The Roland and Otuel Romances and the Anglo-Norman Otinel

This edition contains four anonymous Middle English Charlemagne romances from the Otuel cycle: Roland and Vernagu, Otuel a Knight, Otuel and Roland, and Duke Roland and Sir Otuel of Spain, all from the fourteenth century; and a facing-page translation of the Anglo-Norman Otinel, the late-twelfth- or early-thirteenth-century chanson de geste from which three of the romances in this edition originate. Drawing from the famous Chanson de Roland (Song of Roland), these Crusades stories center on conflicts between Frankish Christians led by the legendary Charlemagne and various “Saracen” groups that captured the imaginations of medieval English Christians. In addition to Charlemagne and Roland, each romance features a Muslim character: either the kind but loathsome giant Vernagu or Otuel, Vernagu’s handsome and sharp-tongued nephew. This volume offers readers an accessible approach to the Otuel Cycle and its increasingly relevant nuanced treatment of the racial and religious Other.