The story of the brave and reckless knight, Roland, and his legendary sword Durendal has its roots in historical facts. His tale inspired the romantic movement in medieval France, where songs praised him as the perfect knight. But how much of it is true? Is fiction more captivating than fact?
Roland really was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne, commanding the Breton border. He died in battle in 778 in the Pyrenees. While later stories claim he was ambushed by Muslims, it was actually a Basque guerilla army that trapped and decimated the Carolingian forces. This is the only historical account of Roland documented by Charlemagne’s biographer, Einhard.
However, the legend of Roland is far more colorful, violent, and filled with propaganda. In the 11th and 12th centuries, a romantic literary movement swept through the courts of Europe, glorifying chivalric knights, virtuous ladies, and Christian values. This movement is divided into three main cycles of legends: the Arthurian cycle, the Carolingian cycle, and tales from Roman and Greek antiquity.
The French poet Chrétien de Troyes wrote “Perceval – the Story of the Grail” and other Arthurian tales in the late 12th century. But “The Song of Roland” (La Chanson de Roland), rooted in oral tradition with no specific author, is about 150 years older.
To make Roland’s story fit for medieval castles and courtly audiences, more action was added. In fiction, Roland was elevated to Charlemagne’s nephew and became one of his twelve paladins, the foremost warriors of Charlemagne’s court. He was also given a magical sword, Durandal, reputedly brought by an angel to Charlemagne and the sharpest sword in existence. In the poem, Roland uses the sword to hold off a one-hundred-thousand-strong Muslim army.
Realizing his impending defeat, he tries to destroy Durandal by smashing it into a rock to keep it from falling into enemy hands, creating Roland’s Breach, a natural gap in the Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park on the Franco-Spanish border. While the poem states he hid the sword under his body before he died, folklore claims he hurled it north, where it lodged into a rock above the Chapelle de Notre-Dame in Rocamadour, where it remains chained to this day.
The historical account states the army that ambushed Charlemagne and Roland was Basque, but “La Chanson de Roland” claims it happened at Roncevaux pass (nowadays Roncesvalles in Spain) and that the attackers were Muslims. This portrayal perhaps contributed to its popularity and possibly fueled anti-Muslim sentiment during the Crusades.
The legend also says that when Roland and his army were first attacked, he refused to blow his horn to call for help from Charlemagne’s forces further north. As the Muslim army proved overwhelming, he eventually conceded and blew his horn, but it was too late. The Muslim army slaughtered Roland’s forces before Charlemagne could arrive. In his final moments, Roland blew his horn one last time to summon revenge, dying a martyr’s death.
Roland became the epitome of a medieval knight: brave, proud, and reckless. “La Chanson de Roland” was the first of its kind in the chanson de geste, a literary form that celebrated legendary deeds from the 11th to the 15th centuries. Roland’s heroic image was widespread across Europe, inspiring courage, and prompting the erection of statues, like the oldest surviving example in Bremen from 1404.
Most importantly, “La Chanson de Roland” inspired countless young men to go to war and seek a chivalrous death, defining the ideal knight and romanticizing warfare for generations. For better or worse, it left a lasting impact on the medieval conception of heroism.
suansuan