======================================================================
= Song_of_Roland =
======================================================================
Introduction
======================================================================
The 'Song of Roland' () is an 11th-century based on the deeds of the
Frankish military leader Roland at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in AD
778, during the reign of the Emperor Charlemagne. It is the oldest
surviving major work of French literature. It exists in various
manuscript versions, which testify to its enormous and enduring
popularity in Medieval and Renaissance literature from the 12th to
16th centuries.
The epic poem written in Old French is the first and one of the most
outstanding examples of the 'chanson de geste', a literary form that
flourished between the 11th and 16th centuries in Medieval Europe and
celebrated legendary deeds. An early version was composed around 1040
AD, with additions and alterations made up to about 1115 AD. The final
poem contains about 4,000 lines.
Manuscripts and dating
======================================================================
Although set in the Carolingian era, the 'Song of Roland' was written
centuries later. There is a single extant manuscript of the 'Song of
Roland'. It is held at the Bodleian Library at Oxford. It dates
between 1129 and 1165 and was written in Anglo-Norman. There are eight
additional manuscripts and three fragments of other poems on the
subject of Roland.
Scholars estimate that the poem was written between approximately 1040
and 1115 -- possibly by a poet named 'Turold' ('Turoldus' in the
manuscript itself) -- and that most of the alterations were completed
by about 1098. Some favor the earlier dating, which allows that the
narrative was inspired by the Castilian campaigns of the 1030s and
that the poem was established early enough to be a major influence in
the First Crusade, (1096-1099). Others favor a later dating based on
brief passages which are interpreted as alluding to events of the
First Crusade.
Relevant to the question of dating the poem, the term 'd'oltre mer'
(or 'l'oltremarin') occurs three times in the text in reference to
named Muslims who came to fight in Spain and France. The Old French
'oltre mer' (oversea, modern French 'outremer') was commonly used
during and after the First Crusade to refer to the Latin Levant, which
supports a date of composition after the Crusade. Those favoring an
earlier dating argue that the term is used generically to refer to "a
Muslim land." It is possible that the bulk of the poem dates from
before the Crusades, with a few additions from the time of the First
Crusade.
After two manuscripts were found in 1832 and 1835 and published in
1837, the Song of Roland became recognized as France's national epic.
Oral performance compared to manuscript versions
==================================================
Scholarly consensus has long accepted that the 'Song of Roland' was at
first performed orally in many different versions with varying
material and episodes, which were fixed and harmonized in the textual
form.
Early 19th century editors of the 'Song of Roland', informed in part
by patriotic desires to elevate a distinctly French epic, could thus
overstate the textual cohesiveness of the Roland tradition as they
presented it to the public. Andrew Taylor notes, "[T]he Roland song
was, if not invented, at the very least constructed. By supplying it
with an appropriate epic title, isolating it from its original
codicological context, and providing a general history of minstrel
performance in which its pure origin could be located, the early
editors presented a 4,002 line poem as sung French epic".
AOI
=====
Certain lines of the Oxford manuscript end with the letters "AOI". The
meaning of this word or annotation is unclear. Many scholars have
hypothesized that the marking may have played a role in public
performances of the text, such as indicating a place where a
'jongleur' would change the tempo. Contrarily, Nathan Love believes
that "AOI" marks locations where the scribe or copyist is signaling
that he has deviated from the primary manuscript: ergo, the mark
indicates the source is a 'non-performance' manuscript.
Plot
======================================================================
The 'Song of Roland's' account of the Battle of Roncesvalles is not
supported by history. According to Einhard's 'Vita Karoli Magni' from
the late eighth century, the attackers were Basques seeking revenge
against Charlemagne's army for the looting of Pamplona. The following
is the depiction in the poem itself, not a historical account.
Charlemagne's army is fighting the Arab Muslims in Spain. They have
campaigned for seven years, and the last city standing is Saragossa,
held by King Marsile, who is pictured not as a Muslim, but a follower
of Mahumet and Apollin. Threatened by the might of Charlemagne's
Franks, Marsile seeks advice from his wise man, Blancandrin, who
counsels him to conciliate the Emperor, offering to surrender and
giving hostages. Accordingly, Marsile sends out messengers to
Charlemagne, promising treasure and Marsile's conversion to
Christianity if the Franks will go back to Francia.
