flew to aid his attack. Charlemagne followed with his army; and the Saracen host, after an obstinate conflict, was forced to surrender unconditionally.
The interview of Ogier and Carahue was such as might be anticipated of two such attached friends and accomplished knights. Charlemagne went to meet them, embraced them, and putting the King of Mauritania on his right and Ogier on his left, returned with triumph to Paris. There the Empress Bertha and the ladies of her court crowned them with laurels, and the sage and gallant Eginhard, chamberlain and secretary of the Emperor, wrote all these great events in his history.
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
Bryan, Sir, a knight of Arthur,
Buddha, called The Enlightened, reformer of Brahmanism, deified teacher of self abnegation, virtue, reincarnation, Karma (inevitable sequence of every act), and Nirvana (beatific absorption into the Divine), lived about
Byblos, in Egypt,
Byrsa, original site of Carthage,
C
Cacus, gigantic son of Vulcan, slain by Hercules, whose captured cattle he stole,
Cadmus, son of Agenor, king of Phoenicia, and of Telephassa, and brother of Europa, who, seeking his sister, carried off by Jupiter, had strange adventures—sowing in the ground teeth of a dragon he had killed, which sprang up armed men who slew each other, all but five, who helped Cadmus to found the city of Thebes,
Caduceus, Mercury's staff,
Cadwallo, King of Venedotia (North Wales),
Caerleon, traditional seat of Arthur's court,
Caesar, Julius, Roman lawyer, general, statesman and author, conquered and consolidated Roman territory, making possible the Empire,
Caicus, a Greek river,
Cairns, Druidical store piles,
Calais, French town facing England,
Calchas, wisest soothsayer among the Greeks at Troy,
Caliburn, a sword of Arthur,
Calliope, one of the nine Muses
Callisto, an Arcadian nymph, mother of Arcas (SEE Bootes), changed by Jupiter to constellation Ursa Minor,
Calpe, a mountain in the south of Spain, on the strait between the
Atlantic and Mediterranean, now Rock of Gibraltar,
Calydon, home of Meleager,
Calypso, queen of Island of Ogyia, where Ulysses was wrecked and held seven years,
Camber, son of Brutus, governor of West Albion (Wales),
Camelot, legendary place in England where Arthur's court and palace were located,
Camenae, prophetic nymphs, belonging to the religion of ancient
Italy,
Camilla, Volscian maiden, huntress and Amazonian warrior, favorite of Diana,
Camlan, battle of, where Arthur was mortally wounded,
Canterbury, English city,
Capaneus, husband of Evadne, slain by Jupiter for disobedience,
Capet, Hugh, King of France (987-996 AD),
Caradoc Briefbras, Sir, great nephew of King Arthur,
Carahue, King of Mauretania,
Carthage, African city, home of Dido
Cassandra, daughter of Priam and Hecuba, and twin sister of Helenus, a prophetess, who foretold the coming of the Greeks but was not believed,
Cassibellaunus, British chieftain, fought but not conquered by
Caesar,
Cassiopeia, mother of Andromeda,
Castalia, fountain of Parnassus, giving inspiration to Oracular priestess named Pythia,
Castalian Cave, oracle of Apollo,
Castes (India),
Castor and Pollux—the Dioscuri, sons of Jupiter and Leda,—
Castor a horseman, Pollux a boxer (SEE Gemini),
Caucasus, Mount
Cavall, Arthur's favorite dog,
Cayster, ancient river,
Cebriones, Hector's charioteer,
Cecrops, first king of Athens,
Celestials, gods of classic mythology,
Celeus, shepherd who sheltered Ceres, seeking Proserpine, and whose infant son Triptolemus was in gratitude made great by Ceres,
Cellini, Benvenuto, famous Italian sculptor and artificer in metals,
Celtic nations, ancient Gauls and Britons, modern Bretons, Welsh,
Irish and Gaelic Scotch,
Centaurs, originally an ancient race, inhabiting Mount Pelion in Thessaly, in later accounts represented as half horses and half men, and said to have been the offspring of Ixion and a cloud,
Cephalus, husband of beautiful but jealous Procris,
Cephe us, King of Ethiopians, father of Andromeda,
Cephisus, a Grecian stream,
Cerberus, three-headed dog that guarded the entrance to Hades, called a son of Typhaon and Echidna
CERES (See Demeter)
CESTUS, the girdle of Venus
CEYX, King of Thessaly (See Halcyone)
CHAOS, original Confusion, personified by Greeks as most ancient of the gods
CHARLEMAGNE, king of the Franks and emperor of the Romans
CHARLES MARTEL', king of the Franks, grandfather of Charlemagne, called Martel (the Hammer) from his defeat of the Saracens at Tours
CHARLOT, son of Charlemagne
