Character study of Bradamante

Joseph Campbell famously described the commonalities of myths and stories told throughout the world as “the hero with a thousand faces” meaning that regardless of the name of the particular hero or the locale in which a monster was fought - there was an underlying mythos capturing our imaginations. That is why heroic stories persist throughout the ages and continue to be propagated for new generations. One method that allows readers or audiences to recognize the significance of what role each character plays in the story whether they are hero, ally or adversary is by using stock figures or archetypes. I use the term archetype differently than what was described by Carl Jung, so I am not limited to his set of twelve archetypes. My use is more in line with recognizing stock figures that become icons in literature and drama.

From the Ariosto Room in the Il Casino Giustiani Massimo al Laterano in Rome, Italy. Picture credit to Marco Ferrara.

Bradamante is the niece of Charlemagne and a respected warrior maiden. Ariosto praises her beauty as well as declaring her to be equal in “courage, might and expertise” to that of her famous brother Rinaldo, (Orlando furioso, Canto II, verse 31).

Archetypically, I feel that Bradamante’s character had two major influences. The first was the Greek Goddess Athena.

From the Louvre Museum in Paris.

 She was the goddess of wisdom and victory and known for her cool-headed strategic planning. No man ever captured Athena’s heart.

The second influence was of the historical figure of Joan of Arc or Jeanne d’Arc. I find that comparison more compelling and I feel that it was not incidental, but instead a deliberate attempt by Ariosto to invoke the parallels between the literary heroine and the real life French martyr. Jeanne d’Arc who was burned at the stake in 1431 at the age of 19. She had been known for riding a white horse, carrying a banner made of white fabric, was called “the Maid,” had cropped hair and dressed in men’s clothing.

Jeanne d'Arc, St. Étienne Cathedrale in Cahors, France

Bradamante was a young woman, most likely a teenager, and is described as having a white shield with a white plume (Orlando furioso, Canto I, verse 60) and is often referred to as “the Maid.” The color white is known for the symbolic virtues of purity and innocence. Bradamante also had cropped hair, due to a blow to the back of her head by an enemy warrior near the end of Boiardo’s poem Orlando innamorato (Book III Canto v, verse 46) and a hermit cut her hair to tend to the wound. (Book III, Canto ix, verse 61)
Ariosto neglected to mention the length of Bradamante’s hair until finally in Canto 25 when her twin brother Ricciardetto relates a tale to Ruggiero of how people commonly confuse him and his sister Bradamante since they have such great resemblance to each other. The confusion about her sex was compounded when she lost her tresses due to the head injury.  (Orlando furioso, Canto XXV, verses 22-24)

Bradamante also disguised herself as a man when she approached the thief Brunello at an inn and sought to have him serve as her guide to find where Ruggiero was being held captive.

“Name, sex, race, family and place of birth

She hides, watching his hands for all she’s worth.” (Orlando furioso, Canto III, verse 76)

The greatest differences between Bradamante and Jeanne d’Arc is that the literary heroine is revered by her king, never accused of heresy, has a love life, and a much better fate than the historical figure.

Here are more artistic renderings of Bradamante.

Illustration by Gustave Doré based on Orlando furioso, Canto III, verse 9. (Doré was inspired to begin his drawings before reading the entire poem to discover in Canto XXV that Bradamante's tresses were cut to make her resemble a boy.)

Plate 20 by Jean Honoré Fragonard of Bradamant fighting Atlante on the hippogriff.

 

 

I happen to have purchased that image when a facsimile of it was sold on eBay. The scan is from my copy.

Of all the characters in Orlando innamorato and Orlando furioso,  my favorite is Bradamante. She is a strong heroine who rarely loses her temper. Twice she gave into seeking revenge. Once was going after Martisino and the second was Pinabel. Both times she suffered due to her lust for vengeance. In Fate of the Saracen Knight, Bradamante hears rumors of Ruggiero being romantically involved with another warrior maiden. Will she suffer if she sets out on another quest for vengeance?

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Hippogriffs, Harry Potter and Warrior Maidens

The inspiration for my novel Quest of the Warrior Maiden was due to my previous obsession with the Harry Potter series.  No really, it was.

