Ogier the Dane (; ) is a legendary paladin of Charlemagne who appears in many Old French chansons de geste. In particular, he features as the protagonist in La Chevalerie Ogier (), which belongs to the Geste de Doon de Mayence ("cycle of the rebellious vassals"; Doon is Ogier's grandfather). The first part of this epic, the enfance[s] (childhood exploits) of Ogier, is marked by his duel against a Saracen from whom he obtains the sword Cortain, followed by victory over another Saracen opponent from whom he wins the horse Broiefort. In subsequent parts, Ogier turns into a rebel with cause, seeking refuge with the King of Lombardy and warring with Charlemagne for many years, until he is eventually reconciled when a dire need for him emerges after another Saracen incursion.
His character is a composite based on an historical Autcharius Francus who was aligned with king Desiderius of Lombardy against Charlemagne. The legend of a certain Othgerius buried in Meaux is also incorporated into the Chevalerie.
In Scandinavia, he was first known as Oddgeir danski in the Old Norse prose translation Karlamagnús saga, but later became more widely known as Holger Danske, and was given the pedigree of being Olaf son of King Gøtrik in a 16th-century Danish translation. Since then, Holger Danske has become a Danish folklore hero, with a sleeping hero motif attached to him, and eventually a symbol of Danish identity and patriotism as well as anti-German nationalism.
Historical references
The Ogier character is generally believed to be based on Autcharius/Otker, a Frankish knight who had served Carloman and escorted his widow and young children to Desiderius, King of Lombardy, but eventually surrendered to Charlemagne. The Ogier character could also have been partly constructed from the historical Adalgis (or Adelgis, Algisus), son of Desiderius, who played a similar role. The chanson de geste does parallel this, and Ogier does seek refuge with the Lombardian king Didier or Désier (as Desiderius is styled in French).
An unrelated Othgerius (Otgerius), a benefactor buried at the Abbey of Saint Faro in Meaux in France, became connected with Ogier by a work called Conversio Othgeri militis (ca. 1070–1080) written by the monks there. This tradition is reflected in the chanson of Ogier, which states that the hero was buried at Meaux.
There is no Ogier of consequence in Danish history; at least, no Ogier as such appears in Saxo Grammaticus's Gesta Danorum. However, the Danish work Holger Danskes Krønike (1534) made Ogier into the son of King Gøtrek of Denmark (namely Olaf son of Gøtrek, mentioned by Saxo). "Olgerus, dux Daniæ" ("Olger, War-Leader of the Danes") had rebuilt the St. Martin's monastery pillaged by the Saxons in 778, according to the chronicle of this monastery at Cologne (ca. 1050). However, this is not a contemporary record and may just be poetic fiction.
The legend in France
Ogier the Dane's first appearance (spelled Oger) in any work is in Chanson de Roland (c. 1060), where he is not named as one of the douzepers (twelve peers or paladins) of Charlemagne, although he is usually one of the twelve peers in other works. In the poeticized Battle of Roncevaux Pass, Ogier is assigned to be the vanguard and commands the Bavarian Army in the battle against Baligant in the later half. He plays only a minor part in this poem, and it is unclear what becomes of him, but the Pseudo-Turpin knows of a tradition that Ogier was killed at Roncevaux.
A full career of Ogier from youth to death is treated in La Chevalerie Ogier de Danemarche, a 13th-century assonanced poem of approximately 13,000 lines, attributed to Raimbert de Paris, preserved in six manuscripts. It relates Ogier's early years, his rebellion against Charlemagne and eventual reconciliation. This is now considered a retelling. Ogier in a lost original "Chevalerie Ogier primitive" is thought to have fought alongside the Lombards because Charlemagne attacked at the Pope's bidding, as historically happened in the Siege of Pavia (773–74), that is, there was no fighting with the Saracens (i.e. Muslims) as a prelude to this.
The legend that Ogier fought valiantly with some Saracens in his youth is the chief material of the first branch (about 3,000 lines) of Raimbert's Chevalerie Ogier. This is also recounted in Enfances Ogier (c. 1270), a rhymed poem of 9,229 lines by Adenet le Roi. The story of Ogier's youth develops with close similarity in these two works starting at the beginning, but they diverge at a certain point when Raimbert's version begins to be more economical with the details.