Doon de Mayence also known as Doolin de Maience, Doon de Maience or Doolin de Mayence was a fictional hero of the

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 intelligi ...

'' chansons de geste'', who gives his name to the third

cycle Cycle, cycles, or cyclic may refer to: Anthropology and social sciences * Cyclic history, a theory of history * Cyclical theory, a theory of American political history associated with Arthur Schlesinger, Sr. * Social cycle, various cycles in soc ...

of the

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 Em ...

romances Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

dealing with the feudal revolts. There is no single unifying theme in the ''geste'' of Doon de Mayence. The rebellious barons are connected by the poets with Doon by fictitious genealogical ties and all are represented as opposing

, although their adventures—insofar as they possess a historical basis—generally occur before (or after) his reign. The general insolence of their attitude to the sovereign suggests that Charlemagne is here only a

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

for his weaker successors. The tradition of a traitorous family of Mayence (

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

), which was developed in Italy into a series of stories about criminals, appeared later than the

Carolingian cycle The Matter of France, also known as the Carolingian cycle, is a body of literature and legendary material associated with the history of France, in particular involving Charlemagne and his associates. The cycle springs from the Old French ''chans ...

. A contributor to the

Chronicle of Fredegar The ''Chronicle of Fredegar'' is the conventional title used for a 7th-century Frankish chronicle that was probably written in Burgundy. The author is unknown and the attribution to Fredegar dates only from the 16th century. The chronicle begin ...

states (iv. 87) that the army of Sigebert was betrayed from within its own ranks by men of Mayence, in a battle fought with Radulf on the banks of the

Unstrut The Unstrut () is a river in Germany and a left tributary of the Saale. The Unstrut originates in northern Thuringia near Dingelstädt (west of Kefferhausen in the Eichsfeld area) and its catchment area is the whole of the Thuringian Basin. It ...

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

. The chief heroes of the poems which make up Doon de Mayence are Ogier the Dane, the four sons of Aymon, and

Huon of Bordeaux Huon of Bordeaux is the title character of a 13th-century French epic poem with romance elements. ''Huon of Bordeaux'' The poem tells of Huon, a knight who unwittingly kills Charlot, the son of Emperor Charlemagne. He is given a reprieve from ...

. Doon himself was probably one of the last characters to be clearly defined, and the ''chanson de geste'' relating his exploits was drawn up partly with the view of supplying a suitable ancestor for the other heroes—in modern terms, a

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term ...

. The second half of the poem, detailing Doon’s wars in Saxony, is perhaps based on historical events but the first half, a separate romance dealing with his romantic childhood, is a fiction dating back to the 13th century. Doon had twelve sons, of whom the most noteworthy are: * Gaufrey de Danemarche, the father of Ogier the Dane * Doon de Nanteuil, whose son Gamier married the beautiful Aye d’Avignon * Griffon d’Hauteville, father of the arch-traitor Ganelon * Duke Aymon de Dordone or Dourdan, whose four sons (including Renaud de Montauban) were relentlessly pursued by Charles * Beuves d’Aigremont, whose sons were the enchanter Maugris and Vivien de Monbranc * Sevin (or Seguin), the father of

* Girart de Roussillon, hero, married to Bertha, opponent of Charles * Others, less renowned The history of these figures is given in ''Doon de Mayence'', ''Gaufrey'', the romances relating to Ogier, ''Aye d’Avignon'', the fragmentary ''Doon de Nanteuil'', ''Gui de Nanteuil'', ''Tristan de Nanteuil'', ''Parise la Duchesse'', ''Maugis d’Aigremont'', ''Vivien l’amachour de Monbranc'', ''Renaus de Montauban'' (or ''Les Quatre Fils Aymon'') and ''Huon de Bordeaux''.

References

Literary characters Fictional knights Matter of France Chansons de geste {{lit-char-stub