But there is another death which he prefers to that of Roland, viz., that of Orri of Bavaria, which is less known, but no less beautiful. Orri had been taken prisoner by the pagans in a sortie. He had to choose between his faith and his love. “Render up to us the palace and the tower, and we will give you your king, Orri,” cried the infidels.
“Do not surrender!” cried the king, “I will die!”
He calmly prepared for death; it was a cruel martyrdom. He was shot to death with arrows, but he managed to kneel down and utter a prayer to God to receive his soul, as his body was no longer his own. And angels fluttered down to receive this pure spirit, as they had received Roland’s.
León Gautier, Chivalry, trans. Henry Frith (London: George Routledge and Sons, Ltd., 1891), 490–2.
Short Stories on Honor, Chivalry, and the World of Nobility—no. 711