Charlemagne and his men, tired of fighting, accept his peace offer and
select a messenger to Marsile's court. The protagonist Roland,
Charlemagne's nephew, nominates his stepfather Ganelon as messenger.
Ganelon, who fears being murdered by the enemy and accuses Roland of
intending this, takes revenge by informing the Saracens of a way to
ambush the rear guard of Charlemagne's army, led by Roland, as the
Franks re-enter Francia through the mountain passes.
As Ganelon predicted, Roland leads the rear guard, with the wise and
moderate Oliver and the fierce Archbishop Turpin. The Muslims ambush
them at Roncesvalles and the Christians are overwhelmed. Oliver pleads
with Roland to blow his horn to call for help, but Roland tells him
that blowing his horn in the middle of the battle would be an act of
cowardice. If Roland continues to refuse, Oliver will not let Roland
see his sister again whom Roland loves the most. However, Archbishop
Turpin intervenes and tells them that the battle will be fatal for all
of them and so instructs Roland to blow his horn oliphant (an elephant
tusk hunting horn) to call for help from the Frankish army. The
emperor hears the call 'en route' to Francia. Charlemagne and his
noblemen gallop back even though Count Ganelon tries to trick them.
Roland's Franks fight well, but are outnumbered, until almost all his
men are dead and he knows that Charlemagne's army can no longer save
them. Despite this, he blows his oliphant to summon revenge, blowing
so hard that his temples start to bleed. After a few more fights,
Roland succumbs to his wounds and dies a martyr's death. Angels lift
his soul to Paradise.
When Charlemagne and his men reach the battlefield, they find the
slaughtered bodies of Roland and his men. They pursue the Muslims into
the river Ebro, where the Muslims drown. Meanwhile, Baligant, the
powerful emir of Babylon, has arrived in Spain to help Marsile. His
army encounters that of Charlemagne at Roncesvalles, where the
Christians are burying and mourning their dead. The Franks fight
valiantly. When Charlemagne kills Baligant, the Muslim army scatters
and flees, leaving the Franks to conquer Saragossa. With Marsile's
wife Bramimonde, Queen of Saragossa, Charlemagne and his men ride back
to Aix, their capital in Francia.
The Franks discover Ganelon's betrayal and keep him in chains until
his trial, where Ganelon argues that his action was legitimate
revenge, not treason. While the council of barons assembled to decide
the traitor's fate is initially swayed by this claim, partially out of
fear of Ganelon's friend Pinabel who threatens to fight anyone who
judges Ganelon guilty, one man, Thierry, argues that because Roland
was serving Charlemagne when Ganelon delivered his revenge on him,
Ganelon's action constitutes a betrayal.
Pinabel challenges Thierry to trial by combat. By divine intervention,
Thierry kills Pinabel. By this the Franks are convinced of Ganelon's
treason. Thus, he is torn apart by having four galloping horses tied
one to each arm and leg and thirty of his relatives are hanged.
Bramimonde converts to Christianity, her name changing to Juliana.
While sleeping, Charlemagne is told by Gabriel to ride to help King
Vivien and bemoans his life.
Form
======================================================================
The song is written in stanzas of irregular length known as laisses.
The lines are decasyllabic (containing ten syllables), and each is
divided by a strong caesura which generally falls after the fourth
syllable. The last stressed syllable of each line in a laisse has the
same vowel sound as every other end-syllable in that laisse. The
laisse is therefore an assonal, not a rhyming stanza.
On a narrative level, the 'Song of Roland' features extensive use of
repetition, parallelism, and thesis-antithesis pairs. Roland proposes
Ganelon for the dangerous mission to Sarrogossa; Ganelon designates
Roland to man the rearguard. Charlemagne is contrasted with Baligant.
Unlike later Renaissance and Romantic literature, the poem focuses on
action rather than introspection. The characters are presented through
what they do, not through what they think or feel.
