The Paladins, also known as the Twelve Peers (French: Douze Pairs), were twelve legendary knights who were the most important members of Charlemagne’s court in the 8th century. They first appeared in medieval (12th century) chanson de geste stories, which are a series of epic poems about the Matter of France. In these stories, the Paladins played a role similar to the Knights of the Round Table in Arthurian tales. In these romantic stories, the Paladins were brave knights who fought for Christianity against Muslim invaders in Europe. The names of the Paladins changed in different stories, but there were always twelve of them (a number linked to Christianity), and they were led by Roland (called Orlando in later Italian stories). The most famous story about the Paladins is The Song of Roland, written between 1050 and 1115. This story describes Roland’s heroic death during the Battle of Roncevaux Pass.
The legend of the Paladins is based on real events, including the historical Umayyad invasion of Gaul and the later conflicts between the Frankish Empire and the Emirate of Córdoba in the Marca Hispanica. The word "paladin" comes from Old French and is based on the Latin term comes palatinus, which meant a close advisor or retainer.
The Paladins remained a popular subject in medieval French literature. During the Italian Renaissance (15th and 16th centuries), stories about the Paladins included more fantasy elements. These stories later inspired operas in the Baroque music of the 16th and 17th centuries. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the term "paladin" was used outside of fiction to describe small groups of trusted military advisors to national leaders. In modern times, paladins are often shown as individual holy warriors or healers in stories, influenced by the paladin character class introduced in the game Dungeons & Dragons in 1975.
Etymology
The first time the word "paladin" was written in English was in 1592, in a poem called Delia (Sonnet XLVI) by Samuel Daniel. The word came to English from Middle French, where it was spelled "paladin." This French word came from the Latin word "palatinus," which was based on the name of Palatine Hill. In Frankish language, this hill was called "of the palace," as it was part of the title "Mayor of the Palace." An earlier form of the word, palaisin in Old French, was used in Middle English as "palasin" around the year 1400.
Over time, "paladin" began to describe important officials in imperial, royal, and other high-ranking courts. The word "palatine," used in many European countries during the medieval and modern times, comes from the same source.
By the 13th century, words describing Charlemagne’s close companions appeared in European languages. The earliest was the Italian "paladino." Modern French uses "paladin," Spanish uses "paladín" or "paladino," and German uses "Paladin." These variations show different ways the word was borrowed from French and Italian. Eventually, "paladin" came to describe any brave and noble hero, such as the knights of King Arthur’s Round Table.
Historical title
During the Roman imperial period, a palatinus was a close servant of the emperor who lived in the emperor's home as part of the royal household. The title continued into the medieval period as comes palatinus. However, the modern spelling "paladin" is now used only for fictional characters in the chanson de geste, while the English term for comes palatinus is "count palatine." After the fall of Rome, a new feudal title called palatinus began to develop. The Frankish kings of the Merovingian dynasty (480–750) used a high official called the comes palatinus, who first helped the king with legal matters and later took on many of these duties themselves. Other counts palatine were assigned military and administrative tasks.
In the Visigothic Kingdom, the Officium Palatinum was a group of officials with the title of count who managed different parts of the royal household. For example, the Comes Cubiculariorum managed the chamberlains, the Comes Scanciorum oversaw the cup-bearers, and the Comes Stabulorum directed the equerries who cared for the king’s horses. The Ostrogothic Kingdom also had palatine counts, such as the Comes Patrimonium, who managed the king’s private land. This system was continued by the Carolingian rulers (751–987). A Frankish document from 882 and writings by Hincmar, archbishop of Reims, from the same time show how much legal responsibilities in the Frankish Empire were handled by these officials.
Some counts palatine were sent to different parts of the empire to act as judges and governors, and the areas they ruled were called palatinates. By the High Middle Ages, the title "count" became very common, used by both powerful nobles who ruled large regions similar to duchies and smaller lords who controlled local castles. As powerful nobles gained more control over local lords, they wanted to highlight their higher status and began calling themselves "Count Palatine," showing they ruled large areas like duchies. For example, the Counts Palatine of Champagne in the 13th century used this title. The Count Palatine of the Rhine was a prince-elector since ancient times, as noted in a papal letter from 1261 and confirmed in the Golden Bull of 1356. The title "palatin" was also used in the Kingdom of Hungary.
Medieval romance
In the French court literature of the 12th century, the paladins are the twelve closest followers of Charlemagne. They are similar to the Knights of the Round Table in stories about King Arthur.
The names of the twelve paladins change depending on the story, and sometimes more than twelve names are listed. The number twelve is popular because it is similar to the Twelve Apostles. Roland and Oliver are always included among the paladins. Other characters who often appear are Archbishop Turpin, Ogier the Dane, Huon of Bordeaux, Fierabras, Renaud de Montauban, and Ganelon.
