Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- INTRODUCTION
- BOOK ONE
- BOOK TWO
- ALEXANDER'S CONQUESTS IN THE WEST
- THE WAR AGAINST PORUS OF INDIA
- THE QUEEN OF THE AMAZONS
- THE END OF THE WAR AGAINST PORUS
- THE MARVELS OF INDIA
- THE CONQUEST OF BABYLON
- ALEXANDER'S DEATH
- WAR BETWEEN ALEXANDER'S BARONS
- THE AVENGING OF ALEXANDER
- Appendix 1 How Nectanebus fathered Alexander [from the 13th-century Prose Alexander]
- Appendix 2 Aristotle's advice to Alexander [an interpolation into Wauquelin's text]
- Appendix 3 Jacques de Longuyon's excursus on the Nine Worthies [from Les Voeux du Paon (‘The Vows of the Peacock’), c.1310]
THE AVENGING OF ALEXANDER
from BOOK TWO
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 February 2013
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- INTRODUCTION
- BOOK ONE
- BOOK TWO
- ALEXANDER'S CONQUESTS IN THE WEST
- THE WAR AGAINST PORUS OF INDIA
- THE QUEEN OF THE AMAZONS
- THE END OF THE WAR AGAINST PORUS
- THE MARVELS OF INDIA
- THE CONQUEST OF BABYLON
- ALEXANDER'S DEATH
- WAR BETWEEN ALEXANDER'S BARONS
- THE AVENGING OF ALEXANDER
- Appendix 1 How Nectanebus fathered Alexander [from the 13th-century Prose Alexander]
- Appendix 2 Aristotle's advice to Alexander [an interpolation into Wauquelin's text]
- Appendix 3 Jacques de Longuyon's excursus on the Nine Worthies [from Les Voeux du Paon (‘The Vows of the Peacock’), c.1310]
Summary
How Alior, Queen Candace's son, avenged the death of Alexander; and first how he assembled his army, according to my source.
A previous part of our history – which we've woven together from a number of sources, but principally from one whose author's name we don't know, as we've mentioned at several points – told how the noble King Alexander once visited the lady Candace, queen of Meroe. But we haven't mentioned that he fathered a son upon the lady, though the aforesaid source refers to the matter at some length.
Now, however, since we need to explain how Alexander's poisoners were put to death, we should certainly relay what one source suggests, whose author gives his name as Jehan le Nevelon. He says he composed his work at the request of a count named Henry – count of where he doesn't specify, saying only that he was a lord of great generosity, piety, courtesy and graciousness, sincere, compassionate towards the poor and pitiless towards the wicked: an exceptional man, which may explain why he chose to omit this Count Henry's surname, implying that he was the worthiest Henry in the world! Just as in referring to Charlemagne, greatest of all French kings, or to Julius Caesar or Judas Maccabeus or Hercules there's no need to give their title because as soon as they're mentioned everyone knows who is meant, so I think Jehan le Nevelon intended his reference to ‘Count Henry’ to be understood.
In any event, our author says that Queen Candace had a handsome son by Alexander; his name was Alior.
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- Chapter
- Information
- The Medieval Romance of AlexanderThe Deeds and Conquests of Alexander the Great, pp. 288 - 298Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2012