The narrator gives few explanations for characters' behaviour. The
warriors are stereotypes defined by a few salient traits; for example,
Roland is loyal and trusting while Ganelon, though brave, is
traitorous and vindictive.
The story moves at a fast pace, occasionally slowing down and
recounting the same scene up to three times but focusing on different
details or taking a different perspective each time. The effect is
similar to a film sequence shot at different angles so that new and
more important details come to light with each shot.
Principal characters
======================
*Baligant, emir of Babylon; Marsile enlists his help against
Charlemagne.
*Blancandrin, wise pagan; suggests bribing Charlemagne out of Spain
with hostages and gifts, and then suggests dishonouring a promise to
allow Marsile's baptism.
*Bramimonde, Queen of Zaragoza, King Marsile's wife; captured and
converted by Charlemagne after the city falls.
*Charlemagne, King of the Franks; his forces fight the Saracens in
Spain. Wields the sword Joyeuse.
*Ganelon, treacherous lord and Roland's stepfather who encourages
Marsile to attack the French army. Wields the sword Murgleis.
*King Marsile, Saracen king of Spain; Roland wounds him and he dies of
his wound later.
*Naimon, Charlemagne's trusted adviser.
*Oliver, Roland's friend; mortally wounded by Margarice. He represents
wisdom.
*Roland, the hero of the 'Song' and nephew of Charlemagne. Wields the
sword Durandal. Leads the rear guard of the French forces; bursts his
temples by blowing his olifant-horn, wounds from which he eventually
dies facing the enemy's land.
*Turpin, Archbishop of Rheims, represents the force of the Church.
Wields the sword Almace.
Secondary characters
======================
*Aude, the fiancée of Roland and Oliver's sister
*Basan, Frankish baron, murdered while serving as Ambassador of
Marsile.
*Bérengier, one of the twelve paladins killed by Marsile's troops;
kills Estramarin; killed by Grandoyne.
*Besgun, chief cook of Charlemagne's army; guards Ganelon after
Ganelon's treachery is discovered.
*Geboin, guards the Frankish dead; becomes leader of Charlemagne's 2nd
column.
*Godefroy, standard bearer of Charlemagne; brother of Thierry,
Charlemagne's defender against Pinabel.
*Grandoyne, fighter on Marsile's side; son of the Cappadocian King
Capuel; kills Gerin, Gerier, Berenger, Guy St. Antoine, and Duke
Astorge; killed by Roland.
*Hamon, joint Commander of Charlemagne's Eighth Division.
*Lorant, Frankish commander of one of the first divisions against
Baligant; killed by Baligant.
*Milon, guards the Frankish dead while Charlemagne pursues the Saracen
forces.
*Ogier, a Dane who leads the third column in Charlemagne's army
against Baligant's forces.
*Othon, guards the Frankish dead while Charlemagne pursues the Saracen
forces.
*Pinabel, fights for Ganelon in the judicial combat.
*Thierry, fights for Charlemagne in the judicial combat.
Durandal
======================================================================
According to the Song of Roland, the legendary sword called Durandal
was first given to Charlemagne by an angel. It contained one tooth of
Saint Peter, blood of Saint Basil, hair of Saint Denis, and a piece of
the raiment of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and was supposedly the
sharpest sword in all existence. In the story of the Song of Roland,
the weapon is given to Roland, and he uses it to defend himself
single-handedly against thousands of Muslim attackers. According to
one 12th-century legend from the French town of Rocamadour, Roland
threw the sword into a cliffside. A replication of the legendary sword
can be found there, embedded into the cliff-face next to the town's
sanctuary.
Historical adaptations
======================================================================
A Latin poem, 'Carmen de Prodicione Guenonis', was composed around
1120, and a Latin prose version, 'Historia Caroli Magni' (often known
as "The Pseudo-Turpin") even earlier. Around 1170, a version of the
French poem was translated into the Middle High German 'Rolandslied'
by Konrad der Pfaffe (formerly thought to have been the author of the
Kaiserchronik). In his translation Konrad replaces French topics with
generically Christian ones. The work was translated into Middle Dutch
in the 13th century.
