The Story
Following Roland a vassal of King Charles, i.e. Charlemagne, in the invasion of Spain. The Muslim (Saracen) King Marsile is the final hold out of Moorish Spain. Roland is seen as the best of Charlemagne's army and Charlemagne's key defender. Roland is set up for disaster by a traitorous step father. His step father organises an ambush of the vanguard with King Marsile and then convinces Charlemagne to put Roland and his companions in the vanguard. Roland is killed during the battle but not by the hands of the Saracens. Charlemagne must then battle with Arabic reinforcements without Roland and his valiant knights.
Reflection
I really enjoyed The Song of Roland, maybe due to its ease of reading compared to Herodotus, but I think it is an engaging poem and flows like a single story.
Roland is not killed in the battle but in blowing the horn to summon Charlemagne and his troops. This is curious to me: the author clearly did not want to have Roland killed by the hand of a Saracen but rather in some way keep him pure. No Saracen hand could strike down the beloved Roland.
Roland is aided by a Bishop who is clearly a worthy fighter in his own right. This is treated matter of factly, so I must conclude that it was common or at least not unheard of. While he is clearly not considered a knight he is an integral part of Roland's band. This may seem strange to the modern reader but there is nothing in Christian scripture against being a solider.
The war was seen as morally right, the good and godly Christians taking on that heathen foe the Saracens. In light of this, a bishop as part of the Christian fighting force makes sense. It also means he is around to give last rights, or the pardoning of the sins of the dying. Charlemagne's army was seen to be the restorers of Christian Spain.
Comparison
While the song of Roland still has an over-inflated view of the heroic past, it keeps closer to historic fact. Unlike Beowulf, which deals in monsters and dragons, the Song of Roland deals in clashes of troops: clashes that are likely based in history. Where it deviates from history is in the actions of its combatants, who are described as cleaving right through the head in a single blow on many occasion thus showing them as greater than they truly were.
The Christian overtones fit the story and the time much better than Beowulf. In the case of the song of Roland, the main characters are Christian. Therefore the Christian world view is properly attributed to them and you have a much more internally consistent story.
The other difference between the Song of Roland and Beowulf is that the Song of Roland deals with one contiguous story where as Beowulf is really three battles that are only lightly interlinked.
Have you read the Song of Roland? If so what did you think?
Does this inspire you to read the Song of Roland? If so tell me what you think when your done!
Get a copy of The Song of Roland
Read more about Beowulf
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