The Song of Roland (Laisses 177 - Laisses 291)

        The French make it to the battle field to find that all their comrades have died fighting. Many of the knights weep for the men lost and some faint at the sight of all the bodies. Naimon notices the pagan's, still in sight, fleeing the battle and he recommends that the French race after their enemy in order to seek revenge. Charlemagne agrees with the knight and leads a group of men onward to battle. He makes sure to leave some soldiers behind in order to protect the bodies of their lost brothers.
        King Charles notices the sun starting to set as the warriors travel onward to take vengeance on the pagans. He stops and prays to God in order to ask him to hold the sun in place. God sends an angel to tell Charlemagne that he can continue traveling without having to worry about the night approaching and the men journey ahead. They purse the pagans until their only escape is the Ebro river. Their enemy continues into the water praying to their god for help. The book consistently gives reason to the idea that the only true God is the one that Charlemagne worships. The author could be considered bias but the writing at this time period was continually Christian based. Marsilion's men end up drowning in the river. At this sight Charlemagne bows down and gives thanks to God. He then tells his men that they will make camp there, in order to give themselves and their horses rest. All the men sleep out of exhaustion and grief for their losses. The King is sent a few dreams, from God through Saint Gabriel, that make him distraught.
         King Marsilion flees to Spain and is so beaten that he faints. The Queen and towns people are so upset about the loss they go to the temple of their god and destroy his shrine.
       Jump back to the beginning of Charlemagne's seven year attack on Spain. From the start King Marsilion does everything in his power to disrupt the advances of the French. He sends out letters in order to gain allies in this fight. The Babylon leader only gives a reply after King Marsilion's last attempt of ridding Spain of Charlemagne. In order to help the pagans Baligant, the Babylon leader, sends warships to help in the resistance against the Christians. After arriving at Saragossa Baligant boast of how he will defeat Charlemagne. He sends for King Marsilion to join him in the battle that he will wage. The messengers arrive to a troubled city. The towns people, and the leadership do not believe in the ability of their gods to help them in any way. King Marsilion laments how he was only wounded in battle and was not able to die a hero's death. He tells the messengers that they can find Charlemagne by the Ebro river and if Baligant is willing to protect Spain from the Christians he will be given the land. The messengers return to Baligant and relay all that has happened recently between the Franks and the pagans. The Babylonian leader is elated to

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hear that King Charles is so close to his men. He immediately rides to Saragossa in order to talk with King Marsilion but only stays a short while in order to catch Charlemagne off guard by the Ebro river. Before leaving Baligant swears victory for the pagans.
       King Charles and his men ride back to the site of the battle and mourn over their losses. The leader finds his nephew's, Roland's, body. He griefs and laments over the life lost and final absolves to continually grieve over the lost warrior. All the bodies except that of the three leaders are then gathered and laid to rest. The grieving knights give a proper burial in order to guarantee them blessings and honors. Roland, Oliver, and the Archbishop's bodies are all wrapped up in fine linen in order to be carted back to their homeland.
        The Babylonian messengers ride up and announce the battle to come. The French prepare for battle and gather into different specified ranks. Overall Charlemagne has ten divisions in total. He gets down from his horse and prays to God to avenge his nephew's death if it is his will. He makes reference to many bible stories in his prayer as examples of other moments in history when God granted miracles. The French then continue to prepare for battle.
       The pagan messengers then join back up with their comrades. They inform Baligant that Charlemagne's men will never abandon their leader. The pagan's then prepare for battle, as well. The author continues to discuss how great of a man Baligant would be if he were only a Christian. This understanding centers on the focus of Christian ideals being spread throughout the land as the only correct form of thinking. Malpramis, Baligant's son, asks his father for the first blow of the battle. The leader is proud to give this honor to his son and promises him land if he should live to see another day. The author foreshadows the demise of Malpramis when he explains that the warrior will never be honored with the land. The pagans also form into divisions. Overall they have three sets of ten divisions equaling to thirty legions.
        As the two sides go into their final preparations, prayers are said to either sides being. Boast and threats are exchanged between the two armies. Both sides know the battle to come will be a hard fight. They have seen the abilities of the opposing side and understand what is to come.
      The battle begins with battle cries and the first blows are attributed to the Franks. Soon after, strikes are seen throughout the battlefield. Many men are wounded or killed from both armies. Throughout the battle Baligant and Charlemagne are heard inspiring the fighting spirits of their men. As the battle rages on it is apparent that the pagans are losing many of their good warriors. Baligant ends up losing both his son and his brother. After he hears news of this loss he begins to start questioning the existence of his god and possibly the truth of Charlemagne's God. The battle continues and through the slaughter of many warriors the two Kings come upon each others presence. Only through the recognition of each others voices do they realize their proximity. The two Kings know that this battle will end in death for one of them. Baligant demands that Charlemagne admit to killing his son and become his vassal in order to "right the wrong". King Charles refuses to grant peace or love to a pagan and tries to convert the Babylonian leader. At a stale mate with words, they progress into physical strikes.
     Baligant gets the first fatal blow and strikes Charlemagne in the head. This hit almost kills the French leader but, because it is not the will of God that Charlemagne dies, Saint Gabriel is sent down to push him onward. The leader hears the angel's voice and loses all fear. He immediately counters the blow with his own strike to Baligant's head which proves fatal. The Babylonian leader lays dead on the ground while