The most famous stories about the paladins are found in The Song of Roland, written between about 1040 and 1115. This story describes the paladins defending Charlemagne’s army against the Saracens of Al-Andalus and their deaths at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass because of Ganelon’s betrayal. The Song of Roland lists the twelve paladins as Roland, Charlemagne’s nephew and the main hero; Oliver, Roland’s friend and strongest supporter; and Gérin, Gérier (who are killed by the same Saracen, Grandonie, in the same section of the poem), Bérengier, Otton, Samson, Engelier, Ivon, Ivoire, Anséis, and Girard. Other characters, such as Archbishop Turpin and Ogier the Dane, are also mentioned in the story but are not always counted as part of the twelve.
The paladins appear in many epic poems and tales connected to Charlemagne. In Fierabras (written around 1170), the paladins recover holy relics stolen from Rome by the Saracen giant Fierabras. In some versions of the story, Fierabras converts to Christianity and becomes a paladin. In Le Pèlerinage de Charlemagne, the paladins join Charlemagne on a journey to Jerusalem and Constantinople to challenge the Byzantine Emperor Hugo.
Early modern reception
During the Italian Renaissance, authors Matteo Maria Boiardo and Ludovico Ariosto wrote works that were once as popular and respected as those of William Shakespeare. Their books, Orlando Innamorato and Orlando Furioso, helped reshape the stories of the paladins, who were brave warriors known for their epic deeds. These works describe the paladins going on even more imaginative adventures than earlier stories. While the list of paladins is different from earlier versions, the number remains twelve.
Boiardo and Ariosto’s paladins include Orlando (Roland), Charlemagne’s nephew and the main hero; Oliver, Roland’s rival; Ferumbras (Fierabras), a Saracen who converted to Christianity; Astolpho, a descendant of Charles Martel and Orlando’s cousin; Ogier the Dane; Ganelon, a betrayer who appears in Dante Alighieri’s Inferno; Rinaldo (Renaud de Montauban); Malagigi (Maugris), a sorcerer; Florismart, a friend of Orlando; Guy de Bourgogne; Namo (Naimon or Namus), Duke of Bavaria and Charlemagne’s trusted adviser; and Otuel, another converted Saracen.
In the Baroque period, Ariosto’s poem inspired many operas. Early examples include Francesca Caccini’s La liberazione di Ruggiero dall’isola d’Alcina (1625) and Luigi Rossi’s Il palazzo incantato (1642). Antonio Vivaldi created three operas based on Ariosto’s themes: Orlando furioso (1713) by Giovanni Alberto Ristori, Orlando Furioso (1714) with music by Ristori and Vivaldi, and Orlando (1727). In France, Jean-Baptiste Lully used Ariosto’s work for his Roland (1685).
Some of the most famous operas inspired by Ariosto include those by Handel: Orlando (1733), Ariodante, and Alcina (1735). Les Paladins (1760) by Jean-Philippe Rameau is based on a story by La Fontaine, which itself comes from an episode in Orlando Furioso. The popularity of operas based on Ariosto continued into the Classical era, with examples like Niccolò Piccinni’s Roland (1778), Haydn’s Orlando paladino (1782), Méhul’s Ariodant (1799), and Simon Mayr’s Ginevra di Scozia (1801).
The term "Paladin" was revived in the early modern period to describe the closest advisors of a monarch. For example, the leaders of armies supporting Protestant Frederick V during the Thirty Years’ War were called Paladins.
Modern reception
The word "Paladin" was sometimes used to describe the closest advisors of the German Emperor. In 1871, the magazine Die Gartenlaube called Albrecht von Roon, Otto von Bismarck, and Helmuth Karl Bernhard von Moltke "the three Paladins of the German Emperor." British generals Garnet Wolseley and Frederick Roberts were also called "Queen Victoria's Paladins." Adolf Hitler later used the term to refer to Hermann Göring as his Paladin.
The stories from the Arthurian "Matter of Britain" became very popular in the 19th century among poets, writers, and artists. However, the "Matter of France" received less attention. The Song of Roland, a story from the Matter of France, has inspired many modern works, such as Graham Greene’s The Confidential Agent (1939) and Stephen King’s Dark Tower series.
In 1960, Emanuele Luzzati and Giulio Gianini created an animated short film called I paladini di Francia. This film was later turned into a children’s picture-story book with verses titled I Paladini de Francia ovvero il tradimento di Gano di Maganz (1962). The book was published in English as Ronald and the Wizard Calico (1969).
In the later 20th century, the term "Paladin" became a common theme in modern fantasy stories. The character class "Paladin" was first introduced in 1975 for the game Dungeons & Dragons in Supplement I – Greyhawk. This character class was inspired by the main character of the 1962 fantasy novel Three Hearts and Three Lions, which mixed elements from medieval legends, including the Matter of France. A 1983 Italian fantasy film titled I paladini — storia d'armi e d'amori was also based on the theme.
The "Paladin" character became a standard type in video games, first appearing in The Bard's Tale in 1985. In Age of Empires II, the Paladin is the highest-level upgrade for knights in some European and Eurasian civilizations. In 2008, the Hollywood action film Jumper included characters called Paladins, led by a character named Roland. However, the movie was based on a 1993 science-fiction novel of the same name, which did not include the term "Paladin."