Roland
Roland EuropeAt Roncesvalles in 778 the Basques annihilated the rearguard of Charlemagne's army, which was withdrawing from a campaign in Spain to deal with a rising among the recently conquered Saxons of Germany. The Frankish commander, Roland, died in the action. Legend embroidered the defeat, and in the eleventh-century Chanson de Roland the fallen warrior emerged as a Christian hero overwhelmed by the forces of Islam. The poem represents the feudal system in epic action and reveals the surprising depth of Christian hatred for the followers of Mohammed. Proud, brave, and ruthless, Roland refused to sound his hor for reinforcements until it was too late. Then the effort caused ‘blood to flow from his mouth and burst from his forehead’.
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