[1][2] The chanson de geste that survives (in three more or less complete manuscripts and two short fragments) comprises 10,553 decasyllable verses grouped in 91 assonanced laisses.
The romance came into vogue in England through the translation (c. 1540) of John Bourchier, Lord Berners, as Huon of Burdeuxe,[9] through which Shakespeare heard of the French epic.
The tale also serves as the basis for Christoph Martin Wieland's epic poem Oberon of 1780, where Huon becomes the lover of the Sultan's daughter Rezia/Amanda.
Andre Norton retold the tale in quasi-modern English prose as Huon of the Horn, published by Harcourt, Brace & Company in 1951, which is considered her first fantasy novel.
The godfather of Huon may safely be identified with Seguin, who was count of Bordeaux under Louis the Pious in 839, and died fighting against the Vikings six years later.