''The Four Sons of Aymon'' (french: esQuatre fils Aymon, nl, De Vier Heemskinderen, german: Die Vier Haimonskinder), sometimes also referred to as ''Renaud de Montauban'' (after its main character) is a medieval tale spun around the four sons of

Duke Aymon Duke Aymon of Dordone (Italian: ''Amone'', German: ''Haimon'', ''Heime'') is a character in the Old French Matter of France, appearing in '' chansons de geste'' and Italian romance epics depicting the adventures of Charlemagne and his knights. Th ...

: the

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

Renaud de Montauban Renaud de Montauban (; also spelled ''Renaut'', ''Renault'', Italian: ''Rinaldo di Montalbano'', Dutch: ''Reinout van Montalba(e)n'') was a legendary hero and knight which appeared in a 12th-century Old French ''chanson de geste'' known as ''The ...

(also spelled ''Renaut'', ''Renault'', it, Rinaldo di Montalbano, nl, Reinout van Montalbaen), his brothers Guichard, Allard and Richardet, their magical horse

Bayard Bayard may refer to: People * Bayard (given name) * Bayard (surname) *Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard (1473–1524) French knight Places * Bayard, Delaware, an unincorporated community *Bayard (Jacksonville), Florida, a neighborhood * Bayard ...

( it, Baiardo), their adventures and revolt against the emperor

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 ...

. The story had a European success and echoes of the story are still found today in certain folklore traditions.

Medieval and Renaissance texts

French versions

The oldest extant version of the tale is an anonymous

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...

chanson 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 ...

'', ''Quatre Fils Aymon'', which dates from the late 12th century and comprises 18,489

alexandrine Alexandrine is a name used for several distinct types of verse line with related metrical structures, most of which are ultimately derived from the classical French alexandrine. The line's name derives from its use in the Medieval French ''Roman ...

(12-

syllable A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds typically made up of a syllable nucleus (most often a vowel) with optional initial and final margins (typically, consonants). Syllables are often considered the phonological "bu ...

) verses grouped in

assonance Assonance is a resemblance in the sounds of words/syllables either between their vowels (e.g., ''meat, bean'') or between their consonants (e.g., ''keep, cape''). However, assonance between consonants is generally called ''consonance'' in America ...

d and

rhyme A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds (usually, the exact same phonemes) in the final stressed syllables and any following syllables of two or more words. Most often, this kind of perfect rhyming is consciously used for a musical or aesthetic ...

laisse A laisse is a type of stanza, of varying length, found in medieval French literature, specifically medieval French epic poetry (the ''chanson de geste''), such as ''The Song of Roland''. In early works, each laisse was made up of (mono) assonanced ...

s (the first 12,120 verses use assonance; critics suggest that the rhymed laisses derive from a different poet). Urban Tigner .T.Holmes Jr. ''A History of Old French Literature from the Origins to 1300''. New York: F.S. Crofts, 1938, 94. It is one of the longest of all the ''chansons de geste''. Other, later versions of the

chanson A (, , french: chanson française, link=no, ; ) is generally any lyric-driven French song, though it most often refers to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval and Renaissance music. The genre had origins in the monophonic s ...

range from 14,300 to 28,000 verses. Geneviève Hasenohr and Michel Zink, eds. ''Dictionnaire des lettres françaises: Le Moyen Age''. Collection: La Pochothèque. Paris: Fayard, 1992. , 1256. Of the dozen extant versions of the ''chanson'', all are anonymous except for one, ''Histoire des quatre fils Aymon'', attributed to Huon de Villeneuve, a 13th-century

trouvère ''Trouvère'' (, ), sometimes spelled ''trouveur'' (, ), is the Northern French (''langue d'oïl'') form of the ''langue d'oc'' (Occitan) word ''trobador'', the precursor of the modern French word ''troubadour''. ''Trouvère'' refers to poet- ...

. The Renaud ''chansons de geste'' were transformed into prose romances in the 14th and 15th centuries, and, judging from the number of editions, the prose ''Quatre Fils Aymon'' was the most popular romance of chivalry in the late 15th century and first half of the 16th century in France. The tale is generally included in the

Doon de Mayence Doon de Mayence also known as Doolin de Maience, Doon de Maience or Doolin de Mayence was a fictional hero of the Old French ''chansons de geste'', who gives his name to the third cycle of the Charlemagne romances dealing with the feudal revol ...

