View source for Doon de Mayence

{{Short description|Hero from old French epic}}
{{one source|date=February 2012}}
{{no footnotes|date=February 2012}}
{{French literature sidebar}}
'''Doon de Mayence<ref>https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b9061633q/f3.item.r=Doon de Mayence</ref>''' also known as '''Doolin de Maience''',<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8600181b.r=Doolin%20de%20Maience?rk=21459;2|title = Doolin de Maience|year = 1501}}</ref> '''Doon de Maience<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5fZIAAAAcAAJ|title = Doon de Maience: Chanson de geste|last1 = Pey|first1 = Alexandre|year = 1859}}</ref>''' or '''Doolin de Mayence<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k1514255j.r=Doolin%20de%20Maience?rk=64378;0|title = Fleur des batailles doolin de Mayence contenant les merveilleuses prouesses faictes sur le roy de dannemarc et sur le roy de saxonne pour lors infidelles et turcz par Charlemaigne, doolin, & guerin de Montglave|year = 1530}}</ref>''' was a fictional hero of the [[Old French]] ''[[chanson de geste|chansons de geste]]'', who gives his name to the third [[literature cycle|cycle]] of the [[Charlemagne]] [[Romance (heroic literature)|romances]] 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 [[genealogy|genealogical]] ties and all are represented as opposing [[Charlemagne]], 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]] for his weaker successors. The tradition of a traitorous family of Mayence ([[Mainz]]), which was developed in Italy into a series of stories about criminals, appeared later than the [[Carolingian cycle]]. A contributor to the [[Chronicle of Fredegar]] states (iv. 87) that the army of [[Sigebert III]] was betrayed from within its own ranks by men of Mayence, in a battle fought with Radulf on the banks of the [[Unstrut]] in [[Thuringia]].

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]]. 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]]. 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 [[Denmark|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 [[Dordogne|Dordone]], whose [[The Four Sons of Aymon|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 [[Huon of Bordeaux]]
* [[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==
{{EB1911 |wstitle=Doon de Mayence |volume=8 |page=419}}
{{Reflist}}

{{Matter of France}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doon De Mayence}}
[[Category:Male characters in literature]]
[[Category:Fictional knights]]
[[Category:Matter of France]]
[[Category:Chansons de geste]]


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