HUON OF THE HORN

An unusual though circumscribed item, this translation of the 1534 English version of the romance of Huon of Bordeaux, included in the cycle of the Charlemagne Saga. With relaxed sentence structure which nevertheless retains some of the archaic flavor of the Lord Berners translation, the several legends of the hero who became a friend of the King of the Fariries and Later ruler of Fairyland is told in brief episodes. Actually, in spite of a profusion of serpents, elves and magic props, the incidents do not have the universal appeal of some of the Arthur legends, for example, or the Roland tales. Huon's struggles against the Saracens, his meetings with Oberon, his many battles lack a vigor in the telling, a lustre of vivid characterization, which may have been lost in the original translation. However, as a curiosity and as a supplement to the study of legend, this undoubtedly has value, although a weak competitor to other tales of knightly adventure.