"cycle" of ''chansons''.

Plot

Renaud and his three brothers were sons of Aymon de Dordone (a fictional location in the

Ardennes The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...

, though the name seems to be related to

Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; oc, Dordonha ) is a large rural department in Southwestern France, with its prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and the Pyrenees, it is named af ...

near

Montauban Montauban (, ; oc, Montalban ) is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department, region of Occitania, Southern France. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, an ...

). At the Pentecostal feast, Aymon brought them to Paris to be presented to the emperor

and Renaud proved himself a worthy combatant in the royal tournament and won the emperor's favor. In most versions of the ''chanson'', the emperor awarded him with the magical horse

(in two versions, it is the fairy Oriande who gives it to him). Unfortunately, Renaud kills one of Charlemagne's nephews (Bertolai) in a brawl over a

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

game and the brothers flee, aided by Bayard who can carry all the brothers on its back and leap across valleys. The brothers decide to hide in the

where their cousin, the sorcerer Maugis, can help them. Maugis constructs a castle for them called Montessor on a peak overlooking the

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...

. The brothers are, however, forced to flee from Montessor, and eventually they proceed to

Gascony Gascony (; french: Gascogne ; oc, Gasconha ; eu, Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part o ...

to aid the King Yvon in his battles against the Emir Begès. Renaud, thanks to his sword "Froberge" (given to him by Maugis), wins a victory, and as thanks, the king gives Renaud the castle at

and his sister in marriage. After a series of adventures, Charlemagne is eventually prevailed upon by the noble

paladin The Paladins, also called the Twelve Peers, are twelve legendary knights, the foremost members of Charlemagne's court in the 8th century. They first appear in the medieval (12th century) ''chanson de geste'' cycle of the Matter of France, where ...

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 ...

to make terms with the brothers: the four brothers are pardoned on condition that Renaud go to the

Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...

Crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were i ...

, and that their magical horse Bayard be surrendered to Charlemagne. Charlemagne orders that the magic horse be drowned by chaining it to a stone and throwing it in a river, but the horse escapes and lives forevermore in the woods (in some versions the horse is killed). Renaud, upon his return from the Crusades, discovers his wife has died. Sending his sons to be raised at the court of the emperor, he abandons his home and goes to

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

, where he becomes a builder on a church. In the end, he is murdered by resentful workers, but his body is miraculously saved from the river and makes its way magically in a cart back to his brothers. Charlemagne is portrayed as vengeful and treacherous in these stories; the sympathy of the storyteller is clearly with the four brothers, but ultimately

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...

authority is upheld.

Dutch version

''Historie van den Vier Heemskinderen'', the Dutch translation, dated 1508 and held at the University of Munich gives the following version: Duke Aymon, King of Pierlepont, thinks that Charles, his liege Lord, has not shown him gratitude enough when he gets only

(Dordoen) with the capital of

Albi Albi (; oc, Albi ) is a commune in southern France. It is the prefecture of the Tarn department, on the river Tarn, 85 km northeast of Toulouse. Its inhabitants are called ''Albigensians'' (french: Albigeois, Albigeoise(s), oc, albig� ...

for his help in many of Charles' wars. He is even angrier about the fact that his warrior-friend Hugh (Huon) de

Narbonne Narbonne (, also , ; oc, Narbona ; la, Narbo ; Late Latin:) is a commune in France, commune in Southern France in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. It lies from Paris in the Aude Departments of Franc ...

gets nothing at all and decides to become renegade until Charlemagne gives him a suitable reward. In the end Charles adds Aymons weight in gold and his sister Aye. Still Aymon is not truly satisfied and swears that he will kill any child born out of his union with the king's sister, a truly curious resolution. Aye rears her four sons (Richard, Writsaert, Adelhaert and Renout in this version) in secret at Pierlepont until the day that Aymon tells her how he regrets the fact that they have no offspring. She shows him his sons and Aymon is very impressed with Renaud who is of great height, feisty and strong. He gives Renaud the horse Bayard. The horse is so big that it can carry the four brothers on its back. When the four brothers are presented at Charles' court in Paris, Renaud kills Charles' son Louis. He and his brothers flee to the court of King Loup de Gascogne who betrays them to Charles. Nonetheless, they escape their pursuers with the help of King

Son of Aquitaine A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current c ...

