The Song of Rolandi 

(French: La Chanson de Roland) is an 11th-century epic poem (chanson

de geste) based on Roland and the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778, during the reign
of Charlemagne. It is the oldest surviving major work of French literature and exists in various
manuscript versions, which testify to its enormous and enduring popularity from the 12th to 16th
centuries.
The date of composition is put in the period between 1040 and 1115: an early version beginning
around 1040 with additions and alterations made up until about 1115. The final text has about
4,000 lines of poetry. The epic poem is the first[1] and, along with The Poem of the Cid, one of the
most outstanding examples of the chanson de geste, a literary form that flourished between the
11th and 16th centuries and celebrated legendary deeds.

Manuscripts and dating[edit]

Bodleian Library, MS Digby 23, Part 2

Although set in the Carolingian era, The Song of Roland was written much later. There is a single
extant manuscript of the Song of Roland in Old French, held at the Bodleian Library at Oxford.
[2]
 This copy dates between 1129 and 1165 and was written in Anglo-Norman.[3] There are also
eight further manuscripts, and three fragments, of other poems on the subject of Roland.[4]
Some scholars estimate that the poem was written, possibly by a poet named Turold (Turoldus in
the manuscript itself), between approximately 1040 and 1115, and most of the alterations were
performed by about 1098. Some favour an earlier dating, because it allows one to say that the
narrative was inspired by the Castilian campaigns of the 1030s, and that the poem went on to be
a major influence in the First Crusade. Those who prefer a later dating do so based upon what
they interpret as brief references made to events of the First Crusade.
In the text, the term d'oltre mer or l'oltremarin comes up three times in reference to named
Muslims who came from oltre mer to fight in Spain and France. Oltre mer, modern
French Outremer, literally "oversea, beyond sea, other side of the sea", is a native French term
from the classical Latin roots ultra = "beyond" and mare = "sea". The name was commonly used
by contemporary chroniclers to refer to the Latin Levant.[5]
The occurrence of this term cannot be interpreted as showing influence from the Crusades; on
the contrary, the way it is used, refer simply to a Muslim land, indicates that the author was
unacquainted with the Crusades, and that the term was in French before the Crusades was held
to refer to the far side of the Mediterranean. The bulk of the poem is adjudged to date from
before the Crusades (which started in 1098), but there are a few items where questions remain
about these items being late additions shortly after the Crusades started.
After two manuscripts were found in 1832 and 1835, the Song of Roland became recognized as
France's national epic when an edition was published in 1837.[6]

AOI[edit]

Detail of manuscript showing "AOI" at the end of the second line

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. An alternative hypothesis by Nathan Love is that AOI indicates locations where the scribe
or copyist deviated from the primary manuscript.[7]

Critical opinions[edit]
Oral performance compared to manuscript versions[edit]

Professor Daron Burrows sings Laisse 1 of the Chanson de Roland

Scholarly consensus has long accepted that The Song of Roland differed in its presentation
depending on oral or textual transmission; namely, although a number of different versions of the
song containing varying material and episodes would have been performed orally, the
transmission to manuscript resulted in greater cohesiveness across versions.
Early editors of The Song of Roland, informed in part by patriotic desires to produce a distinctly
French epic, could thus overstate the textual cohesiveness of the Roland tradition. This point is
expressed by Andrew Taylor, who notes,[8] "[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".

Plot[edit]
Roland blows his olifant (ivory hunting horn) to summon help in the midst the Battle of Roncevaux

The death of Roland at the Battle of Roncevaux, illuminated c. 1455–1460 by Jean Fouquet.

Charlemagne's army is fighting the Muslims in Spain. They have been there for seven years, and
the last city standing is Saragossa, held by the Muslim King Marsile. Threatened by the might of
Charlemagne's army of 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 France.
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 France 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 (the word is an old alternative to "elephant", and was
used to refer to a hunting horn made from an elephant tusk) to call for help from the Frankish
army. The emperor hears the call on their way to France. Charlemagne and his noblemen gallop
back even though Count Ganelon tries to trick them.
The Franks fight well, but are outnumbered, until almost all Roland's men are dead and he
knows that Charlemagne's army can no longer save them. Despite this, he blows his olifant to
summon revenge, until his temples burst and he dies a martyr's death. Angels take his soul to
Paradise.
When Charlemagne and his men reach the battlefield, they find the dead bodies of Roland's
men, who have been utterly annihilated. 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 France.
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[edit]

Charlemagne finds Roland dead (14th-century miniature).

The poem 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.
[9]
 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 narrator is openly biased towards the Franks. His moral view is very black-and-white: the
Franks are good, and the pagans are bad.
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.

Characters[edit]
Principal characters[edit]
 Andriodos, helpless boy; despite the honour came from King Charlemagne.
 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
 Bassalt, came from the name of rocks that are solid and may occur in the second
phrase of the poem; captured the horse of the king.
 Bramimonde, Queen of Zaragoza, King Marsile's wife; captured and converted by
Charlemagne after the city falls.
 Charlemagne, Holy Roman Emperor; his forces fight the Saracens in Spain.
 Ganelon, treacherous lord and Roland's stepfather who encourages Marsile to attack
the French army.
 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; nephew of Charlemagne; 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.
Secondary characters[edit]
 Aude, the fiancée of Roland and Oliver's sister
 Basan, French 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 French 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, French commander of one of the first divisions against Baligant; killed by
Baligant.
 Milon, guards the French 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 French dead while Charlemagne pursues the Saracen forces.
 Pinabel, fights for Ganelon in the judicial combat.
 Thierry, fights for Charlemagne in the judicial combat.

