The Song of Roland pt. 1

This is the transcript for episode 9 of the We're All Stories Podcast! If you want to listen to the episode, highly recommended to hear the pronunciation, it can be found here:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1685008/8655320

Merci et bienvenue mes amis! Thank you and welcome my friends! Come join me as we journey across Francia and Hispania, what would one day come to be France and Spain, in the time of the great Charlemagne in the oldest surviving epic French poem la Chanson de Roland.

As we discussed in our St Patrick episode, Gaul was taken from the crumbling Roman empire by the Franks in 468 to become Francia. Over the years by rebellion or invasion, Francia begins to fall apart, likely due in part to weak kings. The Frankish kings become more of a figurehead as the majordomo or Mayor of the Palace, a functionary position that started in the 6th century, begin to gain more and more of the power in the country. Though in theory the Mayor is a functionary chosen by the people, by the 7th century they become the de facto rulers while the kingship becomes more of a ceremonial role. In 680, Pepin of Herstal (pay-pon of air-stal) becomes Mayor and reunites Francia into one kingdom again. The title Mayor of the Palace was not necessarily hereditary but that was sorta how it happened. When Charles Martell, which translates to 'the hammer' dies, his two sons from his first marriage, Pépin le Bref, that is Pepin the Short and his older brother Carloman succeed their father to the mayoral seat. They both share the title and on paper are corulers though each has his own half of the kingdom as his domain.

Charles Martell was a very religious man. The brothers were brought up in the church, studying under the tutelage of the monks of Saint Denis. When they came to power, they continued their father's work to Christianize Francia. They supported Saint Boniface (bonny-fahs) in his mission to evangelize to the Germanic tribes and worked to reform the Frankish church.

Carloman decides he is more called to monastic life, in 747 he leaves the ruling to his brother, though he intends to maintain the title to pass on to his heir, Drogo.

Pepin takes control of Francia and annexes his brother's lands into his own. His family is not thrilled by this. Pepin and Carloman had a half brother named Grifo (grief-oh) from their father's second marriage. Pepin and Carloman apparently never accepted their new stepmom, preferring to pretend like the wedding never happened and treating their half brother as illegitimate. So when they were divvying up their father's dominion, they deliberately overlooked Grifo. Grifo had been plotting and scheming apparently because he uses the confusion of Pepin seizing his brother's lands as an opportunity to attack, leading a revolt against Pepin.

Pepin quells the rebellion and succeeds in uniting the country. He then decides that this silliness has gone on long enough. In a power move, in the year 751, Pepin forces the Frankish king Childeric III (shill-dare-ick) to abdicate and live out the rest of his life in a monastery. He is aided in this by Pope Zachary and is declared King, bringing an end to the Merovingian (mare-uh-vin-jee-uhn) dynasty and beginning the rule of the Carolingians. (Care-uh-lin-jee-uhn)

Drogo, son of Carloman is not pleased with this. Seeing his birthright slipping through his hands he leads another failed revolt with the help of Grifo.

Pepin continues the reforms both legal and ecclesiastical of his father and of Boniface. He supports Pope Stephen II against the invading Lombards, a Germanic people from the Italian peninsula. He also gifts land to the Pope laying the foundation for the Papal states. As a reward he is again anointed king by a second pope, this time alongside his sons Carloman and Charles who were to be his heirs. Stephen further decrees that no other person should become king of Francia Who was not of the sacred line of Pepin, beginning the rise of France's divine right monarchy.

Pepin quashed a number of rebellions and led many conquests throughout his reign until his death in 768. He was one of the most successful and influential monarchs of the time. He was succeeded by his sons, just as was decreed by the pope.

Similar to how he and his own brother Carloman were both granted the title of their father, his sons Carloman and Charles are jointly anointed as co kings. 3 short years later though, Carloman dies leaving Charles as sole ruler of Francia in 771.

As protector of the church he leads a series of incursions against his non Christian neighbours, unseating the Lombards, forcing the conversion of the Saxons by pain of death and pushing into Spain, which at the time was controlled by Muslims. People of the time referred to these Muslim people as Saracens

On Christmas in the year 800 he is declared emperor of Rome. He is given the epithet "Magnus" which means "the great" in Latin, the national language at the time. So he becomes Carolus Magnus, or Charles Magnus, Charlemagne or as we know him, Charlemagne.