CHARON, son of Erebos, conveyed in his boat the shades of the dead across the rivers of the lower world
CHARYB'DIS, whirlpool near the coast of Sicily, See Scylla
CHIMAERA, a fire breathing monster, the fore part of whose body was that of a lion, the hind part that of a dragon, and the middle that of a goat, slain by Bellerophon
CHINA, Lamas (priests) of
CHOS, island in the Grecian archipelago
CHIRON, wisest of all the Centaurs, son of Cronos (Saturn) and
Philyra, lived on Mount Pelion, instructor of Grecian heroes
CHRYSEIS, Trojan maid, taken by Agamemnon
CHRYSES, priest of Apollo, father of Chryseis
CICONIANS, inhabitants of Ismarus, visited by Ulysses
CIMBRI, an ancient people of Central Europe
Cimmeria, a land of darkness
Cimon, Athenian general
Circe, sorceress, sister of Aeetes
Cithaeron, Mount, scene of Bacchic worship
Clarimunda, wife of Huon
Clio, one of the Muses
Cloridan, a Moor
Clotho, one of the Fates
Clymene, an ocean nymph
Clytemnestra, wife of Agamemnon, killed by Orestes
Clytie, a water nymph, in love with Apollo
Cnidos, ancient city of Asia Minor, seat of worship of Aphrodite
(Venus)
Cockatrice (or Basilisk), called King of Serpents, supposed to kill with its look
Cocytus, a river of Hades
Colchis, a kingdom east of the Black Sea
Colophon, one of the seven cities claiming the birth of Homer
Columba, St, an Irish Christian missionary to Druidical parts of
Scotland
Conan, Welsh king
Constantine, Greek emperor
Cordeilla, daughter of the mythical King Leir
Corineus, a Trojan warrior in Albion
Cornwall, southwest part of Britain
Cortana, Ogier's sword
Corybantes, priests of Cybele, or Rhea, in Phrygia, who celebrated her worship with dances, to the sound of the drum and the cymbal, 143
Crab, constellation
Cranes and their enemies, the Pygmies, of Ibycus
Creon, king of Thebes
Crete, one of the largest islands of the Mediterranean Sea, lying south of the Cyclades
Creusa, daughter of Priam, wife of Aeneas
Crocale, a nymph of Diana
Cromlech, Druidical altar
Cronos, See Saturn
Crotona, city of Italy
Cuchulain, Irish hero, called the "Hound of Ireland,"
Culdees', followers of St. Columba, Cumaean Sibyl, seeress of Cumae, consulted by Aeneas, sold Sibylline books to Tarquin
Cupid, child of Venus and god of love
Curoi of Kerry, wise man
Cyane, river, opposed Pluto's passage to Hades
Cybele (Rhea)
Cyclopes, creatures with circular eyes, of whom Homer speaks as a gigantic and lawless race of shepherds in Sicily, who devoured human beings, they helped Vulcan to forge the thunderbolts of Zeus under Aetna
Cymbeline, king of ancient Britain
Cynosure (Dog's tail), the Pole star, at tail of Constellation
Ursa Minor
Cynthian mountain top, birthplace of Artemis (Diana) and Apollo
Cyprus, island off the coast of Syria, sacred to Aphrodite
Cyrene, a nymph, mother of Aristaeus
Daedalus, architect of the Cretan Labyrinth, inventor of sails
Daguenet, King Arthur's fool
Dalai Lama, chief pontiff of Thibet
Danae, mother of Perseus by Jupiter
Danaides, the fifty daughters of Danaus, king of Argos, who were betrothed to the fifty sons of Aegyptus, but were commanded by their father to slay each her own husband on the marriage night
Danaus (See Danaides)
Daphne, maiden loved by Apollo, and changed into a laurel tree
Dardanelles, ancient Hellespont
Dardanus, progenitor of the Trojan kings
Dardinel, prince of Zumara
Dawn, See Aurora
Day, an attendant on Phoebus, the Sun
Day star (Hesperus)
Death, See Hela
Deiphobus, son of Priam and Hecuba, the bravest brother of Paris
Dejanira, wife of Hercules
Delos, floating island, birthplace of Apollo and Diana
Delphi, shrine of Apollo, famed for its oracles
Demeter, Greek goddess of marriage and human fertility, identified by Romans with Ceres
Demeha, South Wales
Demodocus, bard of Alomous, king of the Phaeaeians
Deucalion, king of Thessaly, who with his wife Pyrrha were the only pair surviving a deluge sent by Zeus
Dia, island of
Diana (Artemis), goddess of the moon and of the chase, daughter of
Jupiter and Latona
Diana of the Hind, antique sculpture in the Louvre, Paris
Diana, temple of
Dictys, a sailor
Didier, king of the Lombards
Dido, queen of Tyre and Carthage, entertained the shipwrecked
Aeneas
Diomede, Greek hero during Trojan War
Dione, female Titan, mother of Zeus, of Aphrodite (Venus)
Dionysus See Bacchus
Dioscuri, the Twins (See Castor and Pollux)
Dirce, wife of Lycus, king of Thebes, who ordered Amphion and Zethus to tie Antiope to a wild bull, but they, learning Antiope to be their mother, so treated Dirce herself
Dis See Pluto
Discord, apple of, See Eris.