I spent several years re-reading and studying the series before it was complete.  I formulated theories and shared them online with other likewise obsessed fans.  I wrote fanfiction fleshing out my wacky theories as to where I thought things might go in the fifth year. I was also drawn into speculating about the significance of romance in the series. I became convinced that it was not just an amusing subplot, but that the Power of Love was integral to the resolution of the storyline. I became drawn into the shipping debates.

"Shipping" is a slang term used when fans advocate for romantic relationships of characters in a series. I believe the term dates back to the original Star Trek series days when fans wrote their own stories about Spock, Captain Kirk, etc.

As I debated ship in the online debates, I became a notorious defender of the Harry/Hermione (H/Hr ship) with my numerous and lengthy (!) essays. I was even a participant in the only live ship debate held at a Harry Potter symposium in Orlando, Florida back in 2003.

  

One of the theories floated by my H/Hr shipmates was the idea that hippogriffs were a symbol of love.  (A hippogriff is a mythical creature who is the offspring of a griffin mating with a mare and so the front portion is of an eagle with wings and the back is of a horse.) Some of my shipmates suggested that Harry and Hermione flying alone together on the back of a hippogriff indicated a strong symbolic image of a future romantic pairing.

I decided to follow up on that possibility and read the epic poem Orlando furioso since it was the first time in literature a hippogriff was used as a character.  I doubt that I would ever have read Orlando furioso had I not participated in the online Harry Potter fandom debates.

I had no real expectations when I began reading this classic, but largely forgotten poem.  I discovered a sprawling tale with an immense cast of characters and multiple interweaving plotlines.  Think of it as a medieval fantasy of swords and sorcery set against a backdrop of a holy war between Muslim and Christian forces in the time of Charlemagne.  The poet engaged his audience with one intense duel between famed warriors and then stopped at an exciting part to then pick up where he left off on a different storyline that had been previously paused with something like, "Let us leave Rinaldo and Gradasso's fight here and go back to Orlando who when we last saw him was battling..."

My first attempt at reading this poem was using a public domain version that can be found online for free and translated by William Stewart Rose.  I found the nineteenth century language to be stiff and difficult to follow.  That's being kind, I found it confusing and I became easily lost.  I found the story much easier to understand once I got my hands on the Penguin Classics version translated by Barbara Reynolds.

 

Reading her translation, I became immersed in a Medieval world of knights.  I was captivated by the love story of the kick-ass heroine Bradamante and the virtuous knight Ruggiero.  I skimmed storylines featuring other characters and anxiously awaited the return of the Bradamante and Ruggiero plotline.

My original intent of reading Orlando furioso was to see the usage of the hippogriff in context and I recognized that this mythical creature symbolized the impossible love between Bradamante and Ruggiero. 

Bradamante is the niece of Charlemagne and Ruggiero is a Saracen warrior descended from Hector of Troy.  They are both respected warriors, but theirs is an impossible love since they sworn to serve opposing leaders in the midst of a holy war.

Hippogriffs are the personification of impossible love.  The first mention of a hippogriff dates back to Virgil's Eclogues where it is mentioned in a few lines in the eighth eclogue:

"soon shall we see mate 

Griffins with mares, and in the coming age 

Shy deer and hounds together come to drink." 

Here is the pertinent background legend:  Griffins were known as fierce protectors of gold and avengers of evil.  The legendary one-eyed Arimaspi rode on horseback while raiding gold guarded by griffins which was the source of the long standing enmity between griffins and horses.  Hippogriffs are the offspring of the impossible love between griffins and mares.

Bradamante is a fierce warrior maid who has the difficult task of maintaining her reputation and honor while at the same time rescuing her beloved who is being held prisoner.  That's right, the maiden rescues a knight who is locked away in a castle.

I loved that reversal in plot conventions and was impressed that literature included such a powerful female character.  That this story featuring such a strong female was written centuries ago by a man impressed me even more.

There were many powerful obstacles to Bradamante and Ruggiero's ultimate union.  I remember being overcome by emotion when I read one of the ending passages of this poem where Ruggiero was willing to die out of love for Bradamante.  I was reading this on my lunch break, and crying on the patio.

Upon finishing the story, I wondered why I had never heard of Bradamante and Ruggiero before.  I felt this literary couple deserved to be as well known as Tristan and Isolde or Arthur and Guinevere.  