The reign of Charlemagne ushers in the Carolingian Renaissance, a time similar to the better known Italian renaissance. During this time there was an increased interest and emphasis on things like art, literature, religious and historical studies and much more.

Charlemagne dies in 814 and was buried in Aachen Cathedral. He had 3 legitimate sons but only his youngest, Louis the Pious lived long enough to take the throne.

In 1165 Charlemagne was canonized as a saint by antipope Paschal III though this was soon overturned by the church in 1179 when he was demoted to Cultus Confirmed and as such is termed "Blessed" rather than Saint. His day of celebration is January 28th.

The chansons des gestes (shan-son day jhest) were originally composed and performed by trouvére (true-v-air) who were active from at least the 11th century to perhaps as late as the 15th century in France. Trouvére are often times referred to erroneously as synonymous with troubadours and minstrels.

While these are roughly contemporary, troubadours are considered to be somewhat older and were active in the southern regions of France. They composed in a Provençal (pro-von-sall) dialect of lenga d'òc, (long-a dock) that is the Occitan (uck-si-tohn) language. This is a romance language spoken in Monaco, as well as parts of Spain, Italy and France. The Provençal dialect to which I referred is from southern France specifically, namely the Provence region. These seem to be originally upper class, knights and nobility for example while later we start to see the upper middle class, merchant's children and those with background in the clergy while some have even identified themselves as poor or at least from poor families. The romantic notion of the itinerant poet and musician that most of us think of when we hear talk of troubadours is more closely related to minstrels. Troubadours themselves, while some did travel, were mostly active in a given area, living and working in the service of a patron. While there are different classes of their material they are best known for their romances, telling tales of courtly love and chivalry.

Trouvére on the other hand were active in the north of France, composing in old French and sang primarily of historic events, giving epic narratives, the chansons des gestes. Among these is the chanson de Roland, the song of Roland. Otherwise trouvére can be seen as an offshoot of the troubadour movement, being chiefly inspired and heavily influenced by them.

It is debated whether the poems of these were recited or whether they were set to music. What is known is that they used repetition of lines in the poem believed to create a hypnotic effect to draw their listeners in and make them experience the stories they were hearing on a deeper level.

By contrast, minstrels were more entertainers. While they could receive patronage and be retained by a court, they were best known as wanderers. Some composed their own works but they mostly recited and embellished the works of others. They were better known as entertainers and performers than as composers. Singing songs, playing music and reciting poetry. Many were also dancers and jugglers, some employed trained animals and/or worked as court jesters.

La Chanson de Roland is the oldest great work of French literature still in existence and is one of the greatest, most notable and celebrated examples of the art of the chanson de geste. It tells the story of the battle of Roncevaux (ron-se-voh) Pass in 778. It's date of composition has popularly been narrowed down to 1040 to 1120. Many believe that it was written between 1100-1120 as a form of propaganda to promote the justness of the first crusade of 1096 to 1099. Proponents of this theory cite that it parallels the events of the first crusade while those who argue for an earlier date say it was inspired by the Castilian campaigns and was an inspiration FOR the first crusade, not the other way around. In this argument the first crusade would perhaps have been seen as the continuation and ultimate endgame of the Carolingian reconquest of Spanish lands from the Saracens.

The song of Roland tells the story of young Roland, nephew to Charlemagne, France's mightiest warrior and his defense of Roncevaux Pass to protect the rear of the Frankish army.

A little bit of history. Aquitaine, a region in the far southwest of France at the feet of the Pyrenees (les Pyrénées (lay peer-in-ay) en française) which forms the border between France and Spain, was peopled by the Aquitani, related to the Iberians and who spoke an archaic form of the Basque language. It becomes a Roman province after the Roman conquest of Gaul.

Basque by the bye describes an ethnic group centered on the southwestern edge of the Pyrenees including parts of modern southern France and northern Spain. This group was made up of individual tribes with a shared language and culture. Chief among these were the Aquitainians and the Vascones or Gascones as they were known in French also known as Basque (all of these are derived from the latin vasco for which the group was named.) Of particular note is the Basque kingdom of Nevarre and it's capital Pamplona, situated right in the middle between Frankish territories and those of the Umayyads. This area seems to have flipflopped back and forth between allegiance to the Franks and the Umayyads who would sometimes use it as a staging point for raids into Frankish territories.