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Charlemagne mounts his horse. The pagans soon learn of their leaders death and try to flee the battle. King Charles urges his men to follow the retreating enemy and few pagans leave the battlefield alive. They pursue the pagans all the way back to Saragossa. King Marsilion and the Queen soon learn of the defeat and give in to the French army. Hearing this news, King Marsilion physically dies while grieving. Charlemagne takes control of the city and he lets his men rest their for the night. The next morning  he orders his men to destroy all of the pagan idols and he has all of the townspeople baptized or killed, if they refuse. The Queen is taken back to France as a captive in order to be converted through love.
        As they travel back to France, Charlemagne leaves Roland's olifant with gold and pagan coins in Bordeaux on the altar of the Saint Sevrin church. He lays to rest Roland, Oliver, and the Archbishop at the Saint-Romain church. They continue onward until they arrive at Aix. Charlemagne calls together his judges in order to begin Ganelon's trial.
       Aude, who was promised to marry Roland upon his return, ask the king of her love's whereabouts. The king is grieved to tell her the sad news of Roland's death. After hearing of his demise, Aude dies. King Charles only thinks the girl has fainted and tries to revive her. He final understands the situation and has her buried the next day with many honors. 
       Ganelon is stationed before the palace and tied to a stake. He is beaten with many objects as he waits for his trial. At the trial, Ganelon tries to argue that he was working under the influence of revenge and not treason. The heart of the trial is not based off the action but the motive. Ganelon fully admits to plotting with the pagans but his motives were out of vengeance not treason. The judges discuss amongst themselves and all but Tierri conclude that nothing will bring back Roland and Ganelon is still willing to serve Charlemagne with love and loyalty. During the counsel Pinabel tells Ganelon he will "...give him the lie with this steel sword" (274.3791). After hearing the verdict Charlemagne calls all the judges traitors. Tierri then calls attention to the fact that Ganelon may not be a traitor to Roland but he is to Charlemagne. He cements this judgement with his sword and Pinabel challenges him. Not only does he place a challenge Pinabel also puts up the lives of his kinsmen for the judgement of innocence.
      The men prepare for the duel and are absolved of their sins. The room is set and the fight begins. Early on in the skirmish both men try to convince the other to surrender. Neither is willing to give up their claim and the battle is fated that one must die. Pinabel wounds Tierri but it is not his day to die so God saves the warrior. Tierri then strikes Pinabel with a fatal blow and Ganelon's judgement is made. To live up to Pinabel's challenge, his kinsmen are scheduled to be hanged. The loyalty of Tierri is recognized by Charlemagne and

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he bestows much praise to the warrior. Ganelon's then has each limb strung up to a war horse and is ripped apart. By being a traitor he deserved a gruesome death that led his soul to damnation.
        The pagan Queen is then baptized and given the Christian name, Juliana. As Charlemagne lays down to rest he hears Saint Gabriel call to him. The angel tells the King he must ride to the land of Bire. King Vivien had been besieged by the pagans and the Christians were crying out for Charlemagne.

