The Song of Roland | Charlemagne

Charlemagne is the venerable leader of the Frankish (French) forces. When the epic opens, he has been in Spain for seven years, at war with the Saracens, as Spanish Muslims (and many other foreigners) were termed by the Franks. Defender of the Christian faith, his purpose is to travel from place to place, fighting to regain lands lost to "the infidel," that is, to non-Christians. The character is based on the actual historical figure of Charlemagne (742-814), King of the Franks (768-814), and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.The epic's unknown author or recorder took some liberties with...

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