Discordia, See Eris.
Dodona, site of an oracle of Zeus (Jupiter)
Dorceus, a dog of Diana
Doris, wife of Nereus
Dragon's teeth sown by Cadmus
Druids, ancient Celtic priests
Dryades (or Dryads), See Wood nymphs
Dryope, changed to a lotus plant, for plucking a lotus—enchanted form of the nymph Lotis
Dubricius, bishop of Caerleon,
Dudon, a knight, comrade of Astolpho,
Dunwallo Molmu'tius, British king and lawgiver
Durindana, sword of Orlando or Rinaldo
Dwarfs in Wagner's Nibelungen Ring
E
Earth (Gaea); goddess of the
Ebudians, the
Echo, nymph of Diana, shunned by Narcissus, faded to nothing but a voice
Ecklenlied, the
Eddas, Norse mythological records,
Ederyn, son of Nudd
Egena, nymph of the Fountain
Eisteddfod, session of Welsh bards and minstrels
Electra, the lost one of the Pleiades, also, sister of Orestes
Eleusian Mysteries, instituted by Ceres, and calculated to awaken feelings of piety and a cheerful hope of better life in the future
Eleusis, Grecian city
Elgin Marbles, Greek sculptures from the Parthenon of Athens, now in British Museum, London, placed there by Lord Elgin
Eliaures, enchanter
Elidure, a king of Britain
Elis, ancient Greek city
Elli, old age; the one successful wrestler against Thor
Elphin, son of Gwyddiro
Elves, spiritual beings, of many powers and dispositions—some evil, some good
Elvidnir, the ball of Hela
Elysian Fields, the land of the blest
Elysian Plain, whither the favored of the gods were taken without death
Elysium, a happy land, where there is neither snow, nor cold, nor ram. Hither favored heroes, like Menelaus, pass without dying, and live happy under the rule of Rhadamanthus. In the Latin poets Elysium is part of the lower world, and the residence of the shades of the blessed
Embla, the first woman
Enseladus, giant defeated by Jupiter
Endymion, a beautiful youth beloved by Diana
Enid, wife of Geraint
Enna, vale of home of Proserpine
Enoch, the patriarch
Epidaurus, a town in Argolis, on the Saronic gulf, chief seat of the worship of Aeculapius, whose temple was situated near the town
Epimetheus, son of Iapetus, husband of Pandora, with his brother
Prometheus took part in creation of man
Epirus, country to the west of Thessaly, lying along the Adriatic
Sea
Epopeus, a sailor
Erato, one of the Muses
Erbin of Cornwall, father of Geraint
Erebus, son of Chaos, region of darkness, entrance to Hades
Eridanus, river
Erinys, one of the Furies
Eriphyle, sister of Polynices, bribed to decide on war, in which her husband was slain
Eris (Discordia), goddess of discord. At the wedding of Peleus and
Thetis, Eris being uninvited threw into the gathering an apple
"For the Fairest," which was claimed by Hera (Juno), Aphrodite
(Venus) and Athena (Minerva) Paris, being called upon for
judgment, awarded it to Aphrodite
Erisichthon, an unbeliever, punished by famine
Eros See Cupid
Erytheia, island
Eryx, a mount, haunt of Venus
Esepus, river in Paphlagonia
Estrildis, wife of Locrine, supplanting divorced Guendolen
Eteocles, son of Oeipus and Jocasta
Etruscans, ancient people of Italy,
Etzel, king of the Huns
Euboic Sea, where Hercules threw Lichas, who brought him the poisoned shirt of Nessus
Eude, king of Aquitaine, ally of Charles Martel
Eumaeus, swineherd of Aeeas
Eumenides, also called Erinnyes, and by the Romans Furiae or
Diraae, the Avenging Deities, See Furies
Euphorbus, a Trojan, killed by Menelaus
Euphros'yne, one of the Graces
Europa, daughter of the Phoenician king Agenor, by Zeus the mother of Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Sarpedon
Eurus, the East wind