Thus ends the story.

The Song of Roland (Laisses 66 - Laisses 176)

         Charlemagne admits to Naimon the Duke that he is worried about Roland and his men. He tells the Duke of his dreams and how he fears that Ganelon is going to betray the Franks (French). Meanwhile King Marsilion nephew gathers together warriors to ambush Roland and his troops. He finds many warriors who are willing to help lead the charge into battle. In addition to these leaders Marsilion's nephew gathers approximately a hundred thousand pagans who are driven towards battle.
        The pagans prepare for battle and begin to shout out battle-cries. Oliver hears this noise and begins to discuss the likelihood of a battle. Roland is not moved by this concern and focuses on the idea that their destiny is ordained by God. Oliver climbs a tree and sees the pagan army approaching quickly from the Spanish direction. He speaks out against Ganelon and calls him a traitor. Roland hushes these words because Ganelon is in fact his step-father. After seeing the massive amount of pagan troops approaching, Oliver races down to the French to warn them of the large numbers. He tries to get Roland to sound the horn in order to warn the rest of the French troops to return to the land. Roland's arrogance and pride outweighs the safety of his men. He refuses to blow on the horn because it would be bad for his reputation. Oliver continually tries to convince Roland to blow his horn and he responds with the same arrogance and pride. Even when Roland can start to see the pagan army that approaches he refuses to give in to Oliver's wishes.
         The Archbishop stands and speaks to the French army. He absolves them of their sins before the battle in order to give them peace if death meets them. Roland admits to Oliver that he was right about Ganelon. Roland rallies the men for the battle to come and Oliver rebukes him because he refused to sound his horn. The two armies meet and Aelroth, Marsilion's nephew, spits outs proud boast to the Franks. Roland charges him and kills the pagan splitting his soul from his body. Roland is now the one to have boastful words.

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Falsaron, Marsilion's brother, continues with the outcries and rebukes the statements made by Roland. In order to silence the pagan Oliver kills the leader. Many of the well-known warriors from the French army kill notable leaders of the pagan army. The souls of the pagans are said to be taken by Satan.
         Roland and Oliver continue to slaughter pagans while other French fighters continue to proudly kill pagans. The battle takes a turn and the fighting changes from boastful to bitter survival. How ever hard the French fight they are fated to lose in this battle with uneven numbers. King Marsilion comes on the scene with more men ready to attack the few French warriors. Roland finally understands the enormity of the situation and how unlikely it is any of the French will leave this land alive. He tells his men to still be brave and fight like the warriors they were born to be, as they have the privilege to fight for their faith. Roland and Oliver watch as the pagans kill one of their men, therefore Roland cries out to avenge the death of a comrade. This continues to occur many times until Count Roland is faced with the harsh reality of all these losses.
         Much carnage is created for both sides but it more detrimental for the French. Roland finally gives in and knows the only hope for the French is by using the oilfant (horn) to alert Charlemagne. Oliver tries to convince Roland not to sound the horn because of his prior words concerning the object. The disagreement
heightens until the Archbishop quiets the two men and explains that it is better their comrades know of the

