These are the legends about Charlemagne and his Paladins, not the actual history, so there will be dragons, monsters and magic. FOR MY FIRST CHAPTER ON CHARLEMAGNE’S PALADINS CLICK HERE.
ASTOLPHO IN THE VALLEY OF LOST THINGS – When we left Emperor Charlemagne’s Paladin Astolpho, he had flown his hippogriff to the peak of the Mountain of the Furies where he was greeted by the one and only St. John the Apostle.
St. John informed Astolpho that he had been sent down by God to enlist the Paladin in an important quest. Once inside the majestic castle which served as a temporary residence for the Saint, our hero was updated on the plight of Roland, greatest of Charlemagne’s men.
Roland had still not linked up with the Emperor and his forces in their campaigns to drive off the Muslim invaders of the land of the Franks. St. John explained that Roland had remained under the influence of the waters from the enchanted fountain, waters that had filled him with “love” for Angelica, the evil Princess of Cathay from earlier Charlemagne installments.
After using Roland’s passion for her to make him help her allies during the Siege of Albracca (from several chapters ago), Angelica had abandoned the Paladin. Most recently she had married a Saracen foe of the Franks named Zerbino and returned to Cathay with him.
The enchanted Roland had learned of this and was driven into a despairing rage. In his madness he had torn off his armor and become a wild man of the woods preying on men and animals alike.
St. John told the stunned Astolpho that God had decreed that the madness of Roland should last for three months. The three months were close to ending, so God wanted Astolpho to assist St. John in recovering Roland’s Lost Sanity.
That could only be done in the Valley of Lost Things on the moon. NOTE: Back in 2011 I covered Astolpho’s lunar expedition as part of my Ancient Science Fiction series.
Recognizing Astolpho’s earthly weaknesses, St. John provided the Paladin and his winged hippogriff with food and drink. He then let Astolpho sleep in the palace overnight to rest from his battle with the Furies last time around.
The next morning our hero joined St. John in his spacious chariot in which the Saint’s flying horses transported the pair of them to the moon. On their mission for God the duo flew above the towns and cities of the moon and landed in the Valley of Lost Things.
For as far as the eye could see were lost treasures, trash, people and abstract items like the lost sanity of many. Such lost sanity was held in bottles, and it took hours for Astolpho to at last find the bottle he was looking for.
The label on the container read “The Sanity of the Paladin Roland.” Astolpho returned to St. John’s chariot with this object of their quest and the pair flew back to Earth.
*** I’ll be examining more tales of Charlemagne soon, picking up from this one. FOR LINKS TO THE PREVIOUS CHARLEMAGNE INSTALLMENTS CLICK HERE.
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