, who gives his daughter Claire or Clarisse to Renaud to wife and the castle of Montauban. Charles attacks the castle and after months of siege Renaud has to surrender. The cost of their survival is the drowning of his horse Bayard. Charles urges Renaud to go on a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

to the

, especially

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. When Renaud comes back he helps to build the shrine of St. Peter in

. Envious men kill him and throw his body in the River

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

German versions

''Ein schöne und lüstige Histori von den vier Heymonskindern'' appeared at

in 1604. It was largely an adaptation of the then current Dutch version and based on a French original. A previous German adaptation of 1535 was based directly on the prose romance ''Les quatre fils Aymon''.

Ludwig Tieck Johann Ludwig Tieck (; ; 31 May 177328 April 1853) was a German poet, fiction writer, translator, and critic. He was one of the founding fathers of the Romantic movement in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Early life Tieck was born in Be ...

edited and published the story, but seems to have taken it from a different source.

English version

The story was known in England by the first half of the 13th century. and

William Caxton William Caxton ( – ) was an English merchant, diplomat and writer. He is thought to be the first person to introduce a printing press into England, in 1476, and as a printer (publisher), printer to be the first English retailer of printed boo ...

published a prose translation under the name "The Right Pleasant and Goodly Historie of the Foure Sonnes of Aymon". The translation was repeatedly reprinted, as well as dramatised, in the 16th and early 17th centuries, and its popular story was referred to (and used) by figures such as

Thomas Nashe Thomas Nashe (baptised November 1567 – c. 1601; also Nash) was an Elizabethan playwright, poet, satirist and a significant pamphleteer. He is known for his novel ''The Unfortunate Traveller'', his pamphlets including ''Pierce Penniless,'' a ...

and

Samuel Rowlands Samuel Rowlands (c. 1573–1630) was an English author of pamphlets in prose and verse which reflect the follies and humours of lower middle-class life in his day. He seems to have had no literary reputation at the time, but his work throws much ...

—though by 1673

Francis Kirkman Francis Kirkman (1632 – c. 1680) appears in many roles in the English literary world of the second half of the seventeenth century, as a publisher, bookseller, librarian, author and bibliographer. In each he is an enthusiast for popular litera ...

would call the text a rarity.

Italian version

A prose and a verse version of the story called ''Rinaldo'' existed in Italian in the 14th century.

Sequels and related texts

From the 13th century on, other texts concerning separate elements of the extended Renaud de Montauban story were created. Together with the original, these are termed the "Renaud de Montauban cycle". These poems are: ''Maugis d'Aigremont'' (story of the youth of Maugis), ''Mort de Maugis'' (story of the death of Maugis), ''Vivien de Monbranc'' (story of the brother of Maugis), ''Beuve d'Aigremont'' (story of the father of Maugis, Beuve d'Aigremont, brother to Girart de Roussillon and Doon de Nanteuil). Renaud, as Rinaldo, also became an important character in Italian Renaissance epics, including ''

Morgante ''Morgante'' (sometimes also called , the name given to the complete 28-canto, 30,080-line edition published in 1483See Lèbano's introduction to the Tusiani translation, p. xxii.) is an Italian romantic epic by Luigi Pulci which appeared in ...

'' by

Luigi Pulci Luigi Pulci (; 15 August 1432 – 11 November 1484) was an Italian diplomat and poet best known for his ''Morgante'', an epic and parodistic poem about a giant who is converted to Christianity by Orlando and follows the knight in many adventure ...

, ''

Orlando Innamorato ''Orlando Innamorato'' (; known in English as "''Orlando in Love''"; in Italian titled "''Orlando innamorato''" as the " I" is never capitalized) is an epic poem written by the Italian Renaissance author Matteo Maria Boiardo. The poem is a roman ...

