Ogier le Danois

Hero of an ancient French epic tradition. He figures in Ariosto's Orlando furioso and other romantic tales and poems.

Explanations for his surname include his Danish origins, or that he took it after having conquered the country, or that Ogier was a Saracen who turned Christian, and as the French barons jokingly called him ‘Ogier Damné’ (‘condemned Ogier’) he insisted on being so called when he was christened. The last agrees with the assertion that he was condemned by Charlemagne. He has been identified with the Autcharius who opposed Charlemagne in Lombardy.