Valentin et Orson

Valentin et Orson, the tale of Pepin’s nephews, combines elements of epic and romance—Saracen wars, high treason, a falsely-accused queen, the wild man motif, love, magic and the quest for identity—in a way sure to have pleased a fifteenth-century audience. This modern edition with its facing page translation will not only facilitate the inclusion of Charlemagne’s literary cousins, Valentin and Orson, in current scholarship and bring fresh critical approaches to bear both on this text in particular and on late medieval prose narrative in general, it will also appeal to the student and general reader of French epic.