The Four Sons of Aymon (, , ), sometimes also referred to as Renaud de Montauban (after its main character) is a medieval tale spun around the four sons of Duke Aymon: the knight Renaud de Montauban (also spelled Renaut, Renault, , ), his brothers Guichard, Allard and Richardet, their magical horse Bayard (), their adventures and revolt against the emperor Charlemagne. The story had a European success and echoes of the story are still found today in certain folklore traditions. Medieval and Renaissance texts French versions The oldest extant version of the tale is an anonymous Old French chanson de geste, Quatre Fils Aymon, which dates from the late 12th century and comprises 18,489 alexandrine (12-syllable) verses grouped in assonanced and rhymed laisses (the first 12,120 verses use assonance; critics suggest that the rhymed laisses derive from a different poet). It is one of the longest of all the chansons de geste. Other, later versions of the chanson range from 14,300 to 28,000 verses. Of the dozen extant versions of the chanson, all are anonymous except for one, Histoire des quatre fils Aymon, attributed to Huon de Villeneuve, a 13th-century trouvère. The Renaud chansons de geste were transformed into prose romances in the 14th and 15th centuries, and, judging from the number of editions, the prose Quatre Fils Aymon was the most popular romance of chivalry in the late 15th century and first half of the 16th century in France. The tale is generally included in the Doon de Mayence "cycle" of chansons. Plot Renaud and his three brothers were sons of Aymon de Dordone (a fictional location in the Ardennes, though the name seems to be related to Dordogne near Montauban). At the Pentecostal feast, Aymon brought them to Paris to be presented to the emperor Charlemagne and Renaud proved himself a worthy combatant in the royal tournament and won the emperor's favor. In most versions of the chanson, the emperor awarded him with the magical horse Bayard (in two versions, it is the fairy Oriande who gives it to him). Unfortunately, Renaud kills one of Charlemagne's nephews (Bertolai) in a brawl over a chess game and the brothers flee, aided by Bayard who can carry all the brothers on its back and leap across valleys. The brothers decide to hide in the Ardennes where their cousin, the sorcerer Maugis, can help them. Maugis constructs a castle for