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English
322
Medieval Literature
Wendy Furman-Adams
The Song of Roland (Chanson de Roland) |
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Backgrounds:
Early Middle Ages, 476 - ca. 1150
The term "Dark Ages," if applicable at all,
applies to literature from the fall of the
western Roman Empire through about the eighth or
ninth century (although in late Latin poetry and
in Boethius' Consolation, we see how much of
classical culture survives).
Still: Bede's picture of the mead-hall is full
of shadows.
Tribal governments have replaced a centralized
one, and give rise to constant feuds.
No one in eighth-century England can quite
conceive of "Christendom" yet;
Christianity is only 100-200 years old in
England.
There's also no idea of a national epic.
Beowulf
an English poem about Scandinavian heroes
with Germanic pagan customs and Latin Christian
ideas; it's not all gelled yet into one clear
civilization.
Clearly the great "light" in 7th-9th century Old
English elegiac poetry is the light of
Christianity--still an otherworldly and almost
an apolitical faith.
Christ is the great hero in "The Dream of the
Rood"--but, as with "Vexilla Regis Prodeunt" of
Venantius Fortunatus, his warlike heroism is a
metaphor for his redemptive suffering and
death--both once on the cross and repeatedly in
the sacraments (especially the Eucharist).
With The Song of Roland (late 1000's, from the
pilgrimage village of Conques, in central
France), we get something new: the "banners of
the King" (Christ) and of the king (Charlemagne)
are identified with each other; and they
literally go forth--into literal (physical)
battle. (See p. 169, laisse [stanza] 225).
Remember the great archetypal allegories:
the journey (cf. "The Wanderer")
the sea-voyage (cf. "The Seafarer")
the battle
In Roland the allegorical level remains (take a
look at Ephesians 6.10-17); Roland's sword Durendal
is a reliquary, for instance! (p. 141).
BUT the literal level of spiritual warfare
becomes central, both in literature and society.
The most popular form of poetry becomes the
chanson de geste--"song of [military] deeds."
This poem marks the transition to the High
Middle Ages--the "age of knighthood"--of
chivalry. That age is born, not coincidentally,
out of the Crusades, and the dream they embody
of an earthly, united City of God in which
Europe and Christendom become one. This dream
was lost for Augustine in 410--with the first
major sack of Rome; but it is to some extent
rekindled by the eighth-century reign of
Charlemagne, and will continue as an ideal until
the rise of nation states at the beginning of
the Renaissance.
Beowulf vs. Roland:
In Beowulf war seen essentially as fratricide
and treachery. (It's important that Grendel, his
mother, and the dragon are not human
adversaries.)
In Roland we still find fratricide and
treachery. (Ganelon's treachery against Roland
is central, in fact.) But clearly, too, there is
such a thing as a "just war" against other human
beings (see stanzas 241-42).
The war campaign we read about in The Song of
Roland has two historical levels:
1. The Crusades (11th-12th centuries)--during
which the poem was written; and
2. The "Carolingian Renaissance" (Charlemagne,
768-814; Dynasty, 751-961)--remembered and
idealized for present political (propaganda)
purposes.
The Conquest of Spain (told about in the poem),
can be used as a way to talk about the current
(11th-century) campaign to "free" Jerusalem from
its Muslim conquerors.
Now there are two truly established
religious/political entities in Europe:
Christendom--rarely actually united. (The old
saw is that the "Holy Roman Empire," founded by
Pepin and consolidated by Charlemagne, was
neither Holy, Roman [Charlemagne was a Frank],
nor an empire: in real life Christians fought
each other as often as they united against a
common enemy.) But the dream of a united
Christendom was a compelling one--one with which
Dante will be very much concerned--and
eventually nation states developed out of the
dream. (One could argue, in fact, that the
United Nations reflects an update of the idea:
"one planet, one people, please." Notice that
we're not doing much better today--whether
Christians in Ireland or Muslims in Iran and
Iraq.)
The two parties in The Song of Roland:
Christendom (City of God/France)--10 columns.
