Holger Danske
October 27, 2009, filed under: Characters, by LexOne of the museums we went to in Copenhagen was the Museum of Danish Resistance, which catalogued the years during World War II when a small resistance of Danes stood against the Nazis. One of these resistance groups was called the Holger Danske, named after the Danish hero. Holger goes by another name in the Carolingian romances, as well as the Kid Beowulf mythos: Ogier the Dane!
Ogier appears in many stories, including the Song of Roland; he fought alongside Charlemagne for many years and even fights against him in later years. Ogier is certainly one of my favorite characters and if I ever did a spin-off story from the Kid B. universe, Ogier would be at the top of the list.
A statue of Holger Danske resides in another part of Denmark at the Kronborg Castle. According to legend…
“Ogier becomes a king in the mountain; he is said to dwell in the castle of Kronborg, his beard grown down to the floor, to sleep there until some date when Denmark is in mortal danger, at which time he will rise up and deliver the nation.”
A wonderful symmetry took place as I walked the museum’s halls and read about the Holger Danske; I felt like I knew their secret and why that name was so important to them. And it was exciting to know that in some small way I was carrying on the tradition of their Danish hero in my own books, and that my Ogier the Dane was fighting the good fight alongside them.
Pepin the Hunchback
May 9, 2009, filed under: Characters, by LexWhen I originally plotted Kid Beowulf & The Song of Roland, I wanted to take advantage of as much French history and literature as I could. At the time, I was less concerned about historical accuracy as I was about giving the book the “flavor of France.” Early drafts had landmarks pop up in the book that weren’t around in the 700s. Among them was the great cathedral Notre Dame, which everyone knows comes with a hunchback. But the more research I did on the book, the more I realized that Notre Dame and Quasimodo would become distractions more than additions–they had a life of their own in literature and pop-culture, I wasn’t sure I could add anything new to the mix.
But I liked the character design I did for Quasimodo and the few scenes he appeared in worked for the story. So I dug a little deeper into the history of Charlemagne and was delighted to discover “Pepin the Hunchback” who was actually one of Charlemagne’s sons. Although Charlemagne’s oldest son, Pepin was never in line for the throne; he was, however, convinced to be a part of a rebellion to overthrow his father. The insurrection didn’t pan out of Pepin, who was sent to live out the rest of his days in a monastery. (For those muscial lovers out there, the broadway show Pippin was based on Pepin’s life).
I downplay the relationship between Pepin and Charlemagne in my story. Instead, Pepin is holed up in the chapel in Paris as an informant for Archbishop Turpin’s resistance. Pepin is a grouchy and gravelly old hunchback who eventually gets thrown into prison and is stuck with Roland as his cell mate. Pepin is the one character who chastises Roland and helps gets his heroic butt into gear!
Bradamante
April 24, 2009, filed under: Characters, by LexThe original pitch for Kid Beowulf & The Song of Roland involved Beowulf going to France to learn how to fence, where he and Grendel would meet Charlemagne and his famous knights and Beowulf would fall in love with Joan of Arc. It was completely anachronistic for Beowulf to fall in love with the 15th century maiden, but at the time I wasn’t familiar with any other 15 year old warrior women and it was important to have a female character. The 700 year span between Charlemagne and Joan of Arc never sat well with me though, and I had trouble convincing myself it would work. The book needed a strong female lead however, so Joan stayed in the picture.
As I did research on the epics and legends of the time, I discovered that in fact, there was another girl knight of tremendous stature and her name was Bradamante. She appeared in Ariosto’s epic Orlando Furioso, and had many fantastic adventures. Better yet, she was a contemporary of Roland’s and the sister to another of Charlemagne’s knights, Rinaldo. She eventually falls in love with the Moorish prince, Rogero, whom she eventually marries. The more I read about her the more the clunky pieces of the original draft began to smooth and fall neatly into place. In Kid Beowulf & The Song of Roland, Bradamante is part of the French Resistance, doing what she can to thwart the evil Lord Ganelon and get vengeance for her brother’s untimely death. She also happens to be the best fencer in all of France, second only to Roland. The page below shows her descending into the catacombs beneath Paris where the Resistance is headquartered…
Rollie & Ollie
April 8, 2009, filed under: Characters, by LexThere are many French heroes in Kid Beowulf & The Song of Roland, but only one of them gets top billing. Roland is Charlemagne’s nephew and the step-son to Lord Ganelon–the man who orchestrates Roland’s demise. For me, Roland is very similar to Achilles: a terrific fighter who everyone admires, but who is stubborn and headstrong, often acting before thinking.