'' by

Matteo Maria Boiardo Matteo Maria Boiardo (, ; 144019/20 December 1494) was an Italian Renaissance poet, best known for his epic poem ''Orlando innamorato''. Early life Boiardo was born in 1440,

and ''

Orlando Furioso ''Orlando furioso'' (; ''The Frenzy of Orlando'', more loosely ''Raging Roland'') is an Italian epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was no ...

'' by

Ludovico Ariosto Ludovico Ariosto (; 8 September 1474 – 6 July 1533) was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the romance epic ''Orlando Furioso'' (1516). The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's ''Orlando Innamorato'', describes the ...

. (For more info on the character and his appearance in other texts, see

In other media

Literature

Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, critic, and essayist who wrote the monumental novel '' In Search of Lost Time'' (''À la recherche du temps perdu''; with the previous E ...

briefly makes use of this tale in " Swann in Love" by describing chemical workers of France toiling among sculptures of this tale's characters.

Visual arts

Jacques Laudy Jacques Laudy (7 April 1907 – 28 July 1993) was a Belgian comics artist who contributed to the early issues of the weekly ''Tintin'' magazine. Jacques Laudy was born in Schaerbeek in 1907 as the son of the painter Jean Laudy. He worked mainly ...

illustrated a

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

version of the tale for the weekly Franco-Belgian comics magazine ''

Tintin Tintin or Tin Tin may refer to: ''The Adventures of Tintin'' * ''The Adventures of Tintin'', a comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé ** Tintin (character), a fictional character in the series ** ''The Adventures of Tintin'' (film), 2011, ...

'' from 1946 to 1947 (including several covers).

Music and performing arts

Franz Joseph Glæser Franz Joseph Glæser (19 April 1798 - 29 August 1861), also spelt as Glaeser and Gläser, was an Austrian-Danish composer. Born in Obergeorgenthal, Bohemia, then part of the Austrian Empire, Glaeser’s work as a composer was mostly done befo ...

, a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

composer, wrote a work called ''Die vier Haimonskinder'' (1809). ''Les quatre fils Aymon'' (1844) is an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

Michael William Balfe Michael William Balfe (15 May 1808 – 20 October 1870) was an Irish composer, best remembered for his operas, especially ''The Bohemian Girl''. After a short career as a violinist, Balfe pursued an operatic singing career, while he began to co ...

, written for the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...

(also popular in German-speaking countries for many years as ''Die Vier Haimonskinder''). During the

German occupation of Belgium during World War II The German occupation of Belgium (french: link=no, Occupation allemande, nl, Duitse bezetting) during World War II began on 28 May 1940, when the Belgian army surrendered to German forces, and lasted until Belgium's liberation by the Western ...

, the story of ''Les Quatre Fils Aymon'' was made into a

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

that was banned by the German authorities, because of the sympathy it displayed for resisting authority; the play was performed underground and became quite popular. ''La Légende des fils Aymon'', a stage work by Frédéric Kiesel, was created in 1967 in Habay-la-Neuve. ''Les Quatre Fils Aymon'' is a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

Maurice Béjart Maurice Béjart (; 1 January 1927 – 22 November 2007) was a French-born dancer, choreographer and opera director who ran the Béjart Ballet Lausanne in Switzerland. He developed a popular expressionistic form of modern ballet, talking vast th ...

and

Janine Charrat Janine Charrat (24 July 1924 – 29 August 2017) was a French dancer and choreographer. She appeared in ''Ballerina'' at the age of 12, and went on to choreograph over 50 ballets. She was an officer of the Legion of Honour. Filmography * 1938: ...

from 1961.

