Veillantif ( French), Vielantiu (

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 ...

); Vegliantin, Vegliantino or Brigliadoro (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

) is the name 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 ...

the

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 ...

's trustworthy and swift steed in the stories derived from the '' chansons de geste''. The French name comes from an expression meaning "vigilant". ''Veillantif'' is first mentioned 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 i ...

'' (v. 2032; laisse 151). Veillantif was given various origins. In the 12th century ''chanson de geste'' '' Aspremont'', the horse is said to have formerly been in the possession of King

Agolant Agolant or Agolante is a fictional character in Medieval and Renaissance Romance (heroic literature), romantic Epic poetry, epics dealing with the Matter of France, including ''Orlando innamorato'' by Matteo Maria Boiardo and ''Orlando furioso'' by ...

's son Aumon. After Aumon's defeat, the horse (and his sword

Durendal Durendal, also spelled Durandal, is the sword of Roland, a legendary paladin and partially historical officer of Charlemagne in French epic literature. It is also said to have belonged to young Charlemagne at one point, and, passing through Sara ...

) was given to Roland.

Andrea da Barberino Andrea Mangiabotti,Geneviève Hasenohr and Michel Zink, eds. ''Dictionnaire des lettres françaises: Le Moyen Age''. Collection: La Pochothèque. (Paris: Fayard, 1992. ), pp. 62–63. called Andrea da Barberino ( 1370–1431''The Cambridge Histo ...

's (1370–1431) Italian prose adaptation ''L'Aspramonte'' stated that the horse was called Briadoro when it belonged to Almonte (Aumon), but renamed Vegliantino after being conquered by Orlandino ("little Roland").: notes to Orlando.

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 ...

's (1432–1484) ''

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 ...

'' refers to the horse as Vegliantino whereas

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,

's (1440–1494) ''

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 rom ...

'' and

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 ...

's (1474–1533) ''

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 ...

'' used "Brigliadoro", Italian for "bridle of gold".

Explanatory notes

References

;Citations ;Bibliography ;texts *; volum
2
(1921). *Brault, Gerard J., ed. (1978), ''The Song of Roland: An Analytical Edition'', Pennsylvania State University. * * ;translations * * Part one (cantos 1-23) ; part two (cantos 24-46) . * * Combarieu du Grès, Micheline de, and Subrenat, Jean, ed., (1983), ''Les Quatre Fils Aymon'', Paris: Gallimard, . {{Orlando Furioso Characters in The Song of Roland Fictional characters introduced in the 11th century Horses in mythology

See also

Explanatory notes

References