s, of which those concerning William directly amount to
eighteen, while the entire _geste_ of Garin de Montglane runs to
twenty-four.

[Sidenote: _The earlier poems of the cycle._]

For the purposes of the _chansons_, William of the Strong Arm or the
Short Nose is Count, or rather Marquis, of Orange, one of
Charlemagne's peers, a special bulwark of France and Christendom
towards the south-east, and a man of approved valour, loyalty, and
piety, but of somewhat rough manners. Also (which is for the _chanson
de geste_ of even greater importance) he is grandson of Garin de
Montglane and the son of Aimeri de Narbonne, heroes both, and
possessors of the same good qualities which extend to all the family.
For it is a cardinal point of the _chansons_ that not only _bon sang
chasse de race_, but evil blood likewise. And the House of Narbonne,
or Montglane, or Orange, is as uniformly distinguished for loyalty as
the Normans and part of the house of Mayence for "treachery." To
illustrate its qualities, twenty-four _chansons_, as has been said,
are devoted, six of which tell the story before William, and the
remaining eighteen that of his life. The first in M. Gautier's
order[37] is _Les Enfances Garin de Montglane_. Garin de Montglane,
the son of Duke Savary of Aquitaine and a mother persecuted by false
accusations, like so many heroines of the middle ages, fights first in
Sicily, procures atonement for his mother's wrongs, and then goes to
the Court of Charlemagne, who, according to the general story, is his
exact equal in age, as is also Doon de Mayence, the special hero of
the third great _geste_. He conquers Montglane, and marries the Lady
Mabille, his marriage and its preliminaries filling the second
romance, or _Garin de Montglane_ proper. He has by Mabille four
sons--Hernaut de Beaulande, Girart de Viane, Renier de Gennes, and
Milles de Pouille. Each of the three first is the subject of an
existing _chanson_, and doubtless the fourth was similarly honoured.
_Girart de Viane_ is one of the most striking of the _chansons_ in
matter. The hero quarrels with Charlemagne owing to the bad offices of
the empress, and a great barons' war follows, in which Roland and
Oliver have their famous fight, and Roland is betrothed to Oliver's
sister Aude. _Hernaut de Beaulande_ tells how the hero conquers
Aquitaine, marries Fregonde, and becomes the father of Aimeri de
Narbonne; and _Renier de Gennes_ in like fashion the success of its
epo