It was also rendered into Occitan verse in the 14th- or 15th-century
poem of 'Ronsasvals', which incorporates the later, southern aesthetic
into the story. An Old Norse version of the 'Song of Roland' exists as
'Karlamagnús saga', and a translation into the artificial literary
language of Franco-Venetian is also known; such translations
contributed to the awareness of the story in Italy. In 1516 Ludovico
Ariosto published his epic 'Orlando Furioso', which deals largely with
characters first described in the 'Song of Roland'.
There is also Faroese adoption of this ballad named "Runtsivalstríðið"
(Battle of Roncevaux), and a Norwegian version called "Rolandskvadet".
The ballad is one of many sung during the Faroese folkdance tradition
of chain dancing.
Modern adaptations
======================================================================
Joseph Haydn and Nunziato Porta's opera, 'Orlando Paladino' (1782),
the most popular of Haydn's operas during his lifetime, is based
loosely on 'The Song of Roland' via Ariosto's version, as are Antonio
Vivaldi and Grazio Braccioli's 1727 opera and their earlier 1714
version.
The has an important place in the background of Graham Greene's 'The
Confidential Agent', published in 1939. The book's protagonist had
been a medieval scholar specialising in this work, until the outbreak
of the Spanish Civil War forced him to become a soldier and secret
agent. Throughout the book, he repeatedly compares himself and other
characters with the characters of "Roland". Particularly, the book
includes a full two pages of specific commentary, which is relevant to
its 20th-century plot line: "Oliver, when he saw the Saracens coming,
urged Roland to blow his horn and fetch back Charlemagne - but Roland
wouldn't blow. A big brave fool. In war one always chooses the wrong
hero. Oliver should have been the hero of that song, instead of being
given second place with the blood-thirsty Bishop Turpin. [...] In the
Oxford version Oliver is reconciled in the end, he gives Roland his
death-blow by accident, his eyes blinded by wounds. [But] the story
had been tidied up. In truth, Oliver strikes his friend down in full
knowledge - because of what he has done to his men, all the wasted
lives. Oliver dies hating the man he loves - the big boasting
courageous fool who was more concerned with his own glory than with
the victory of his faith. This makes the story tragedy, not just
heroics".
It is also adapted by Stephen King, in the 'Dark Tower' series in
which Roland Deschain wishes to save the Dark Tower from the Crimson
King, itself inspired by Robert Browning's "Childe Roland to the Dark
Tower Came".
'The Song of Roland' is part of the Matter of France (the Continental
counterpart to the Arthurian legendarium known as the Matter of
Britain), and related to 'Orlando Furioso'. The names Roland and
Orlando are cognates.
Emanuele Luzzati's animated short film, 'I paladini di Francia',
together with 'Giulio Gianini', in 1960, was turned into the
children's picture-story book, with verse narrative, 'I Paladini de
Francia ovvero il tradimento di Gano di Maganz', which translates
literally as "The Paladins of France or the treachery of Ganelon of
Mainz" (Ugo Mursia Editore, 1962). This was then republished, in
English, as 'Ronald and the Wizard Calico' (1969). The Picture Lion
paperback edition (William Collins, London, 1973) is a paperback
imprint of the Hutchinson Junior Books edition (1969), which credits
the English translation to Hutchinson Junior Books.
Luzzati's original verse story in Italian is about the plight of a
beautiful maiden called Biancofiore - White Flower, or Blanchefleur -
and her brave hero, Captain Rinaldo, and Ricardo and his paladins -
the term used for Christian knights engaged in Crusades against the
Saracens (Muslims) and Moors. Battling with these good people are the
wicked Moors - North African Muslims and Arabs - and their Sultan, in
Jerusalem. With the assistance of the wicked and treacherous magician,
Gano of Maganz, Biancofiore is stolen from her fortress castle, and
taken to become the reluctant wife of the Sultan. The catalyst for
victory is the good magician, Urlubulu, who lives in a lake, and flies
through the air on the back of his magic blue bird. The English
translators, using the original illustrations, and the basic rhyme
patterns, slightly simplify the plot, changing the
Christians-versus-Muslim-Moors conflict into a battle between good and
bad magicians and between golden knights and green knights. The French
traitor in The Song of Roland, who is actually Roland's cowardly
step-father, is Ganelon - very likely the inspiration for Luzzati's
traitor and wicked magician, Gano. Orlando Furioso (literally, Furious
or Enraged Orlando, or Roland), includes Orlando's cousin, the paladin
Rinaldo, who, like Orlando, is also in love with Angelica, a pagan
princess. Rinaldo is, of course, the Italian equivalent of Ronald.