Every Achilles needs a Patroclus and Roland has his in the steady hand of his best friend, Oliver. In the original epic Oliver is one of the last men standing during the ambush at Ronceveaux and he’s the one who keeps telling Roland to call for back-up (which Roland never does). In my story, Oliver is already a part of Charlemagne’s court, and a squire to the Peers.
The original epic introduces Roland and Oliver as full-fledged heroes but there are many stories about their early adventures I wanted to highlight. One such story tells us of Roland’s origins, growing up as a street urchin, not fully aware of his lineage until he steals food from Charlemagne’s train. Another story tells about the first time Roland and Oliver meet, fighting one another for one full day in combat, one never overtaking the other, the duel finally ending in friendship. I decided to blend these two stories together. Below is a page from that sequence (click the image for a better view):
Another early Roland story features his battle with the Saracen giant, Ferragus. It’s a David and Goliath story and features Roland’s cunning when dealing with a larger foe. For my purposes I decided to use this tale as Roland and Oliver’s first adventure together, to show how the two characters approach the same problem. This is also the sequence where Roland’s iconic weapons (his sword Durendal and his Oliphant) are first introduced. Below is a page from that scene (click the image for a better view):
Charlemagne vs. Marsilion
September 5, 2008, filed under: Characters, by LexI doubt there’s another king who transcends history and mythology the way Charlemagne does. Historically, he was a unique ruler who emphasized education, tolerated different religions and encouraged cultural expansion. In some mythologies he is the perfect king, betrayed by those closest to him. In other stories he appears strangely cranky and unreasonable. In The Song Of Roland, Charlemagne is a two-hundred-year old paragon of virtue and God’s strongest vassal–he miraculously holds back the sun, so the day will linger while he slaughters Saracens!
In my story, Charlemagne is a powerful presence who succumbs to the treachery of Ganelon. His country is falling apart around him and the only thing that can beat back an invading Saracen horde are France’s exiled heroes!
That Saracen horde is led by Marsilion, King of Zaragoza. In league with the traitorous Ganelon, Marsilion will do whatever he can to claim France for the Crescent. In the original Song of Roland, Marsilion doesn’t do much beyond connive and scheme behind his throne. He leaves the dirty work to his commanders and in the final fight against Charlemagne he enlists the aid of the King of Babylon, Baligant, who actually fights the French King. My version of Marsilion merges the original with Baligant, to give us a deadly man of action!
Ogier the Dane
April 17, 2008, filed under: Characters, by Lex
The work on Blood-Bound Oath is winding down (it’s set to ship to the printers in early May!) and now I’m making the transition to Book II: Kid Beowulf and the Song of Roland. The nice thing is that I won’t have to leave Oath far behind since the link between the two books is Ogier the Dane. First seen in book one, Hrothgar’s younger brother, Ogier sets out on his own and eventually winds up in France fighting for Charlemagne as one of his vaunted 12 Peers. To keep them safe from the Heathobards, Beowulf and Grendel are sent to Ogier (little do they know they’re walking straight into far worse danger).
Ogier has quickly become one of my favorite characters and I’m looking forward to diving into his story more. Although not as well known as Roland or Charlemagne, he’s got a lot of cred in the romances of chivalry, showing up in the Song of Roland, Bulfinch’s Mythology, and even Wikipedia. If anyone out there knows where else I can find stories about Ogier, please drop me a line!
The Usual Suspects
April 2, 2008, filed under: Characters,Sketchbook, by LexThis is the final piece of art created for the book and will be used as as a the “dramatis personae” page; basically a cheat sheet for the main characters and the pronunciation guide. I always liked the character line-ups and big group shots that Marvel would do, I remember pouring over them as a kid, rattling off the characters names and their powers.
The tricky part for this piece was to show the characters as we first see them in the book, it’s essentially a time-line; from left to right it depicts the three different phases of the book (past, present, future) and the characters who dominate those sections. I also wanted to draw them “in character,” so if you look at it closely you’ll notice certain characters looking at and reacting to each other as they would in the book. The final piece will have text and labels, but I like it as a stand alone piece too.