This book provides a modern English translation of three Old French epic poems devoted to the exploits of the legendary William of Orange. The Coronation of Louis, The Convoy to Nîmes, and The Conquest of Orange form the core of William’s early heroic biography. In The Coronation of Louis, the hero saves both king and pope from would-be usurpers, and earns the nickname “Short-nosed William” after a fierce, disfiguring battle with a Saracen giant. In The Convoy to Nîmes and The Conquest of Orange, William conquers two important cities and wins the love of the Saracen Queen Orable. The trilogy i ... More

This book provides a modern English translation of three Old French epic poems devoted to the exploits of the legendary William of Orange. The Coronation of Louis, The Convoy to Nîmes, and The Conquest of Orange form the core of William’s early heroic biography. In The Coronation of Louis, the hero saves both king and pope from would-be usurpers, and earns the nickname “Short-nosed William” after a fierce, disfiguring battle with a Saracen giant. In The Convoy to Nîmes and The Conquest of Orange, William conquers two important cities and wins the love of the Saracen Queen Orable. The trilogy is remarkable for its depiction of feudal conflict and crosscultural relations. Like the William cycle as a whole, the three poems are cast in the heroicomic mode, tempering the serious subject matter of epic warfare with comic interludes.