After publication of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and the online interview that dispelled all doubt as to JKR's planned romantic pairings, I was disinterested in continuing my same level of active participation with the HP fandom.  I needed a new writing project and it was then that I remembered my desire to see the Bradamante/Ruggiero love story reach a larger audience and became inspired to adapt this classic work.  That was the genesis for the writing of my novel.

I began reading extensively about Medieval history and Charlemagne. To further my research, I traveled to France to see the settings of my story and discovered real life magic in the Midi Pyrenees region. I scoured many museums, trekked hilltop villages and castle ruins.  My novel became infused with detail that I could only learn from being there in person.

Quest of the Warrior Maiden is the first book in the Bradamante and Ruggiero two volume series.  So for those who enjoy epic historic fantasy, please consider reading this saga of chivalry, secret romances, betrayal, revenge and magic.

http://lcmccabe.blogspot.com/2012/11/hippogriffs-harry-potter-and-warrior.html

Feminine Archetypes and Symbolism in Carolingian Legends

The following is the text of the paper I gave at the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology Conference held in San Francisco on May 11th and 12th.

Like many conferences, it was difficult to choose which session to attend because there were many topics that sounded interesting.  With that in mind, I wanted to share this online for those who were not able to hear my talk.

Deconstructing Carolingian legends to discover feminine archetypes and symbolism

Before I start, I want to get a sense of the room.  How many people here are familiar with Arthurian legends? Now, how about Carolingian legends?

I want to first give an overview of Carolingian legends for those unfamiliar with them.  The word Carolingian comes from the Latin Carolus Magnus, meaning Karl the Great, better known to us as Charlemagne. The legends of Charlemagne are just as luxurious of a source material as the legends of Arthur, but without any debate as to whether or not Charlemagne was an historical figure, he was, and the legends about him were stories created to entertain and not considered as history.

I will touch on the most popular aspect of these legends in art and drama so that you will be able have discussions with people who may only be familiar with the legends of Roland (in French) or Orlando (in Italian). The most famous of the legends of Charlemagne is the Chanson de Roland or the Song of Roland.  Written in the eleventh century by a Frenchman, it was loosely based on a real defeat of Charlemagne's army in 778 in the Roncevaux Pass in the Pyrenees.  The historical events are rendered into mythology.  There are other stories comprising the Matters of France, not all were written by Frenchmen, but they all deal with legends of Medieval France. Similarly, the Matters of Britain were not all written by British writers, but they concern Medieval Britain.

Some of the largest sources of Carolingian legend, and what I will be discussing today are two epic poems written by Italians. Orlando innamorato (Orlando in love) was written by Matteo Maria Boiardo and the first version was published in 1483 and another version with more cantos was published posthumously in 1495. He stopped writing his story when the French army invaded Italy in 1494.  He found it impossible to lionize the heroic nature of fictional Frankish warriors when real French warriors were attacking the various duchies on the Italian peninsula.

A decade or so later, Ludovico Ariosto was commissioned by the same patrons to continue Boiardo's unfinished tale.  Ariosto's Orlando furioso (Orlando enraged) became more famous than its predecessor and was first published in 1516, so we will soon be celebrating its five hundredth anniversary.

Those poems were pure fiction and written to entertain and flatter the poets' patrons the noble house of Este in the northern Italian city of Ferrara.  The stories depict wars that never took place between Christian and Muslim armies and were undoubtedly influenced by the Crusades, which occurred centuries after Charlemagne's death in 814.

The two poems follow the title character of Orlando, a famous paladin of Charlemagne, and his unrequited love for Angelica the princess of Cathay.  Once Orlando discovers that Angelica has married another, he goes insane.  The story has multiple interweaving plotlines and numerous disparate settings from Europe and North Africa to Asia.

Boiardo's epic featured an invasion of the Frankish Empire by the North African Muslim army and the war was finally finished in Ariosto’s tale.  There were brave knights, scoundrels, bloody sieges, enchanted realms, sorceresses, wizards, a flying hippogriff as well as the brave female warriors, Bradamante and Marfisa.

