armed with sword and shield and his horn at his side, Roland attacks another soldier

The Song of Roland

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What is the message of the epic poem Song of Roland?

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One of the main themes of The Song of Roland is the importance of the chivalric code, which is the moral code that knights must always endeavor to follow. Despite his somewhat impulsive nature, Roland displays the various qualities associated with the chivalric code, such as honor, loyalty, and self-sacrifice.

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The main message of the epic poem Song of Roland is fairly simple:  good will always triumph over evil.  In this poem, "good" is represented through both honor and justice and always prevails.

In the main message, honor as a quality of goodness is quite important.  The honor of simply being a "Christian" is stressed.  Where Christians are seen to have "faults" (even major ones), they still have heaven ahead of them.  There is no honor in being a pagan.  Why?  Pagans are destined for damnation. Roland specifically struggles with honor, especially in the horn-blowing incident.  Roland finds dishonor in blowing the horn to call the entirety of French forces back to help him; however, Roland changes his mind after the guard is killed because honor requires the avenging of that death.  

Again, goodness is always represented as justice.  Because the Christians are on the side of Christ, they...

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are always assumed to be right and on the side of justice.  On the other hand, the pagans are not on the side of Christ and are therefore unjust and "wrong."  Again, pagans (such as the character of The Babylonian Baligant) can be seen as having good qualities, such as being a valiant warrior, but pagans will always generally be considered unjust and on the side of evil.  Further, Christians can be seen as having faults, such as too much pride, but they will still be recognized as on the side of justice and goodness. 

In conclusion, it's important to note that this epic poem is about the crusaders for Christ and therefore has the same basic message:  good triumphs over evil.  

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What is the theme of The Song of Roland?

At the time when The Song of Roland was written, the chivalric, or knightly, code was still considered of great importance in society. Knights were expected to adhere to a superior set of values that marked them off from mere mortals. As well as courage in battle, they were expected to act honorably and show themselves to be willing to sacrifice their lives for others.

All of these values are much in evidence in The Song of Roland and are displayed throughout by the title character. Despite being something of a hothead with a rash, impulsive nature, Roland is still able to understand the importance of acting in the correct manner and of sticking to the chivalric code, come what may.

The most significant illustration of this comes during the Battle of Roncevaux Pass. Even though the situation is desperate, instead of using his trusty horn to summon help, Roland continues to fight on bravely, just as a valiant knight would be expected to do.

Roland has made the supreme sacrifice, and in doing so he has illustrated once again the importance of the chivalric code in getting people to see beyond their own narrow interests and realize that we are all part of something much bigger than ourselves.

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