Roland
The nephew whose pride is also his fidelity; he dies facing Spain.
Medieval · Chanson de geste · c. 1100
The Song of Roland
The Roland Poet
Charlemagne’s rear guard is betrayed at Roncevaux. Roland will not sound the horn until it is too late for rescue and exactly on time for legend. The poem loves courage and does not forgive the cost.
Heroic epic
Roland has set Olifant to his lips, / Snatched it and blown with all his might. / High are those hills, the voice goes far—
Characters
Oliver
The friend who urges the horn; measure against Roland’s excess.
Charlemagne
The emperor who arrives to bury, avenge, and grow old in grief.
Ganelon
The traitor whose counsel is a family quarrel raised to geopolitics.
Themes
Loyalty and pride
The vassal’s glory is a public music that can refuse help.
Christendom and the other
A war poem that baptizes a border and simplifies a world.
Motifs
Olifant: the delayed call that makes a death into a story.
Honor stationed at the point of maximum exposure.
Durendal, which will not break, as if metal could keep a vow.