RUINS OF LES QUATRE FILS AYMON,European Scenery,1836 Antique Steel Engraving Historical Collectible Art Print

Situated in the magnific valley of the Ourth nearby du Ravel. RENAUD DE MONTAUBAN (Rinaldo di Montalbano), one of the most famous figures of French and Italian romance. His story was attached to the geste of Doon of Mayence by the 13th century trouvre who wrote the chanson de geste of Renaus de ill ontauban, better known perhaps as Les quatre flis A ymon. The four sons of Aymon give their name to inns and streets in nearly every town of France, and the numerous prose versions show what a hold the story gained on the popular imagination. Renauds sword Floberge, and his horse Bayard passed with him into popular legend. The poem of Renaus de Montauban opens with the story of the dissensions between Charlemagne and the Sons of Doon of Mayence, Beuves dAigremont, Doon de Nanteuil and Aymon de Dordone. The rebellious vassals are defeated by the imperial army near Troyes, and, peace established, Aymon rises in favor at court, and supports the emperor, even in his persecution of his four sons, Renaud, Alard, Guichard and Richard. A second feud arises from a quarrel between Renaud and Bertolai, Charlemagnes nephew, over a game of chess, in the course of which Renaud kills Bertolai with the chess-board. The hero then mounts his steed Bayard, and escapes with his brothers to the Ardennes, where they build the castle of Montessor overlooking the Meuse. At Chateau Renaud, near Sedan, there existed in the 18th century a ruined castle with a tower called the tour Maugis and the reputed stable of Bayard. The outlaws are eventually persuaded to seek their fortune outside Charlemagnes kingdom, and cross the Loire to take service with King Yon of Gascony against the Saracens, accompanied by their cousin, the enchanter Maugis. Yon, however, is compelled by Charlemagne to withdraw his protection, and the castle of Montauban, which the brothers have built on the Dordogne, is besieged by the emperor. They next seek refuge beyond the Rhine, and sustain a third siege at Trmoigne (Dortmund), after which the emperor is persuaded by the barons to make peace. Bayard is abandoned to Charlemagne, and thrown into the Meuse, only to rise again. He still gallops over the hills of the Ardennes on St Johns Eve. Renaud, who throughout the story is a type of the Christian and chivalric virtues, makes a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and is invested with some of the exploits of Godfrey de Bouillon. On his return he gives himself up to religion, working as a mason on the church of St Peter at Cologne, where he receives martyrdom at the hands of his jealous fellow-laborers.