These stories inspired many artists such as Doré, Fragonard and Ingres. There was a special exhibit in 2009 at the Louvre in Paris featuring the art inspired by Orlando furioso. There are also at least a dozen operas that cover portions of Ariosto's masterpiece. Cervante's classic novel Don Quixote includes mentions of the poem and William Shakespeare even borrowed a dramatic set-up from the fourth canto of Orlando furioso for a scene in his famous comedy "Much Ado about Nothing."

 Most people who are somewhat familiar with these stories know of Orlando's love and madness, but they are not as familiar with Bradamante's story which began as a subplot, but wound up becoming front and center in the story at its conclusion.  In Italian, her name is pronounced Bradamanté, whereas the French pronunciation is Bradamante.  Because she is a Frankish character, I use the French variant, but both are correct.

I feel Bradamante should be as famous and as well examined a character as Guinevere, Morgan le Fay and the Lady of the Lake.

The first time I read Orlando furioso was nearly ten years ago and I was startled to discover such a strong female character in literature. I had a hard time believing that this feminist character was written centuries ago, by a man, and I wondered why I had never heard of her before.

I see Bradamante as being a blend of two similar archetypes:  Joan of Arc and Athena.  Bradamante is depicted as riding on a white horse, bearing a shield and plume of white, having cropped hair and disguising herself as a man.  She also has the nickname "The Maid."  Since Joan of Arc was killed in 1431, it is reasonable to think that Boiardo and Ariosto were inspired by this real life heroine as they were writing their fictional heroine.

The major difference between the Maid of Orléans and Bradamante is that the fictional character was not persecuted for her military prowess, but instead heralded and valued as a military commander.  She was the niece of Charlemagne and came from a distinguished military family. Her interest in warfare was not due to hearing divine voices, but instead military duty was in her blood.  Charlemagne had also been a powerful monarch for many years before his niece was born, so unlike King Charles VII of France, he was not threatened by this warrior maiden's influence with the people.

Similar to Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and victory, Bradamante is depicted at the beginning to have a heart unmoved by men.  That is until Ruggiero, a Saracen warrior, performed an uncommon act of chivalry on her behalf on the battlefield.  This led to their talking to one another and experiencing Love at First Sight.  Ruggiero was descended from Hector of Troy and strove to live up to the image of his noble ancestor as the perfect knight. 

Dore's hippogriff

Bradamante and Ruggiero represent an impossible love as they are warriors on opposite sides of a holy war.  Symbolically this impossible love is represented in the story by the hippogriff, a mythical creature that is part eagle and part horse, and first described in Virgil's Ecclogues as being born of the mating of natural enemies of griffins and mares. Griffins were fierce protectors of gold and raiders rode horses in efforts to steal gold, leading to the animals' enmity of each other. Ariosto was the first author to use the hippogriff as a character in literature.

Bradamante and Ruggiero's bliss at finding one another does not last and they are soon cruelly separated.

This love story of Bradamante and Ruggiero shows an inverse on what we have come to expect with the hero cycle as described by Joseph Campbell with his thesis the Hero With a Thousand Faces.  Instead, Bradamante's story arc is more in line with the Heroine's Journey as described by Valerie Estelle Frankel.  Bradamante, a fair damsel, is given the Call to Adventure and is told she must rescue her beloved who is being held captive by a wizard in an enchanted castle.  After rescuing Ruggiero, her next task is to persuade him to be baptized as a Christian and marry her. In so doing, their union will bring forth generations of heroes who will, in time, lead to the noble house d'Este of Ferrara.

This is far different from traditional quest stories with a young man fighting evil in order to save his world from destruction.  Instead, Bradamante is told that her ultimate goal is marriage and motherhood.  There is a tragic element however, for it is also foretold that Ruggiero will be betrayed and killed before the birth of their child.

This next part is not symbolism or archetypes, but I wanted to share with you the qualitative difference in plot structure than what we have become accustomed to. While Ruggiero is the orphaned youth raised in obscurity, it differs from most stories in that there are two prophecies with divergent fates for Ruggiero.  Should he remain a Muslim, he would bring about the defeat of Charlemagne devastating Christendom. These stakes are compounded with dueling magical forces trying to influence which fate will come to pass.

There are other feminine archetypes appearing in these poems that are worth mentioning.  The character Angelica, the object of Orlando's romantic obsession, is described as the most beautiful woman in the world and caused every man to fall violently in love with her.  She is the archetype of Helen of Sparta (and later Troy) who was the catalyst for a war with multiple suitors vying to possess her.

