The “Song of Roland” comes from an actual battle at Roncesvals in which Count Roland, a marcher lord, is killed. Outside of its historical base it is a work of art as it isn’t an accurate account of the battle. It is a view from an evolving French culture that brings the song to life a few hundred years after the battle. Within the pages of the “Song of Roland” we find out how the French wish to see themselves: Strong, honorable and just in the face of great odds, good Christians, and as having heroes.

An intricate web is weaved throughout the song. Roland is betrayed by Ganelon and the Saracen and Moor enemy ambushes Charlemagne’s rearguard. It is here that we find the strength and honor of the French, that even outnumbered and betrayed by one of their own they still stood their ground under Roland. French chevaliers die by the dozens yet still they endure. Even the bishop falls, the only thing missing is the deaths of the peasant foot soldiers that accompanied every army of the time. In the end Roland, along with the rest of the rearguard, fall in battle. They retain the honor and that of their families by not running from the “heathen” enemy. Charlemagne and the court find out about Ganelon’s betrayal of Roland and he is brought to justice at a tribunal of his peers. One sees justice meted out fairly without the interference of the King in “proper” Christian form. Through this cycle we see the Christian “forces of light” constantly fighting the “darkness” of the “heathen” world.

Throughout the “Song of Roland” we see references on how Christians are, or rather should be. Fighting the “heathens”, as the Muslims were seen, was mentioned constantly. This war against the “heathen” was considered noble and just under the Kingdom of God as well as part of paying penance to God. The suffering of the Roland and Olivier is written about in depth as a means to show the personal sacrifice to their king and country. Roland gives “confession and offers the lord his glove repeatedly” as his life wanes as a means of giving himself to God. A break with ancient, heathen Germanic tradition occurs within the song, the Germanic tradition of remaining stoic in bad or catastrophic times is dropped. Charlemagne himself is portrayed as tortured and in deep grief at the loss of Roland, Olivier and the rest of his chevaliers. The stoicism of the Germans is seen as un-Christian and cruel and used to emphasize the growing French culture and identity within Christendom. French chivalric behaviour in life becomes a conduit through which God speaks to them. The angels speak to Charlemagne telling him to “ride on”, that the “light would not desert him” and his enemies that killed Roland, the “flower of France”, would be vanquished. One sees moral lessons on loyalty and faith throughout the song. Making a martyr of Roland brought France one of its first heroes.

The martyrdom of Roland against the “heathen” Moors and Saracens was one of the first heroes of a growing French culture. One that was set apart from both the Roman ways of Gaul and the Germanic traditions of the Franks. The loyalty of Roland towards the kingdom of France and his king becomes part of the cornerstone of the song. A mix of both piety towards God and arrogance of all they conquered in the name of France comes up time and again. The greatness of France’s military under Charlemagne and under the command of Roland mixed with the sorrow of the loss of the “Flower of France” sets for a great French epic and the beginning of heroic figures in French history.

From the actual battle at Roncesvals where Count Roland was killed the “Song of Roland” rose. The song helped to shape parts of a growing French culture through the art of literature and its view on the word. Through the “Song of Roland” we see how the French would like to see themselves: Strong, honorable and just in the face of great odds, good Christians, and as having heroes.

Bibliography:

The Song of Roland, Harrison trans., 1970