THE outlook is beyond grim. The great Frankish emperor Charlemagne has just received horrible news. With his army divided and his trusted Roland elsewhere, a courier informs him that a massive force of Saracens is bearing down on him: sixteen different kings, 160,000 knights clothed in mail and 200,000 foot soldiers armed to the teeth. Their objective is the destruction of Charlemagne and all his assembled people. The courier reports that the Saracens are bold and bloodthirsty; their only fear is that Charlemagne will turn tail and run before their massive army can reach him. The mighty Charlemagne is undaunted though. He turns to the courier and says:

Then, with steely resolve Charlemagne turns to his troops. They had already heard the rumours and were pressing in on him to hear what they would do. He speaks to them with a commanding voice:

At which point, the whole army erupt into cheers and declare themselves filled with the courage of lions. Legends are made of such bravado, or at the very least one particular legend of the mighty Charlemagne, king of the Franks, Roman emperor and father of Europe.

This engrossing tale comes from Guillelmus Paduanus, who purportedly wrote the Gesta Karoli Magni ad Carcassonam et Narbonam in the middle of the thirteenth century. He recounts the story of Charlemagne's expeditions to southern France to seize Narbonne and Carcassonne from Muslim control with a reorientation of key events towards the monastery dedicated to the Virgin Mary at Lagrasse.