Dore's Alcina

There is also Alcina, a sorceress who uses her magical powers to appear youthful.  After tiring of her lovers, she transforms them into trees and shrubs - retaining them as souvenirs of her conquests.  This echoes the story of Circe from Greek mythology.

Another female character you should know about is the other warrior maiden Marfisa.  She was abducted as a small girl, sold into slavery, and has a deep-rooted hatred of men in general.  She survived a rape attempt by her king by killing him.  She then slaughtered the king's guards until she was declared Queen Marfisa.  That was the first of many kingdoms she conquered.  Marfisa represents a destructive force of womanhood in that she conquers but does not govern. I see her as the archetype of Nemesis, the goddess of retribution.

Marfisa and Bradamante appear to be opposites at first.  Marfisa is a Muslim while Bradamante is a Christian, and they are both attracted to Ruggiero. Only when it is revealed that Marfisa is not a romantic rival for Ruggiero's affections, do the two women put aside their differences and become fast friends and allies.

These legends are also filled with symbolism. The richest symbolic scene is when Bradamante is given the Call to Adventure in a cave, recognized symbolically as the womb.  Melissa, an old enchantress, tells Bradamante of the two prophecies surrounding Ruggiero and what is expected of her.  Melissa represents the Crone.  Bradamante is a warrior maid who is being asked to become a wife and mother.  The two women together comprise the three aspects of the triple headed goddess:  Maiden, Mother, Crone.  Bradamante represents the Blade being transformed into the Chalice by the Power of Love.

National ASWM Board Member Anne R. Key and Linda C. McCabe

http://lcmccabe.blogspot.com/2012/05/feminine-archetypes-and-symbolism-in.html

Archetypes: Aphrodite vs. Athena and Angelica vs. Bradamante

I began reading Greek mythology as a child. My elementary school classroom had a few books with those stories and I became entranced by the drama, spectacle, and tragedy that were larger than life.

I didn't know about psychology or archetypes then, all I knew was that there were some gods and goddesses that I liked and others who I didn't.

I liked Athena and didn't care much for Aphrodite.

As an adult, I can understand that Athena, goddess of wisdom and victory, demonstrates a woman having confidence in herself and being praised for her intellect. Intellect is something one can work on to improve over life. You can feed your brain with books, classes, asking questions, etc.

Aphrodite, on the other hand represents a far different kind of archetype. She represents love and beauty. Aphrodite is seen as such a beautiful woman that all men will be overcome with desire for her, and lose their wits in order to possess her. While anyone can make themselves look more presentable and attractive by having good grooming and dressing well, there is a limit to improving your looks just as there is a limit in changing your height.

That was something I inherently knew as a child and so I never felt any interest in aspiring to be like Aphrodite. To me, she seemed selfish, vain and self-centered. Those are qualities that I do not find appealing.

In the epic poems Orlando innamorato and Orlando furioso, those two archetypes are best represented by the characters Bradamante and Angelica.

The Athena archetype is represented by Bradamante who is a warrior and renowned for her battle strategies. She is unmarried and unbetrothed because men are intimidated by her military prowess. She is a powerful woman and a character who I liked immediately. I may not be tall or interested in swinging a sword, but I enjoy reading about a strong female character who is not content to wait passively for anything. She is an active participant in Life and wants to be the master of her own fate.

Angelica, on the other hand, represents the Aphrodite archetype as a beauty who appears at the beginning of Boiardo's poem Orlando innamorato and disrupts Charlemagne's tournament banquet. She offers herself up as a prize for anyone who can best her brother in a joust. All men burn for her, and every knight - even the married ones - vie for the opportunity to possess her.

They are struck by the power of her pretty face and pleasing figure. She is described as the most beautiful woman anyone has ever seen. Fights break out and later a war is fought over her.

She is a medieval equivalent of Helen of Troy whose face launched a thousand ships.

I simply could not identify with Angelica as a character.

As a woman, I cannot (and do not wish to) identify with Angelica's incomparable beauty and power over men. I would feel uncomfortable to have every man looking at me as if I was something to devour.

