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Ne sont que iij matières à nul homme atandant,

De France et de Bretaigne, et de Rome la grant.

(There are but 3 literary cycles that no one should be without: the matter of France, of Britain, and of great Rome.)

The name distinguishes and relates the Matter of Britain from the mythological themes taken from classical antiquity, the " matter of RomeAccording to the mediaeval poet Jean Bodel, the Matter of Rome was the literary cycle made up of Greek and Roman mythology, together with episodes from the history of classical antiquity, focusing on military heroes like Alexander the Great and Julius Cae," and the tales of the paladinRoland pledges his fealty to Charlemagne; from a manuscript of a chanson de geste''. For other uses of Paladin see Paladin (disambiguation). A paladin is the prototypical " knight in shining armour," a hero of sterling character and courage, who rights wrs of CharlemagneCharlemagne (c. 2nd of April, 747 28th of January, 814) (or Charles the Great in German Karl der Grosse in Latin Carolus Magnus giving rise to the adjective form 'Carolingian'), was king of the Franks from 771 to 814, nominally King of the Lombards, and H and their wars with the MoorsMoors is used in this article to describe the medieval Muslim inhabitants of al-Andalus and the Maghreb, whose culture is often called "Moorish". For other meanings look at Moors (Meaning) or Blackamoors. The name derives from the ancient Berber tribe of and SaracenFor the rugby club Saracens see Saracens (rugby club The term Saracen comes from Greek sarakenoi''. In the early centuries of the Roman Empire it was used as the name of an Arab tribe in the Sinai, apparently taken from the Arabic word sharqiyyin ("easters, which constituted the " matter of FranceThe Matter of France is a body of mythology and legend that springs from the Old French medieval literature of the chansons de geste''. Its tales were first developed in these metrical romances; the stories they told lived on after the romances themselves." While Arthur is the chief subject of the Matter of Britain, other lesser-known legendary history of the British Isles, including Brutus of Britain, Old King ColeA legendary king of Celtic Britain, about all that can be said about Old King Cole with any certainty is that: Maxfield Parrish, 1909. Old King Cole was a merry old soul : And a merry old soul was he He called for his pipe, and he called for his bowl : An, King Lear, and Gogmagog is also included in the subjects covered by the Matter of Britain: see King of the Britons.