Euyalus, a gallant Trojan soldier, who with Nisus entered the
Grecian camp, both being slain,
Eurydice, wife of Orpheus, who, fleeing from an admirer, was killed by a snake and borne to Tartarus, where Orpheus sought her and was permitted to bring her to earth if he would not look back at her following him, but he did, and she returned to the Shades,
Eurylochus, a companion of Ulysses,
Eurynome, female Titan, wife of Ophlon
Eurystheus, taskmaster of Hercules,
Eurytion, a Centaur (See Hippodamia),
Euterpe, Muse who presided over music,
Evadne, wife of Capaneus, who flung herself upon his funeral pile and perished with him
Evander, Arcadian chief, befriending Aeneas in Italy,
Evnissyen, quarrelsome brother of Branwen,
Excalibar, sword of King Arthur,
F
Fafner, a giant turned dragon, treasure stealer, by the Solar
Theory simply the Darkness who steals the day,
Falerina, an enchantress,
Fasolt, a giant, brother of Fafner, and killed by him,
"Fasti," Ovid's, a mythological poetic calendar,
FATA MORGANA, a mirage
FATES, the three, described as daughters of Night—to indicate the darkness and obscurity of human destiny—or of Zeus and Themis, that is, "daughters of the just heavens" they were Clo'tho, who spun the thread of life, Lach'esis, who held the thread and fixed its length and At'ropos, who cut it off
FAUNS, cheerful sylvan deities, represented in human form, with small horns, pointed ears, and sometimes goat's tail
FAUNUS, son of Picus, grandson of Saturnus, and father of Latinus, worshipped as the protecting deity of agriculture and of shepherds, and also as a giver of oracles
FAVONIUS, the West wind
FEAR
FENRIS, a wolf, the son of Loki the Evil Principle of Scandinavia, supposed to have personated the element of fire, destructive except when chained
FENSALIR, Freya's palace, called the Hall of the Sea, where were brought together lovers, husbands, and wives who had been separated by death
FERRAGUS, a giant, opponent of Orlando
FERRAU, one of Charlemagne's knights
FERREX. brother of Porrex, the two sons of Leir
FIRE WORSHIPPERS, of ancient Persia, See Parsees FLOLLO, Roman tribune in Gaul
FLORA, Roman goddess of flowers and spring
FLORDELIS, fair maiden beloved by Florismart
FLORISMART, Sir, a brave knight,
FLOSSHILDA, one of the Rhine daughters
FORTUNATE FIELDS
FORTUNATE ISLANDS (See Elysian Plain)
FORUM, market place and open square for public meetings in Rome, surrounded by court houses, palaces, temples, etc
FRANCUS, son of Histion, grandson of Japhet, great grandson of
Noah, legendary ancestor of the Franks, or French
FREKI, one of Odin's two wolves
FREY, or Freyr, god of the sun
FREYA, Norse goddess of music, spring, and flowers
FRICKA, goddess of marriage
FRIGGA, goddess who presided over smiling nature, sending sunshine, rain, and harvest
FROH, one of the Norse gods
FRONTI'NO, Rogero's horse
FURIES (Erinnyes), the three retributive spirits who punished crime, represented as snaky haired old woman, named Alecto, Megaeira, and Tisiphone
FUSBERTA, Rinaldo's sword
G
GAEA, or Ge, called Tellus by the Romans, the personification of the earth, described as the first being that sprang fiom Chaos, and gave birth to Uranus (Heaven) and Pontus (Sea)
GAHARIET, knight of Arthur's court
GAHERIS, knight
GALAFRON, King of Cathay, father of Angelica
GALAHAD, Sir, the pure knight of Arthur's Round Table, who safely took the Siege Perilous (which See)
GALATEA, a Nereid or sea nymph
GALATEA, statue carved and beloved by Pygmalion
GALEN, Greek physician and philosophical writer
GALLEHANT, King of the Marches