It should come as no surprise that in my novel, Quest of the Warrior Maid, that Bradamante is my heroine and Angelica plays a minor role.

In another installment I will compare the characters of Ruggiero and Orlando.

In the meantime, I am now off to Italy. The home of poets Boiardo and Ariosto who penned these magnificent stories.

Ciao!

Linda

Overview of Orlando furioso and Orlando innamorato

I thought it might be of interest for medievalists unfamiliar with the classic, but largely forgotten, epic poems Orlando inmmaorato and Orlando furioso for me to create a few posts describing the genre and include a few character sketches. These posts might also be of interest for those studying Italian Renaissance literature or fans of opera.

Arthurian legends are more famous than Carolingian legends, but I feel they are both luxurious in their dramatic potential.

The one entry in legends of Charlemagne that most people will have at least heard of is the Song of Roland or Chanson de Roland. It is an epic poem which has immortalized the real life defeat of Charlemagne's forces in the Roncesvalles (Roncevaux) pass in the Pyrenees Mountains when his rear guard was ambushed by Basque forces in 778. The circumstances of this historical event were then embellished and exaggerated by the poem and centers the tragedy on the betrayal and heroic death of paladin Roland by his stepfather the treacherous Ganelon of the house of Maganza.

The cycle of Carolingian legends proliferated in France as well as northern Italy with many different heroes and stories being added. Roland became Orlando as several of the legends had him being a son of Charlemagne's sister who eloped and fled to Italy.

Matteo Maria Boiardo began writing Orlando innamorato and incorporated many of these characters in what became a sprawling epic with multiple and interweaving plot lines with a cast of thousands. Boiardo stopped writing his masterpiece when France invaded Italy, and lionizing Frankish warriors as heroes became untenable for him. After Boiardo's death, the unfinished poem was continued by Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando furioso.

Think of these two poems as being a grand Medieval soap opera. Both poets used a convention of a narrator inserting himself into the narrative and guiding their audience from one storyline to another. "We will leave Orlando dueling with Agricane for now and turn our attention back to Ranaldo..."

It is far more complex than the simple Chanson de Roland which only dealt with one storyline.



The titles of both epic poems reflects on Charlemagne's chief paladin, Orlando, and the unrequited love he had for the beautiful Angelica. Orlando abandons his station and his duty as he departs on a desperate, obsessive quest to make Angelica his lady.

There are periods of time when Orlando is by her side defending her honor and castle, and other extended periods of time when he searches in vain for her. At no time does she return his affections, nor does she want a romantic relationship with him. Angelica manipulates Orlando to serve her needs, and deceives him into believing she has feelings for him in return. It is when Orlando discovers that Angelica has married another that he goes "furioso" and loses his mind. Only by the intervention by another paladin, under extraordinary cosmic circumstances, does Orlando regain his wits.

Orlando's infatuation and obsessive desire for a beautiful woman, which lead to his madness is a storyline that did not move me emotionally. As a woman, I could not identify with Orlando's quest as I have never allowed myself to become obsessed with someone's looks to the point where it rules my every thought and action. I also saw Angelica as being unworthy of such adulation. Yes, she was outwardly beautiful, but none of the men who were fighting over her had ever spent much time in her presence, so they did not know what she was like as a person. They simply wanted to make her their conquest and be able to claim that they had taken her virginity.

Orlando innamorato and Orlando furioso had many other plot lines of varying importance, but the one that drew my attention was the love story of Bradamante and Ruggiero. Bradamante was a warrior maid and niece of Charlemagne. This powerful woman was respected for her strategic mind and prowess in battle. She was content to dedicate her life to battle and was startled by the intense feelings of attraction after meeting Ruggiero, an enemy soldier who extended to her an uncommon courtesy. The two soldiers fell deeply in love, but were on opposite sides of a holy war and fought to overcome numerous obstacles in order to be together.

Next time I will discuss my reaction to the characters Angelica and Bradamante and compare them to the archetypes of Aphrodite and Athena.

Montauban, A City of Art and legends

Memorial to the 1870 war by Antoine Bourdelle

In my trip to France there were a couple places that I had to visit. One was Paris and another was Montauban.

I could find plenty of Americans who had been to Paris and were willing to offer advice about places to see and things to do, but I could not find anyone who had been to Montauban.

