SOURCE: Kay, Sarah. “Allies and Enemies.” In The “Chansons de geste” in the Age of Romance: Political Fictions, pp. 175-99. Oxford: Clarenden Press, 1995.

In the following excerpt, Kay compares Garin le Loherain with Aye d'Avignon in order to highlight its theme of treachery spawned from an internally confused social order.

Garin Le Loheren

Garin is an altogether more pessimistic narrative [than Aye d'Avignon]. Although as in Aye traitors ally themselves with pagan interest, there is no compensating move on the pagan side to restore order for the non-treacherous Franks. Frankish society is not depicted as any less disorderly or confused than in Aye: on the contrary. But its conflicts are not resolvable by outside intervention. Instead, the size of the traitor force is increased to the point where it dominates not only the royal court, but also the whole realm. Loheren and Bordelais are left to battle it...