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battle than be lost on the Spanish land. Roland blows on the horn with his whole body and soul. Charlemagne hears the cry for help and Ganelon tries to deflect his concerns, but the leader hears the sound again. The cry persists while Ganelon continues to use examples of Roland's success in past battles to change King Charles' mind. The French prepare for battle but they will be too late. They travel fast back to the battle and on the way King Charles orders Ganelon be chained up in the fashion of a typical traitor.
        Jump back to the battlefield. Roland looks around to see many of his comrades dead as he pushes on into the lost battle. Oliver is badly wounded but he continues to slaughter his enemy. Eventual he is forced to cry out to Roland for help. The Count rushes over to his friend's aid but there is nothing that can be done. As Oliver's sight dissipates he strikes his comrade not knowing the man. The last few moments of Oliver's life are spent asking for forgiveness because of the blow. After Oliver's death Roland retreats back to find that only a few men still live. One ends up dying while the other, after being wounded and unhorsed, continues to fight with vengeance. Roland sounds the horn once more with all the strength he can muster. The weak sound reaches Charles and he understands that Count Roland is on his last strength. The French push forward with greater power and sound their horns in order to respond to Roland's desperate need. The pagan's hear the massive amount of troops headed in their direction and they know of what is to come. In their fear they push to attack Roland and the Archbishop with one last hurrah. The Count sees the fierceness in the eyes of his opponent and becomes invigorated with a need to push on and fight with utmost strength. Because Charles' return to battle is destined, the two warriors pledge to fight continually until either they die or their enemy is dead.
        The pagans are afraid of Roland's power and stay at a distance while throwing weapons at the leader. They end up retreating back while Roland takes care of the Archbishop's wounds. The leader then goes and finds each of his comrades and lines them up by the Archbishop. The man of God prays for each of the warriors that died on the battlefield. Roland finds Oliver's body and lines it up with the rest. The Archbishop prays over the man while Roland weeps for all the losses he has suffered in a day. The leader ends up fainting and while trying to retrieve water for the blacked out man the Archbishop dies in the field because of his lack of blood. Roland wakes up and sees his final comrade dead in the grassy field. He prays for the mans soul and ask for it to be in Paradise.
        Roland can feel that death is near and picks up his horn and sword and heads toward Spain, fainting in the grass. Saracen, a pagan, had hid among the dead bodies and waited for the end of the battle. He gets up and rushes over to Roland and tries to take his prized sword. Roland comes around at this time and kills the cowardice, thief with his horn. He then tries to break his precious sword with his final strength in order to guarantee that no pagan uses the weapon. The leader then laments about all the battles the sword has been used in and sees that nothing can break the precious weapon. He feels death wrapping its arms around the himself. The Count prays for forgiveness of all his sins and God sends down Cherubin, Saint Michael, other angels from the sea's Peril, and Saint Gabriel to guide Roland soul to Paradise.

The Song of Roland (Introduction-Laisses 65)

           The Song of Roland is based off a true story from August 778 in Spain. It involved the Franks and the Spaniards focusing on a war between Christians and Pagans. The historical event has been used as an example of crusading but in reality there was no oppression that needed saving. The version of today, called the Oxford Roland, has mysterious origins. There is a break of 300 years that are unknown. Characters that were created in this time frame can be seen in the manuscript but

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their conception is a mystery. There are many contradictions between historical facts and the Song of Roland. "The Song of Roland is often held to be a kind of propaganda, a defense and glorification of royal power..." (pg.6) The poem needs to be read as a whole piece that views the epic as a larger story. Even though there are missing historical facts the ideas and truths seen in the poem stand-out. "The Song of Roland is...an Old French epic poem about the exploits...of a great vassal in the service of his lord" (pg.9) The vassal being Roland and the Lord being Charlemagne. "The close relation between the epic genre of this poem, the feudal society it depicts, and the religious war that comprises nearly all of its action is the principle of its unity, and many errors of interpretation occur when one forgets what holds the poem together" (pg. 9) The two sides (Christians and Pagans) have all the same qualities and yet by worshiping different entities one is seen as being right and the other being wrong when looked at through the eyes of Charlemagne. "The immanent justice of God is the ground upon which the entire poem is constructed" (pg.10) The Song of Roland holds literary significance in the academia world. The mysterious origins coupled with historical ideas gives readers a better understanding when looking at the piece through an outsiders perspective. If you would like further background information follow this link.
        Charles the King, Charlemagne, has taken over much of the land in Spain over a time span of seven years. All expect Saragossa, which is ruled by King Marsilion. This city is the last standing in this pagan country. The pagan King calls together his council in order to discuss how to stop this destruction. He worries that the city will not be able to hold out much longer. The council comes up with a scheme to trick Charlemagne into believing that they have converted therefore giving them the opportunity to go home. They plan to entice the leader with gifts and potential servants.
        The French men are described as being frivolous and arrogant. The King is so magnificent that when a stranger walks into the room there is no need for an introduction, the leader is readily known. The pagan messenger arrives and Charlemagne is suspicious of his enemies good-will and ask how they can be trusted. The Spaniards offer up hostages and ask how many are wanted. The man speaking even offers up his son as a hostage. This ruse helps Charlemagne bring his guard down.
       The next morning after mass the French leader calls together a council. Included in this council is Roland and Ganelon, two key characters. He explains what King Marsilion's messengers decreed and states that he is uneasy about what lies in the heart of his former enemy. Count Roland approaches Charles the King and rebukes the notion that Marsilion could have reformed so quickly. Ganelon