And that is a shame.

Montauban is a beautiful city in a gorgeous part of France and it deserves more tourists.

I needed to visit Montauban because one of the heroes in the legends of Charlemagne is Renaud de Montauban. Renaud is the eldest son in the famous French poem Les Quatre Fils Aymon or The Four Sons of Aymon.

Renaud's sister Bradamante is the heroine of my story. Therefore I found it necessary to for me to set my novel in the area surrounding Montauban.

Even though it is not historically accurate to the time period of my story. Blame it on the poets who wrote the Matters of France. They were fabulous dramatists, but not well versed on history.

The city of Montauban was founded in 1144 and Charlemagne died in 814.

However, trying to divorce Renaud from Montauban would be like trying to take Robin Hood out of Sherwood Forest.

Or using another Italian city other than Venice when refering to Leonardo. Perhaps Leonardo de Firenze.

It wouldn't work.

By my accepting the idea that dramatic necessity required my using Montauban, it mentally freed me to include similar historical inaccuracies when I deemed it a plot necessity.

That also meant my visit to Montauban was less demanding when it came to fact finding. I needed a sense of the surrounding area, but there would not be any buildings dating back to the time period of my story.

I also wanted to find examples of the legends of Charlemagne influencing their art and heritage.

Unfortunately, that was the most disappointing aspect about Montauban. I had tried via email to connect with any historians, professional or amateur, who were fans of the Matters of France. The Tourism Office sent me a lead, but I did not receive any reply.

It was not the first, nor shall it be the last time an email query receives no response.

My disappointment increased during our visit to the tourist office. I asked if there was anything such as a statue, a mural, streets, etc. in honor of Renaud de Montauban.

The only thing they knew of was a stone face on the side of the Ingres Museum thought to be of Renaud de Montauban. You can see it if you stand on the Pont Vieux and look at a certain angle.

Here is the Pont Vieux or "Old Bridge" over the Tarn River. This bridge dates back to the 14th century.


And here is the stone face that reportedly belongs to Renaud de Montauban.


While having found this face in order to take a picture seems worthy of earning points in a scavenger hunt, I was expecting more for this literary hero by the city of Montauban.

I had hoped to find statues, sculptures, paintings, or possibly a mural. I would not have been surprised to find streets being named after Renaud, Aymon, Guichard, Alard, Richardet and Bradamante. Maybe even a restaurant or two.

Les Quatre Fils Aymon Café.

As far as I know, that name is still available.

Something to demonstrate pride and ownership of this legend by the city of Montauban.

No other city or town can lay claim to being the home of Renaud.

In Chantilly I saw this painting depicting Renaud's magical horse Bayard who could expand to accommodate all four sons of Aymon on his back.



I asked the people working at the Tourism Office why there was not anything else celebrating their literary heroes. I wound up annoying them since they are not in control of artworks for the city or naming streets.

Their only answer to me was that this was only a story.

Only a story.

Rocamadour claims they have the sword Durindal embedded in the side of a rock (similar to Excalibur.) This was the sword of Roland made famous in the epic poem Chanson de Roland. I do not know how they claim it came to their town, but if Roland were to have thrown it as he lay dying in the Roncesvalle Pass and it flew through the air to Rocamadour he would have to have made one helluva toss.

That sword would have to go about 190 miles or 308 kilmeters by my quick and dirty measurment on Google Earth from Roncesvalles to Rocamadour.

Yet Rocamadour uses that bit of legendary lore to lure tourists. It is based on a story.

Carcassonne uses a legend to describe how their town was named. The legend involves successfully withstanding a siege by the Emperor Charlemagne.

They made up their own legend of Charlemagne. It's not true, but it makes a good story.

Portland, Oregon has bronze statues in a park dedicated to characters written by children's author Beverly Cleary. Statues based on stories.

I remember a restaurant on the campus of Wayne State University in Detroit named Friar Tuck's. There is no legitimate claim to the legend of Robin Hood by a college town restaurant/bar in Michigan, yet they proudly used a name they thought would be inviting to patrons.

A name based on a story.

I love the vibrancy of the city of Montauban. I love its history and its surrounding beauty, but I think the city is missing out on tourist dollars. Tourist dollars that are waiting to be claimed.

