the ancient Franks), and his legendary Durendal, modeled on the sword of the same name kept at the Royal Armoury of Madrid. Oliver is also heavily armed, carrying a Frankish scramasax and holding a pike. The two standing figures' watchfulness creates a sense of foreboding that presages their heroic demise at the battle of Roncevaux Pass. At the same time, Charlemagne's majestic and confident attitude points to his achievements beyond the two paladins' sacrifice, and to his enduring legacy. The representation is fictional and anachronistic on multiple levels, which was probably intentional to emphasize its allegorical character. Their hairstyles and clothes are those traditionally associated with Gauls or Merovingians rather than late-8th-century Franks. The legend has them both dying in 778, when Charlemagne was still young and a generation before he would be crowned Emperor. Charlemagne's insignia of power were not to be carried on the battlefield. The Imperial Crown, in any case, was not created until more than a century after Charlemagne's death. As for the scepter, it dates from the 14th century. The composition abounds in political and nationalistic symbolism, reflecting the Rochet brothers' intent to claim Charlemagne's legacy for France and Napoleon III in alignment with the ideology of the Second French Empire. The implied claim of imperial affinity between Charlemagne and Napoleon was a way to downplay the prominence of the Capetian dynasty in the centuries in between, and thus to neuter the pretentions of the French royalist parties of the time: Orléanists with Philippe, Count of Paris, and Legitimists with Henri, Count of Chambord. Simultaneously, the presence of Roland and Oliver anchor Charlemagne in French territory and tradition against the competing claims of Belgium, then a young nation in search of iconic heroes of its own, and especially of Germany, which was starting its unification process at the same time as the statue was being designed. The theatrical gesture of Charlemagne, holding his "French" scepter above his "German" crown, can be viewed as significant along those lines. See also List of equestrian statues in France Statue of Charlemagne (Liège) Iconography of Charlemagne References 4th arrondissement of Paris Bronze sculptures Equestrian statues in France Statues of monarchs Statues of military officers Cultural depictions of Charlemagne Île de la Cité