Aude, or Alda, Alde, was the sister of Oliver and betrothed of

Roland Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...

in ''

The Song of Roland ''The Song of Roland'' (french: La Chanson de Roland) is an 11th-century ''chanson de geste'' based on the Frankish military leader Roland at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778 AD, during the reign of the Carolingian king Charlemagne. It is t ...

'', and other

chansons de geste The ''chanson de geste'' (, from Latin 'deeds, actions accomplished') is a medieval narrative, a type of epic poem that appears at the dawn of French literature. The earliest known poems of this genre date from the late 11th and early 12th cen ...

. The story of her engagement to Roland is told in ''

Girart de Vienne ''Girart de Vienne'' is a late twelfth-century (c.1180Hasenohr, 547-548.) Old French ''chanson de geste'' by Bertrand de Bar-sur-Aube. The work tells the story of the sons of Garin de Monglane and their battles with the Emperor Charlemagne, and it ...

''. In ''The Song of Roland'' Aude is first mentioned by her brother Oliver when he tells Roland that the two will never be married, when the two counts are arguing before the battle; they are later reconciled, but both die fighting the

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...

s. When

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

returns to

Aix Aix or AIX may refer to: Computing * AIX, a line of IBM computer operating systems *An Alternate Index, for a Virtual Storage Access Method Key Sequenced Data Set *Athens Internet Exchange, a European Internet exchange point Places Belgium ...

and informs Aude that Roland has died, she collapses at the Emperor's feet and dies of grief. "The Lovely Alda" is part of

Edward MacDowell Edward Alexander MacDowell (December 18, 1860January 23, 1908) was an American composer and pianist of the late Romantic period. He was best known for his second piano concerto and his piano suites ''Woodland Sketches'', ''Sea Pieces'' and ''Ne ...

's 1891 orchestral composition, ''Two Fragments after the Song of Roland''.

References

Characters in The Song of Roland Literary characters {{lit-char-stub