the Alexandreis of Gautier de Chitillon, and secondarily, the Roman d'Alexandre, as well as Quintus Curtius, the Pseudo-Callisthenes, Historia de preliis, and other minor texts (Michael, Treatment of Classical Material chs. 2 and 6). The Spanish Alexandre has been described by Alan Deyermond: The many apparent digressions, especially the long narrative of the Trojan War which Alexander addresses to his army, have been thought irrelevant and structurally weak, but the Alexandre is unified in a way which is almost as frequent in medieval narrative as the simpler linear plot: it carefully interweaves themes and episodes. Moreover, the apparent digressions contribute to the major themes: the overthrow of human greatness, the fatal flaw in the hero's character, and the workings of treachery. We are shown Alexander's increasing success, which can never satisfy him; his exploration of the skies and the depths of the sea, his growing pride and cobdicia (not avarice but a general lack of restraint, a desire for forbidden things); and the tragedy of his death (66).