Islam (City of Man/Saracens; absolute rival and
foil)--30 columns.
The Christians need to be outmatched to reveal
God's glory; think of the story of David and
Goliath (I Samuel 17).
The poem, like Beowulf, was probably written as
a courtly entertainment, but the great
underlying issues are clear:
Christianity vs. Islam
"God" vs. "idols" (ironically enough!)
Light vs. dark (literally in stanza 143)
Europe vs. "the other" (Arab world)
good vs. evil
City of God vs. City of Man
[New Jerusalem vs. new Babylon, Egypt,
Philistines]
What does the poem say about this struggle?
See first and last stanzas (pp. 51 and 203):
Life is a Battle which doesn't end before the
end (but will end--gloriously--in the final
battle at the end of time; see Revelation
12.7-22.5).
"Church Militant" fights in communion with the
saints in Heaven (where they form the "Church
Triumphant"); "Her" (the Church's) ultimate
triumph is certain; her present is very dark.
Augustine's Four Levels of Allegory in The Song
of Roland:
Literal: the "need" to reconquer Spain (and, in
the 11th century, the "Holy Land") for
Christianity--a "task not achieved" (or a crime
not fully committed) until 1492, when King
Ferdinand and Queen Isabella drove all
unconverted Muslims and Jews from Spain.
Moral: loyalty, bravery, wisdom, and courage
(etc.) vs. treachery, materialism, amorality
(etc.).
Here we find a perfect feudal hierarchy of
power:
King
Lords, Counts (like Roland and Oliver), and
Bishops (like Turpin)
Knights (make up the armies of the lords and
counts)
Freedmen
Serfs
Each person (except serfs) pledged an oath of
fealty to the one above him--and all have sworn
fealty to Christ (the Lord) and God (the great
King).
Chivalry is the code of the comitatus refined
and perfected for knights on
horseback--involving mutual loyalty and
elaborate courtesy. (Notice the politeness of
their interaction--e.g. bottom p. 96.) Knights
protect their lord; the lord bestows land. (See
Roland's oath of loyalty in laisse 63.) At the
end of the poem, we see the ideal breaking down,
when members of the court wish (out of fear and
pragmatism--not loyalty) to see Ganelon
released.
Spiritual: Christ (Roland) vs. Judas (Ganelon,
who, in stanza 48, betrays him with a kiss); God
(Charlemagne) vs. Mohammed (Marsilion).
Charlemagne: God's regent and a God-like figure
(see descriptions in stanzas 8 and 71).
Roland: cross between an (almost) ideal Frankish
(French-German) warrior and the biblical Christ
(a composite Christ: the humble, gracious Christ
of the Gospels and the Warrior of Revelation
1.13-19):
loyal (to a fault) to the father figure;
betrayed (like Christ) by a Judas figure.
has 12 peers (cf. Christ's 12 disciples).
brave and self-sacrificing.
embraces death at the exact center of the poem
(in its the romanesque structure, all moves
to and from the center of the arch).
Christlike quality of Roland's death:
darkness at noon (pp. 106-107).
sun stands still.
lies down on his sword (cross) and lays down his
life (no one can kill him).
soul carried to heaven by angels (pp. 142-43).
There is, of course, no Christ but Christ--but
to be a Christian Knight is to body Christ forth
in the world in his active role; Turpin (as a
fighting bishop) combines the active with the
spiritual life; Oliver embodies courage and
wisdom and friendship and loyalty.
Anagogical: Christ calling his own to the great
Battle that shall end all battles (Armageddon);
to the last Trumpet, at which all the dead shall
rise to judgment; and to the eternal peaceful
feast in the New Jerusalem (Paradise). (But dogs
and evil doers, according to Revelation 22.15,
will remain outside the gates.)
Song of Roland--The Scene:
Really a double setting: Spain and France, 777
and ca. 1100.
The "scene" also recalls the bright colors of an
illuminated manuscript: red blood, green grass
(see pp. 103, 114-15); few details, but very
striking and telling details.
