We’re jumping ahead by two centuries just for a moment, to touch on literature.
The “Song of Roland” was the most popular epic of its time. Composed by a Frankish minstrel named Turoldus, the poem first appeared in written form around 950. Its subject matter was Charlemagne’s invasion into Muslim Spain in 778. The oral version may have been in circulation for years before it was written, but it was probably not composed close to the time of the events.
In the song, Charlemagne and his Franks have been campaigning across Spain for seven years, reconquering cities for the Christian cause. They are now departing in triumph. The narrow pass over the Pyrenees mountains, going from Spain into France, forces the huge army to travel slowly in a long thin line, and the baggage train at the back is miles behind. Roland, Charlemagne’s nephew and Count of Brittany, is there to guard the rear of the lines.
But not so fast…Roland’s wicked stepfather Ganelon has conspired with the Saracen ruler Marsile to attack Roland when he is isolated. This they do. Roland compounds this disaster by ignoring his friend Oliver’s pleas to blow an ivory horn called the “Oliphant,” which would summon help. When he finally does blow the horn, help cannot arrive in time, and they are all slaughtered.
While this is the most famous incident in the long epic, the story goes on to tell of Charlemagne’s vengeance against Marsile, the burial of Roland and his companions, and an enormous battle between Muslims and Christians. The Frankish Christians win, and their Muslim enemies either die or convert. From 950 on, this song was among the most popular that traveling singers could offer at castles and towns. Everyone loved it, and many probably thought it was true.
There was a Roland (Spanish, Orlando) who died in a pass in the Pyrenees, protecting the Frankish baggage train. So what really happened…? Why was Charlemagne even there in 778, not campaigning against pagan Saxons or rebel Aquitainians as usual?
- God’s Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe, 570-1215, David Levering Lewis