Roland, Song of In the summer of 1191 Richard arrived at Acre to assist French and Austrian crusaders in their two-year siege of the city He soon quarreled with the French King Philip II Augustus and after the city fell Philip returned to France Following their earlier pattern of conquest, Richard’s forces looted the city and killed many prisoners However Richard was badly isolated and the strategy of “scorched earth” of Saladin (Salah ad din, Yusuf) left his army short of supplies Richard and Saladin, both keen military strategists, maneuvered over territories around Jerusalem and developed mutual respect for the other’s abilities Recognizing that he would be unable to hold Jerusalem militarily, Richard agreed to a negotiated settlement in 1192 whereby the crusaders kept Acre and the Muslims kept Jerusalem Christian pilgrims were allowed access to the holy sites in the city Eager to return to England, where rivals threatened his throne, Richard set sail for Europe but was shipwrecked off the coast of Venice He was captured and held hostage by Leopold of Austria and was only released in 1194 after the payment of an enormous ransom He died from an arrow wound to the shoulder while fighting in Normandy in 1199 See also Crusades Further reading: Gillingham, John Richard I New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2002; Reston, James, Jr Warriors of God: Richard the Lionhearted and Saladin New York: Doubleday, 2001 Janice J Terry Roland, Song of The anonymous Song of Roland is the most famous Old French epic, or chanson de geste It was composed c 1090 but was not committed to writing until nearly 100 years later The oldest written copy, discovered by Francisque Michel in 1835, survives in Oxford Bodleian MS Digby 23 As all chansons de geste, the Song of Roland was performed aloud in front of an audience by a minstrel (or jongleur) It is unlikely the whole poem was recited in one sitting: It consists in some 4,000 decasyllabic lines, assembled into 291 laisses or verses The Song of Roland is loosely based on historical events narrated by Einhard in his ninth century Vita Karoli Charlemagne, the Holy Roman Emperor, invaded Spain in 778 to free the country from the impending Muslim threat A stained-glass window in Chartres cathedral suggests the emperor had a vision of St James, whose body is buried at Compostela in western Spain 343 James asked Charlemagne to liberate his home from the pagans Returning from battle, the Frankish army marched through the Pyrenees Without warning, the Basques attacked the rear guard at Roncevaux and brutally killed everyone The author of the Song of Roland substitutes the Saracens for the Basques, making the epic about the religious war between the Christians and the infidels The Song of Roland is divided into two distinct parts The first recounts the death of Roland and his men The second describes the revenge of Charlemagne When the poem begins, the emperor has been fighting in Spain for seven years The Frankish army has conquered the whole country with the exception of one city: Saragossa, ruled by King Marsile and Queen Bramimonde Following the advice of the Saracen lord Blancadrin, Marsile sends a message to Charlemagne announcing his intent to become the emperor’s vassal and to convert to Christianity Charlemagne accepts the offer and must choose an envoy to send to Marsile’s court Roland— Charlemagne’s best knight—nominates his stepfather, Ganelon Erroneously believing Roland has selected him for this dangerous mission out of spite, Ganelon conspires against Charlemagne with the pagans He tells Marsile that Charlemagne will not continue fighting if the Saracens kill Roland, who will probably lead the rear guard as the Franks march over the Pyrenees He and his men will be the most vulnerable in the narrow and treacherous pass at Roncevaux Ganelon returns to Charlemagne and falsely attests to Marsile’s good intentions As predicted Roland volunteers to lead the rear guard, and Charlemagne’s strongest vassals, the “twelve peers,” go with him, including Olivier (Roland’s best friend) and the archbishop Turpin At Roncevaux, they are attacked by the Saracens, who vastly outnumber them Olivier (characterized as wise) advises Roland to sound his horn and call Charlemagne back to fight But Roland (characterized as proud, brave, and dutiful) refuses; to so would demonstrate weakness and might place the life of the emperor in jeopardy The rear guard fights bravely and kills a great number of the enemy Eventually Olivier, Turpin, and all of the Frankish soldiers lie dead Roland blows his horn (or oliphant) until his temples burst, signaling to Charlemagne his defeat Before dying he attempts to break his sword, Durendal, on the surrounding black rock so that it does not fall into the hands of the pagans (a gap in the rock along the border between France and Spain is known as the Brèche de Roland) Roland dies a hero’s death: He lies down facing the enemy’s land and angels and saints escort his soul into heaven