Manuscripts and dating[edit]

Bodleian Library, MS Digby 23, Part 2

Although set in the Carolingian era, The Song of Roland was written much later. There is a single
extant manuscript of the Song of Roland in Old French, held at the Bodleian Library at Oxford.
[2]
 This copy dates between 1129 and 1165 and was written in Anglo-Norman.[3] There are also
eight further manuscripts, and three fragments, of other poems on the subject of Roland.[4]
Some scholars estimate that the poem was written, possibly by a poet named Turold (Turoldus in
the manuscript itself), between approximately 1040 and 1115, and most of the alterations were
performed by about 1098. Some favour an earlier dating, because it allows one to say that the
narrative was inspired by the Castilian campaigns of the 1030s, and that the poem went on to be
a major influence in the First Crusade. Those who prefer a later dating do so based upon what
they interpret as brief references made to events of the First Crusade.
In the text, the term d'oltre mer or l'oltremarin comes up three times in reference to named
Muslims who came from oltre mer to fight in Spain and France. Oltre mer, modern
French Outremer, literally "oversea, beyond sea, other side of the sea", is a native French term
from the classical Latin roots ultra = "beyond" and mare = "sea". The name was commonly used
by contemporary chroniclers to refer to the Latin Levant.[5]
The occurrence of this term cannot be interpreted as showing influence from the Crusades; on
the contrary, the way it is used, refer simply to a Muslim land, indicates that the author was
unacquainted with the Crusades, and that the term was in French before the Crusades was held
to refer to the far side of the Mediterranean. The bulk of the poem is adjudged to date from
before the Crusades (which started in 1098), but there are a few items where questions remain
about these items being late additions shortly after the Crusades started.
After two manuscripts were found in 1832 and 1835, the Song of Roland became recognized as
France's national epic when an edition was published in 1837.[6]

AOI[edit]

Detail of manuscript showing "AOI" at the end of the second line

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. An alternative hypothesis by Nathan Love is that AOI indicates locations where the scribe
or copyist deviated from the primary manuscript.[7]

Critical opinions[edit]
Oral performance compared to manuscript versions[edit]

Professor Daron Burrows sings Laisse 1 of the Chanson de Roland

Scholarly consensus has long accepted that The Song of Roland differed in its presentation
depending on oral or textual transmission; namely, although a number of different versions of the
song containing varying material and episodes would have been performed orally, the
transmission to manuscript resulted in greater cohesiveness across versions.
Early editors of The Song of Roland, informed in part by patriotic desires to produce a distinctly
French epic, could thus overstate the textual cohesiveness of the Roland tradition. This point is
expressed by Andrew Taylor, who notes,[8] "[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".

Plot[edit]
Roland blows his olifant (ivory hunting horn) to summon help in the midst the Battle of Roncevaux

The death of Roland at the Battle of Roncevaux, illuminated c. 1455–1460 by Jean Fouquet.

Charlemagne's army is fighting the Muslims in Spain. They have been there for seven years, and
the last city standing is Saragossa, held by the Muslim King Marsile. Threatened by the might of
Charlemagne's army of 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 France.
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 France 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 (the word is an old alternative to "elephant", and was
used to refer to a hunting horn made from an elephant tusk) to call for help from the Frankish
army. The emperor hears the call on their way to France. Charlemagne and his noblemen gallop
back even though Count Ganelon tries to trick them.
The Franks fight well, but are outnumbered, until almost all Roland's men are dead and he
knows that Charlemagne's army can no longer save them. Despite this, he blows his olifant to
summon revenge, until his temples burst and he dies a martyr's death. Angels take his soul to
Paradise.
When Charlemagne and his men reach the battlefield, they find the dead bodies of Roland's
men, who have been utterly annihilated. 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 France.
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[edit]

Charlemagne finds Roland dead (14th-century miniature).

The poem 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.
[9]
 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 narrator is openly biased towards the Franks. His moral view is very black-and-white: the
Franks are good, and the pagans are bad.
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.

Characters[edit]
Principal characters[edit]
 Andriodos, helpless boy; despite the honour came from King Charlemagne.
 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
 Bassalt, came from the name of rocks that are solid and may occur in the second
phrase of the poem; captured the horse of the king.
 Bramimonde, Queen of Zaragoza, King Marsile's wife; captured and converted by
Charlemagne after the city falls.
 Charlemagne, Holy Roman Emperor; his forces fight the Saracens in Spain.
 Ganelon, treacherous lord and Roland's stepfather who encourages Marsile to attack
the French army.
 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; nephew of Charlemagne; 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.
Secondary characters[edit]
 Aude, the fiancée of Roland and Oliver's sister
 Basan, French 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 French 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, French commander of one of the first divisions against Baligant; killed by
Baligant.
 Milon, guards the French 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 French dead while Charlemagne pursues the Saracen forces.
 Pinabel, fights for Ganelon in the judicial combat.
 Thierry, fights for Charlemagne in the judicial combat.
i
The information on this page is copied verbatim from Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Song_of_Roland