Sculpture

The four brothers—usually represented all together seated on their horse Bayard—have inspired many sculptures: * The oldest extant statue is found on a tomb in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

(dated to the first half of the 12th century). * A bronze statue (''Ros Beyaert'') depicting the four sons of Aymon (Reinout, Adelaert, Ritsaert and Writsaert) on their horse Beyaert (Bayard), was erected on the central approach avenue to the

Exposition universelle et internationale (1913) The 1913 International Exposition ( nl, Wereldtentoonstelling van 1913 Gent; french: Exposition universelle et internationale de 1913 Gand) was a World's Fair held in Ghent from 26 April to 3 November. History A number of buildings were complete ...

held in

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. This statue was created by Aloïs de Beule and Domien Ingels. * One of the most famous representations was created by Olivier Strebelle for the

Expo 58 Expo 58, also known as the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (french: Exposition Universelle et Internationale de Bruxelles de 1958, nl, Brusselse Wereldtentoonstelling van 1958), was a world's fair held on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Brussels, Bel ...

. Situated by the

Namur Namur (; ; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namu ...

, Belgium, the horse appears to want to carry its riders across the river with a leap. * Another statue created by Albert Poncin and showing the four brothers standing beside their horse can be found at

Bogny-sur-Meuse Bogny-sur-Meuse (, literally ''Bogny on Meuse'') is a commune in the Ardennes department in the Grand Est region of northern France. Bogny-sur-Meuse is known for multiple sites linked to the medieval legend of The Four Sons of Aymon, such as the ...

, France. *

Dendermonde Dendermonde (; french: Termonde, ) is a city in the Flemish province of East Flanders in Belgium. The municipality comprises the city of Dendermonde and the towns of Appels, Baasrode, Grembergen, Mespelare, Oudegem, Schoonaarde, and Sint-Gillis-b ...

, Belgium, is home to several statues representing the brothers. * The statue ''Vier Heemskinderen'' (1976) by Gerard Adriaan Overeem was placed in the "Torenstraat" of

Nijkerk Nijkerk (; Dutch Low Saxon: ''Niekark'') is a municipality and a city located in the middle of the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_ ...

, Netherlands. * In Köln, Germany, since 1969, a bronze sculpture by Heinz Klein-Arendt depicts them. File:Bogny quatre fils aymon 05.jpg, ''Monument des Quatre Fils Aymon'' in

, France File:Orp-le-Grand 050809 (5) copy.jpg, ''The fountain des Quatre Fils Aymon'' in Orp-le-Grand (near

Orp-Jauche Orp-Jauche (; nl, Adorp-Geten, ; wa, Oû-Djåce) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2008, Orp-Jauche had a total population of 8,400. The total area is 50.50 km² which gives a pop ...

), Belgium File:Le cheval Bayard portant les quatre fils Aymon - Olivier Strebelle 1958.jpg, ''The horse Bayard'' in

, Belgium File:Gent.standbeeld02.jpg, ''Ros Beyaert'' in

, Belgium File:Dendermonde Ros Beiaard Jan Desmarets 01.jpg, Statue in

, Belgium File:Ros Beiaard Grembergen.JPG, Sculpture in

Grembergen Grembergen (French: ''Grembergen-lez-Termonde'') is a town in the municipality of Dendermonde in the Denderstreek in the province of East Flanders in Belgium. It is often confused with the municipality of Grimbergen in the province of Flemish Brab ...

, Belgium File:De-4-heemskinderen-nijkerk.jpg, ''Vier Heemskinderen'' in

, Netherlands

Folklore

Locations and place names

While the

region (divided today between

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

) only plays a partial role in the medieval tale, the myth of the four brothers has been very present there.

Joseph Bédier Joseph Bédier (28 January 1864 – 29 August 1938) was a French writer and scholar and historian of medieval France. Biography Bédier was born in Paris, France, to Adolphe Bédier, a lawyer of Breton origin, and spent his childhood in Réunio ...

considered the Abbey of

Stavelot-Malmedy The Princely Abbey of Stavelot-Malmedy, also Principality of Stavelot-Malmedy, sometimes known with its German name Stablo, was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire. Princely power was exercised by the Benedictine abbot of th ...

as the site of the origin of the legend of the four brothers, but this has since been invalidated. A study by the

University of Liège The University of Liège (french: Université de Liège), or ULiège, is a major public university of the French Community of Belgium based in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. Its official language is French. As of 2020, ULiège is ranked in the 301 ...

in 1976 found a dozen sites in the Ardennes that claimed to be the fortress Montessor (or Montfort) constructed for the brothers by Maugis. The château of Amblève is one of these. Dhuy (near

Éghezée Éghezée (; wa, Inguezêye) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium. On 1 January 2010 the municipality had 15,169 inhabitants. The total area is 102.81 km2, giving a population density of 146.93 inhabitant ...

