num_pages: 264
description: On 15 August 778, Charlemagne’s army was returning from a successful expedition against Saracen Spain when its rearguard was ambushed in a remote Pyrenean pass. Out of this skirmish arose a stirring tale of war, which was recorded in the oldest extant epic poem in French. The Song of Roland, written by an unknown poet, tells of Charlemagne’s warrior nephew, Lord of the Breton Marches, who valiantly leads his men into battle against the Saracens, but dies in the massacre, defiant to the end. In majestic verses, the battle becomes a symbolic struggle between Christianity and Islam, while Roland’s last stand is the ultimate expression of honour and feudal values of twelfth-century France.
language: Welsh
title: Can Rolant
titlecomplete: Can Rolant
characters: Blancandrins, Oliver, Ganelon, Charlemagne, Roland, King Marsile
genres: Classics, Epic, French Literature, France, Fiction, School, Historical Fiction, Literature, Mythology, Poetry
ratings_count: 16838
places: Pyrenees Mountains, Europe
publisher: Univ of California Pr