The Song of Roland: Difference between revisions

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'''''The Song of Roland''''' (Old French, ''La Chanson de Roland'') is the oldest surviving work of French literature, dating from [[The High Middle Ages|the late 11th century]]. Taillefer, William the Conqueror's minstrel, charged into battle at Hastings singing a version of it, and if you read the version we have, you can definitely see how it would get the soldiers' blood pumping. A relatively short epic poem, having 4,000 ten-syllable verses, ''Roland'' is the closest thing to a Christian ''[[The Iliad|Iliad]]''. Like the Greek epic, it was only one, though almost certainly the greatest one, of a large body of now mostly forgotten works<ref>''e.g., The Song of William'' or ''The Four Sons of Aymon''</ref>, called in this case the ''Chansons de Geste'' or "Songs of Deeds." Its influence was enormous, and adaptations soon appeared in several European languages such as Latin, Occitan, and Middle High German.

''Mahumet sert e Apollin recleimet:''

''Nes poet guarder que mals ne l'i ateignet. <small>AOI</small>.''

 

Charles the king, our great emperor, has been in Spain a full seven years: he has conquered the high land up to the sea. There is no castle that remains against him; there is no wall or town left to conquer, except Saragossa, which is on a mountain. King Marsilie holds it, he who does not love God; he serves Mohammed and calls on Apollyon; he cannot ward off the ill that will reach him there. <small>AOI</small> <ref> And if you want to know what AOI means, join the club -- generations of mediæval scholars have failed to determine its significance conclusively.</ref> }}

 

It can be found online [http://www.hs-augsburg.de/~harsch/gallica/Chronologie/11siecle/Roland/rol_ch01.html here].

 

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* [[Adaptation Expansion]]: The only historical mention of Roland (from Einhards ''Life of Charlemagne'') is as the warden of the Breton Marches, who was one of several nobles to be killed at Roncevaux.<ref> "Eggihard, the King's steward; Anselm, Count Palatine; and Roland, Governor of the March of Brittany, with very many others, fell in this engagement"</ref> Later medieval tradition managed to transform this barely notable figure into a [[Memetic Badass]] with his own legendary cycle.

* [[Badass]]: Lots of it. [[Invincible Hero|Roland]] is of course, the standout.