My plea to the city of Montauban is for them to honor Renaud de Montauban and his fair sister Bradamante through artwork.

Carve it and they will come.

Paint it and they will come.


If nothing else, do this because I want to come back and take pictures of that artwork. I also want my picture taken standing near them.

Okay, enough babbling about what I did not find in Montauban.

Here are some photos I took of a city known for its beautiful brick architecture. Montauban is sometimes called Toulouse's "little pink sister" due to the color of the bricks. The vibrant color is due to the rich color of the soil.

This next picture is from the Place Nationale in the heart of downtown Montauban.

Our visit was on a bright sunny day and unfortunately the carved inscription is washed out in this photo.

Here is a closer look.

On the left is the Occitan Cross which was the standard of the Counts of Toulouse and on the right is the standard of the city of Montauban.


Here is a nice colorized version of Montauban's standard taken from the pages of Wikipedia.



Next comes tables for the lunch crowd on the Place Nationale.



We chose to eat at a restaurant whose tables were underneath beautiful arches.



Our first stop of the day before we went to the Tourist Office was actually the Farmer's market held on the other side of the Tarn River.

We were unsure where the market was, but was told it was near the Pont Vieux. We parked near the Ingres Museum but did not see any sign of the market. Then we saw women carrying bags laden with fresh produce. We set off trying to find where they had come from and after crossing the bridge soon discovered a large open air market teeming with people and the bounty of the land.



The fruits and vegetables were wonderful. Chasselas grapes are a specialty of the region and were bursting with flavor.

Yummmmm.

I sampled brioche for the first time in my life and we bought a marvelous apple tart for dessert.

We had the best bruschetta of our lives using heirloom tomatoes and fresh basil we bought at that market.



After our lunch we visited the Musée Ingres named after Montauban's most famous artist Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (1780-1867).

The building at one point was an episcopal palace, later it was a town hall and finally became a museum. It houses paintings by Ingres, sculptures by another famous Montauban artist Antoine Bourdelle (1861-1929), as well as other artwork and Gallo-Roman artifacts. The basement of the building is called the Black Prince room another reminder of the longreaching impact of the Hundred Years' War.


One of the most famous paintings by Ingres was inspired by the Matters of France. It is Roger délivrant Angélique. (1841)


The original hangs in the Louvre.


Here is a better version I found on the web.


Ingres was so fascinated by Angelica that he has another painting without Ruggiero. I apologize, but the lighting was not ideal at this point in the day and this was the best photo I could manage.


I do not care for the character of Angelica in either Orlando Innamorato or Orlando Furioso. She is more in the archetype of Aphrodite and I prefer the character of Bradamante who follows the archetype of Athena.

Too bad Ingres did not depict Ruggiero and Bradamante together. Or Renaud de Montauban.

Enough pounding on what I want versus what they have.

Here's a painting that impressed me. It is Le Songe d' Ossiane by Ingres.



A Gallo-Roman mosaic dating back to the fourth century.


There was also a few display cases with Greek pottery.



On the way downstairs there is a wood carving showing the patron saint of Toulouse, Saint Saturnin being martyred by being tied to the back of a bull.



Downstairs are more mosaics. You can tell by the color of the tiles next to the bricks that the materials were made in the nearby area.



A close up on the fine detail of the mosaic.

I would love to have something that intricate and beautiful in my house.


Then the room of the Black Prince. Check out the vaults on the ceiling.


Some stone sarcaphagi.


An old stone fireplace.




The close up is of a bear and a dog holding the crest.

On the left side of the mantle is the Wild Man of the Woods.


And on the right side is the lesser seen Wild Woman of the Woods.

Yay for equal representation!


One of the most disturbing things we saw in our travels in France was le banc de question.

Otherwise known as The Rack.



Here is a nice picture of colored glass to cleanse your palate.



And to leave you, here is the marvelous spread of food that my husband lovingly prepared for our dinner including the fresh fruit and baked bread we bought at Montauban's farmer's market.



It was a good day. The next day on our travels brought us to the town of Peyrusse le Roc. A town reportedly that was once conquered by Charlemagne's father Pepin le Bref.



I shall be sharing some of my pictures of my travels with my friend Lee Lofland on his blog this Saturday. Feel free to stop by.