Brewer's: Colly my Cow

A corruption of Calainos, the most ancient of Spanish ballads. Calainos the Moor asked a damsel to wife, who said the price of winning her should be the heads of the three paladins of Charlemagne, named Rinaldo, Roland, and Olivier. Calainos went to Paris and challenged the paladins. First Sir Baldwin, the youngest knight, accepted the challenge and was overthrown; then his uncle Roland went against the Moor and smote him.

Related Content Allusions Foreign Words and Phrases Latin and Greek Word Elements Names: Their Origins and Meanings Old Testament Names Mythology Ancient Greek Literature & Mythology The Bible (King James version) The Koran (translation by J. M. Rodwell) Shakespeare's Plays Tales from Shakespeare (Charles and Mary Lamb) Frequently Misspelled Words Frequently Mispronounced Words Easily Confused Words Writing & Language