Song of Roland--Form and Style:
Written in Old French.
289 laisse (stanzas) of varying length; loose in
structure, like a long ballad.
assonance (not rhyme).
refrains and repetition, suggesting oral
tradition.
emotions as clear and strong as the colors:
anger, tenderness, joy, grief, weariness.
Song of Roland--Characters and Forces:
Charlemagne vs. Marsilion/Baligant (see p. 172).
Roland
Oliver vs. Ganelon (pp. 63-65; 119-21).
Turpin
Notice the friendship of the three (especially
Roland and Oliver), and their relative virtues
(e.g. in laisse 86-87).
French knights vs. Pagan knights
(12 peers)
Notice the range of "badness" from the Emir,
laisse 72, to the giant, laisse 78. But the
conflict is summed up at the end of laisse 79: "Paynims
are wrong, Christians are in the right!"
How developed are the characters? What is their
motivation for change?
Other forces include the very notion of Holy War
itself (a notion of more than antiquarian
interest today!); angels play a role analogous
to the gods in Greek and Roman epic (eg. laisse
175-76; laisse 179).
Song of Roland--The Plot:
Think of the narrative as a single Romanesque
arch: 2 parts, 3 subparts each.
Part I: The Treachery of Ganelon and the Death
of Roland.
I-A, laisse 1-27 (pp. 51-65).
1. Charlemagne besieging Spain; only Saragosa
stands still to be conquered.
2. Marsilion persuaded by Blancandrin to sue for
peace (and seem to accept Charlemagne's terms).
3. Charlemagne holds his fateful council (pp.
54-65), and Ganelon departs to meet the "paynims."
I-B, laisse 28-52 (pp. 65-77).
1. Blancandrin and Ganelon plot the peers'
demise (pp. 65-67).
2. King Marsilion's Council (pp. 68-77): Plot
against the rear guard planned and sealed.
I-C, laisse 53-177 (pp. 77-144).
1. Plot set into action and Charlemagne has
prophetic nightmares (pp. 77-84).
2. Paynims arrive; 12 champions are catalogued,
as in all epics (pp. 84-92).
*3. The "tragic" act: Roland's refusal to blow
Olifant (pp. 93-95).
4. The battle (pp. 95-117). (Some of my Monty
Python-type favorites: laisse 126, 155-57.)
5. The blowing of Olifant (pp. 117-121); the
response of the French and the disgrace of
Ganelon.
6. The battle to the death of Oliver, Turpin,
and Roland (pp. 123-43).
7. Mourning for Roland (pp. 143-44).
Part II: The Revenge of the French.
II-A, laisse 198-265 (pp. 144-90).
1. Arrival of the exhausted French, with
considerable supernatural assistance (pp.
144-49).
2. Marsilion (having lost his right hand)
bequeaths the kingdom to Baligant--new foil to
Charlemagne (pp. 149-59). (Notice the irony of
the glove in laisse 193).
3. French gather up the slain (pp. 160-64).
4. Surprise attack and mustering of
troops--unified from all of Europe against a
unified troop of "barbarians" (pp. 165-77).
5. Second battle (pp. 177-190). See especially
laisse 253, 258-59. Moral: "Well speeds that man
which hath God for his helper."
II-B, laisse 266-89 (pp. 190-203)--very
telescoped narrative.
1. Paynims baptized (notice the contrast between
the treatment of the queen and everyone else);
queen taken along; Roland buried; Aude dies (pp.
190-92).
2. Ganelon tried, defended by combat, convicted,
punished (pp. 193-202). Moral: "'Twere wrong
that treason should live to boast the deed."
II-C, laisse 290-91 (pp. 202-203): Epilogue.
1. Queen Bramimond re-christened as Juliana.
2. King called back out to more gestes.
Purpose:
A work designed both to entertain and to
inculcate chivalric Christian values; to
encourage faith in the "true God"; to identify
"our" cause with God's cause.
What would you say is the attitude of the poet
toward his material?
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