Ganelon

For historical persons with this name, see Wenilo.
The torture of Ganelon. Grandes Chroniques de France, 14th century.

In the 11th century Matter of France, Ganelon (US: /ˌɡænəˈloʊn/,[1] French: [ɡan(ə)lɔ̃])[needs Old French IPA] is the knight who betrayed Charlemagne's army to the Saracens, leading to the 778 Battle of Roncevaux Pass. His name is said to derive from the Italian word inganno, meaning fraud or deception.[2] He is based upon the historical Wenilo, the archbishop of Sens who betrayed King Charles the Bald in 858.[3]

  1. ^ "Ganelon". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  2. ^ Boiardo, Orlando Innamorato, trans. Charles Stanley Ross, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995; I, i, 15, iv, p. 5 and note p. 399.
  3. ^ J. L. Nelson, Charles the Bald (London: Longman, 1992), p. 188 n. 121.