Charlemagne Saved by Roland Who Defeats Helmont
Aspremont is a 12th century chanson de geste, with 11, 376 verses. In this tale, the African Saracen king Agolant and his son Helmont invade Calabria and defy Charlemagne through their messenger Balant. Charlemagne's troops come to fight them, but Charlemagne's nephew Roland is not allowed to join the battle due to his young age. The armies reach Aspromonte, and Charlemagne's paladins Naimes and Girart de Fraite prove their worth. In the end, Charlemagne is saved by Roland who defeats Helmont and his uncle forgives him his disobedience. In gratitude, Charlemagne gives Roland Helmont's horse (Veillantif) and sword (Durandal). In the end, Agolant dies and Charlemagne returns in triumph, although future battles with a disloyal Girart de Fraite are predicted. Charlemagne (742-814 AD) was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans (Imperator Romanorum) from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire. He conquered Italy and was crowned Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III in Rome. His rule is also associated with the Carolingian Renaissance, a revival of art, religion, and culture through the medium of the Catholic Church. Through his foreign conquests and internal reforms, Charlemagne helped define both Western Europe and the European Middle Ages. He is numbered as Charles I in the regnal lists of Germany, the Holy Roman Empire, and France. Charlemagne had eighteen children over the course of his life with eight of his ten known wives or concubines. In 1814 he fell ill with pleurisy. He died the seventh day (January 28th) from the time that he took to his bed, at nine o'clock in the morning, after partaking of the Holy Communion, in the 72nd year and the 47th of his reign