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tries to appease the idea that there is honesty in the words and wants the council to believe the pagans. Other members of the council agree with Ganelon and Charlemagne tries to find who will go speak with the pagan king. Different members volunteer but the leader does not want them to risk their lives. Count Roland offers to go, but the council believes that not to be wise, considering he opposed the idea. The name Ganelon is then proposed by Roland. The French leader agrees with this decision and only after Ganelon berates Roland for volunteering him, does he agree to the task. Foreshadowing is seen during this spat, because Ganelon threatens Roland while the count laughs in his face. Ganelon is furious but contains his anger long enough to gather his necessities for the trip and catch up to the pagan messengers.
     On the trip back to Saragossa, Ganelon deceives the Blancandrin, the messenger, into believing that Count Roland is an evil man who needs to be stopped. By the end of their travels the two have come to a resolve that in some way Roland must die. Blancandrin introduces Ganelon to King Marsilion. The deceiver, Ganelon, plays on the King's anger. He tells the king that either he converts and will be given half of Spain or he will become overthrown and become a prisoner. Ganelon knows that by using his words he will be able to take revenge on Count Roland. The King becomes angry by the thought and tries to harm Ganelon who takes on the persona of wounded prey. Marsilion, is jaded by this performance and tries to make amends with Ganelon.
      They get into topic of Charlemagne. The pagan is amazed at how war-focused the leader is at his old age. Ganelon creates a ruse around the notion that Charlemagne's strength lies in Roland, Oliver, and the Twelve Peers. If Marsilion were to rid Charlemagne of his strength he would not be able to continue. Ganelon also advises the King to appease Charles the King with a multitude of gifts in order to ensure their departure. When the army starts to go home the rear-guard will be left unprotected. With the death of Roland and Oliver, who will be in the rear-guard, Charlemagne will not have a will to go on. Because of his willingness to betray his army, Ganelon is given many gifts from the pagans, including pieces of armor. Marsilion's parting words clarify that if Ganelon follows through with his betrayal that the pagan will reward him greatly.
       Ganelon arrives at the Christian camp the next morning in order to deceive Charlemagne, Roland, and the others. Ganelon spins a tale for Charles the King that shows the pagan's drowning in the sea after trying to escape Christian beliefs and King Marsilion committing to follow Charlemagne toward this new faith. The French pack up their belongings and begin their long journey home. The pagans places themselves in the forest ready for the attack and Charles the King has two dreams that warn him of the danger to come and he sleeps through them. The next morning Ganelon nominates Roland to lead the rear-guard. Emperor Charles is appalled by the notion that his "second in command" would take on such a dangerous position. The ego of Roland takes into effect and he take on the position with pride. Many leaders choose to serve under him and they choose twenty-thousand men to help in their rank. The section closes with eerie words of the bitter battle to come.

Note: Frederick Goldin's translation was used for reference.