SOURCE: Ker, W. P. “The Old French Epic (Chansons de geste.)” In Epic and Romance: Essays on Medieval Literature, pp. 287-320. London: Macmillan, 1922.

In the following excerpt, originally published in 1896, Ker compares Garin le Loherain with the French epic Raoul de Cambrai, assesses its notable “Death of Begon” episode, and observes that the work bears affinities to Icelandic saga in its concentration on character and lack of strong political, religious, or romantic motivation.

Garin le Loherain is a story with a [a plot similar to that of Raoul de Cambrai] …—the estrangement and enmity of old friends, “sworn companions.” Though no earlier than Raoul de Cambrai, though belonging in date to the flourishing period of romance, it is a story of the older heroic age, and its contents are epic. Its heroes are unsophisticated, and the incidents, sentiments, and motives are primitive and not of the romantic school...