Stories of Charlemagne and the Twelve Peers of France by Alfred John Church

Duke Reyner could neither eat nor drink for the grief that he had / about his son; and when he could no longer endure this trouble, he / came to King Charles and made his complaint. "Oh, sir," he said, "I / am like to die of grief for my dear son Oliver. If I have no tidings / of him then I must needs perish, or go myself to seek him. " The King / when he heard these words was full of pity, and sent for Roland, and / said to him, "Fair nephew, you must go on the morrow to Aygremore, / and get speech of Balan, and say to him, and that full plainly, that / he must straightway deliver up the holy things that he has, and also / set free those my knights that he has in keeping. And if he refuse / to do these things, then tell him that I will most surely hang him as / a thief. " To this Roland answered, "Fair king and uncle, send me on / no such errand, for if you do, you will never see me more. " Then / spake the Duke Naymes, "Take heed, Sire, what you do. You know what / a valiant man is your nephew Roland. If you send him, he will return / no more. " Said King Charles, "Then you shall go with him, bearing / the letters that I shall send to the Admiral. " And then others of / the Peers, as Duke Thierry and Ogier the Dane, stood up in their / place, and said the same thing, then the King swore a great oath, / even by the eyes in his head, that they also should go. So he did to / six of the Peers.

Last of all he spied Guy of Burgundy and said to / him, "You are my cousin and nearest to me in blood, you shall be the / seventh with these six to take my message to Balan the Admiral. You / shall say to him that I purpose to baptize him, that he holds of me / his whole kingdom, and that he must deliver up to me the holy / things. " Said Guy of Burgundy, "My lord, I pray you send me not on / this errand, for if you will send me I am assured that you will never / see me again. " But the King took no heed. On the morrow the seven / came and stood before him and said, "We crave your leave to depart; / if we have done wrong to any in this company we pray his pardon, and / if any have wronged us, him we pardon. " At these words all that were / there began to weep for pity. The King said, "Well beloved, I / commend you to God; may He have you in His keeping! " Then they went / their way.