344 Rome, medieval Charlemagne arrives with the rest of the Frankish army Overwhelmed with grief, he resolves to avenge the death of his men God miraculously ensures the sun remains high in the sky so that the enemy cannot flee under the cover of night The Franks kill the remaining Saracens by forcing them into the river Ebro; thousands drown King Marsile escapes to discover that Baligant, the emir of Babylon, has arrived to help the Saracens in the war Baligant rides with his men to Roncevaux, where the Franks are burying the dead A great battle ensues When Charlemagne slays Baligant, the remaining Saracens flee; the Franks march on Saragossa and finally take the city Angry with the Saracen god for abandoning her people, Queen Bramimonde accompanies Charlemagne back to France By the end of the poem she converts to Christianity of her own free will When the Frankish army arrives in Aix (Charlemagne’s capital), the emperor informs Roland’s fiancée, Aude, of the deaths of Olivier and Roland Charlemagne offers to her his son as a substitute Out of grief for Roland, Aude swoons and falls dead and is buried in great honor Meanwhile Ganelon awaits trial for treason His kinsman, Pinabel, defends his honor during a duel with Roland’s friend, Thierry Thierry, who is by far the weaker knight, overcomes his formidable adversary The Franks interpret this as a sign that God has revealed the guilt of Ganelon They sentence Ganelon to death by dismemberment For good measure, they also condemn 30 of his relatives to be hanged The war is finally over and the Franks prepare to rest But that night as he sleeps, Charlemagne has a vision of the angel Gabriel, revealing that the Franks must depart on a new crusade Weary from battle Charlemagne nonetheless obediently vows to God’s will The Song of Roland was composed around the same time as the Council of Clermont (1095), at which Pope Urban II exhorted all Christians to fight in the Crusades in order to recapture the Holy Land The poem became a testimony to the virtuous courage of Western Christendom in the fight against the pagans It is also an intensely nationalistic work In the De gestis Anglorum (1125), William of Malmesbury writes that Roland’s tale is sung before the Battle of Hastings to give strength to the French soldiers who are about to fight See also Holy Roman Empire; Muslim Spain Further reading: Burgess, Glynn S., trans The Song of Roland New York: Penguin, 1990; Taylor, Andrew “Was There a Song of Roland?” Speculum (v.76, 2001); Uitti, Karl D “The Song of Roland.” In Story, Myth and Celebration in Old French Narrative Poetry, 1050–1200 Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1973; Uitti, Karl D “Alexis, Roland and French Poésie Nationale.” Comparative Literature Studies (v.32/2, 1995); Vance, Eugene “Roland and the Poetics of Memory.” In Josué V Harari, ed Textual Strategies: Perspectives in Post-Structuralist Criticism Ithaca, NY: Cornell U Press, 1979 K Sarah-Jane Murray Rome, medieval Medieval Rome lacked the structured government that was the norm in other Italian cities The presence of the pope and the attending church bureaucracy meant a sometimes-uneasy relationship between the church and the state What organized government that existed was centered on the senate The number of senators fluctuated from as few as one to as many as 56 The length of a senatorial term was equally flexible An 1188 treaty signed by Pope Clement III between the city of Rome and the papacy provided official papal recognition of the senate in exchange for senatorial allegiance to the pope The pope also promised some financial support to the senate and aid in the maintenance of the city’s defensive walls The papal signor appointed by the pope, who usually represented the interests of one or more Roman families, ruled Rome Rome was divided into a series of neighborhoods that were associated with a particular craft These neighborhoods were also associated with noble families who dominated the area with their family-controlled towers The towers were defensive structures where families would retreat during times of conflict The 13th century in Rome was a period especially noted for the tower wars between prominent noble families as they fought for control of the city Often these wars were an outcome of the rivalry between the Guelf, or papal party, and those who supported the Ghibelline, or Imperial party Two of the most prominent families of this era were the Orsini (Guelf) and Colonna (Ghibelline) families Orsini family legend dates their arrival in Rome to 425 They claimed to be descended from a lost boy who was nursed by a bear; orso is the Italian word for “bear,” the symbol of the Orsini family The Orsini’s claimed Pope Stephen II, Pope Paul I, St Benedict, St Scholastica, and the brothers S.S John and Paul as part of their family lineage In contrast the Colonna family did not subscribe to as ancient or colorful family legend regarding their origins Records indicate the first individual to use the name of Colonna was Pietro de Colonna (1064–