Flying through the air on the back of a magic bird is equivalent to
flying on a magic hippogriff.
It appears in the 1994 video game 'Marathon', by Bungie, in the 13th
level. Durandal is also the name of the main antagonist of the game.
On 22 July 2017 Michael Eging and Steve Arnold released a novel, 'The
Silver Horn Echoes: A Song of Roland', inspired by the . This work is
more closely based on a screenplay written by Michael Eging in 2008,
simply known as "Song of Roland" and first optioned to Alan Kaplan at
Cine LA that same year. The book explores the untold story of how
Roland finds himself at Ronceveaux, betrayed by Ganelon and facing the
expansive Saragossan host. Primary characters in the novel include
Charles (Charlemagne), Ganelon, Bishop Turpin, Oliver, Aude,
Marsilion, Blancandarin and others recognizable from the poem.
Introduced in this tale are additional characters that inject intrigue
and danger to the story, including Charles oldest son, Pepin,
Marsilion's treacherous son, Saleem, and the scheming Byzantine
emissary, Honorius. The cover artwork was hand painted by Jordan
Raskin. The authors determined when writing both the screenplay and
the novel to remain in the world created by the poem; thus, Charles
remains an older man near the end of his long reign rather than in 778
when the attack on the rearguard actually occurred. Further, this
novel bookends the story with William the Conqueror's use of the poem
as a motivator for Norman forces prior to the Battle of Hastings in
1066.
In 2019, German folk rock band dArtagnan released "Chanson de Roland",
a modern adaptation of the 'Song of Roland'. It has garnered over 3.9
million views on YouTube.
See also
======================================================================
* Roland's Breach
* Matter of France
* 'Herzog Ernst'
* Lamprecht
Further reading
======================================================================
* Brault, Gerard J. 'Song of Roland: An Analytical Edition:
Introduction and Commentary' (Penn State Press, 2010).
* DiVanna, Isabel N. "Politicizing national literature: the scholarly
debate around La chanson de Roland in the nineteenth century."
'Historical Research' 84.223 (2011): 109-134.
* Jones, George Fenwick. 'The ethos of the song of Roland' (Johns
Hopkins University Press, 1963).
* Vance, Eugene. 'Reading the Song of Roland' (1970).
External links
======================================================================
* (English translation of Charles Kenneth Scott Moncrieff)
*
*
*
[
http://www.fh-augsburg.de/~harsch/gallica/Chronologie/11siecle/Roland/rol_ch00.html
'La Chanson de Roland'] (Old French)
* [
http://medievalromance.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/The_Song_of_Roland The
Romance of the Middle Ages: 'The Song of Roland'] , discussion of
Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Digby 23, audio clip, and discussion of
the manuscript's provenance.
*
[
https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/inquire/p/79097275-ef1d-4107-85d3-e8402120f365
MS Digby 23b], Digital facsimile of the earliest manuscript of the .
* [
https://medieval.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/catalog/manuscript_4352 MS Digby
23] Catalogue record in Medieval Manuscripts of Oxford Libraries
*
[
https://archive.today/19991008172354/http://eee.uci.edu/programs/medieval/ofclips.html
Old French] Audio clips of a reading of 'The Song of Roland' in Old
French
* BBC Radio [
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00114m8 In Our Time]
podcast.
* [
http://www.timelessmyths.com/arthurian/roland.html Timeless Myths:
'Song of Roland']
*
License
=========
All content on Gopherpedia comes from Wikipedia, and is licensed under CC-BY-SA
License URL:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Original Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_of_Roland