) possesses an old castle called "Bayard" in 1770, that was also called "Montessor des fils Aymon". In

Cubzac-les-Ponts Cubzac-les-Ponts (; oc, Cubzac daus Ponts), also referred to as Cubzac, is a commune of the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, a region in southwestern France.Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; oc, Dordonha ) is a large rural department in Southwestern France, with its prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and the Pyrenees, it is named af ...

region), there is a castle named after the four brothers (see image).

Bertem Bertem () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the towns of Bertem proper, Korbeek-Dijle and Leefdaal. On January 1, 2006, Bertem had a total populatio ...

, near

Louvain Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic c ...

, claimed to possess the

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

of one of the sons, Saint Aalard (or Alard), for 600 years.

has a number of sites referencing the four brothers: four rocky crags on a mountain peak near the town are said to symbolize the four brothers on the back on Bayard, and the castle of Château-Regnault has been claimed as a possible site of Montfort/Montessor. According to a tale told by (among others) Claude Seignolle, the village of Francheval owes its name to a legend of the brothers: "Bayard, having shown great bravery to help Renaud and one of his brothers, the latter said to him 'Tu es un brave, Bayard, franc cheval!' ('You are a brave one, Bayard, noble horse!'), and at this site the village of Francheval was established". A similar legend is related to the creation of the village of Balan: as the brothers, upon Bayard, were being pursued, the horse made a huge leap and fell to the ground; Renaud cried out to his brothers, "Balan!", (i.e. "Get back in the saddle!"), and the village was thus named. In

Dinant Dinant () is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Namur Province, province of Namur, Belgium. On the shores of river Meuse, in the Ardennes, it lies south-east of Brussels, south ...

there exists the "Bayard Rock" (''Rocher Bayard'') that was said to have been split by the giant hoof of Bayard while carrying the four sons of Aymon on their legendary flight from Charlemagne through the Ardennes. The ancient

County of La Marche The County of La Marche (; oc, la Marcha) was a medieval French county, approximately corresponding to the modern ''département'' of Creuse. La Marche first appeared as a separate fief about the middle of the 10th century, when William III, D ...

was the fief of the lords of La Roche-Aymon who claimed to have descended from the four brothers.

Processions and festivals

The sons of Aymon are included among the "giants of the north" in Belgian folk festivals. A procession in

has been attested in 1518. Taking place on each July 2, the procession of "giants" represents Charlemagne, the nine worthy peers, the four sons of Aymon upon their horse, and their cousin Maugis. Attested before 1461 in

, the " Ommegang of Dendermonde" is a procession concerning the four brothers and their horse, who is said to have drowned where the

Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corr ...

meets the

Dender The Dender (Dutch, ) or Dendre ( French, ) is a 65-kilometre (40 mi) long river in Belgium, the right tributary of the river Scheldt. The confluence of the two rivers is in the Belgian town of Dendermonde. The Western or Little Dender is 22 kilome ...

.Société de mythologie française, Bulletin, numéros 181 à 184, 1996, p. 43 Image:Plaque des 4 fils aymon.jpg, A plaque for the "château des quatre fils Aymon" in

Cubzac-les-Ponts Cubzac-les-Ponts (; oc, Cubzac daus Ponts), also referred to as Cubzac, is a commune of the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, a region in southwestern France.Dinant Dinant () is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Namur Province, province of Namur, Belgium. On the shores of river Meuse, in the Ardennes, it lies south-east of Brussels, south ...

Image:Ros beiaard 00.jpg, The horse Bayard of

in 1990, ridden by four riders depicting the sons of Aymon

References

Sources

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Medieval and Renaissance texts

French versions

Plot

Dutch version

German versions

English version

Italian version

Sequels and related texts

In other media

Literature

Visual arts

Music and performing arts

Sculpture

Folklore

Locations and place names

Processions and festivals

References

Sources

Further reading