Hundreds of years later, in 418 Rome calls in the Visigoths as foederati. Foederati were sort of mercenaries who were granted certain benefits and allowed to settle within imperial lands. The Visigoths come in and settle in what was then south western Gaul. They have a falling out with Rome and create their own kingdom in these lands and set up Toulouse as their capital. In 507 they are defeated by the Franks in their conquest of Gaul. They flee across the Pyrenees into Hispania.

The conquering franks setup Aquitaine as a duchy to control the Basque Country in the western edge of the Pyrenees, straddling the border between modern France and Spain. These Frankish dukes are far removed from the central empire and become more autonomous rulers than loyal frankish subjects. They seem to feel more kinship and loyalty for their neighbours the Basque and by 680 an independent Aquitaine-Basque territory briefly emerges.

Around 711 the Saracens of the Umayyad Caliphate expand into Hispania, defeating the Visigoths, gaining control of the Iberian peninsula and establish the Emirate of Cordova.

In 721 the people of Aquitaine successfully held off the expansion of the Umayyads at the battle of Toulouse. It is said that in 720 Pope Gregory II sent three baskets of blessed bread to king Odo. Just before the battle, Odo had the bread broken up and given out to his men until the bread was gone. Everyone who had tasted the bread emerges from the battle completely unscathed.

Battered but not beaten, the Umayyads return around 732. The Aquitainians are unable to hold them back this time around and like the prodigal son from the parable, they turn to the Franks. Their ruler, Odo the Great swears allegiance to the Franks, bringing his people back into the fold and in return the Frankish army led by Charles Martell push the Umayyads back at the battle of Tours. (T-OO-r)

There would continue to be tension in this area with a constant back and forth of expansions from the Franks and the Umayyads while the Basque country was caught in the middle.

Things change in 750 with the Abbasid revolution which ends with the assassination of the ruling family of the Umayyads. The Abbasids among other differences, were much more accepting of people of other lands and faiths.

Abd ar-Rahman I, (ab-dull-rah-mon)a survivor of the massacre of the Umayyads flees his homeland. After much wandering, he arrives in Hispania where he maneuvers his way into power until he manages to take Cordova and declares himself emir.

The Abbasid Wali, or governors in the territory are not thrilled with this development but don't seem to be confident in their ability to take the land back from Abd al-Rahman. This leads Sulayman al-Arabi (sue-lay-mon hal-a-rob-ee)to send a delegation to Charlemagne, asking for Frankish aid in exchange for his allegiance and that of Husayn, Wali of Zaragoza and Abu Taur of Huesca. (A-bOO tour of h-wes-ska)Sulayman intimates to Charlemagne that the invasion of al Andalus, (al and-ah-loo-s) Muslim controlled Hispania, will be an easy campaign and Charlemagne seeing free territory up for grabs and a perfect opportunity to extend the reach of his religion, as well as his own power, naturally agrees. In 778 he crosses the Pyrenees at the head of his army to attack.

Sulayman al-Arabi welcomes Charlemagne into his city of Barcelona and the two march together to visit Husayn in Zaragoza so Charlemagne can accept his surrender and fealty. When they get there Husayn is like I promised what? Nope, doesn't ring a bell… Charlemagne and his Franks lay siege to the city for over a month with neither side coming out ahead. They negotiate and Charlemagne agrees to withdraw his troops in exchange for the release of Frankish prisoners as well as a large amount of gold.

At this time the Basque territories were aligned, if not exactly loyal, with the Franks. This region was a sort of a swing state, it acted as a buffer zone against the Saracens for the Franks and, as i mentiones before, had been used as a staging ground against Francia by the Saracens. Wanting to consolidate his power in this vital territory, he eliminates potential threats, that is those people he thought maybe liked the Muslims more than him. Then he has several strategic cities and forts in the area destroyed including having the walls around the Basque capital Pamplona torn down. Some sources say he destroyed the whole city but they can at least agree that the walls came tumbling down. This was so if the Basque did decide they liked the Muslims more, they would not be able to use this city as a staging ground anymore.

The Basque, understandably, were not real happy about this. If they weren't more inclined towards the Muslim Saracens, they certainly were now.

As the Frankish army were passing through the Pyrenees on their way back home, A guerilla band of Basque fighters use their knowledge of the terrain to ambush the baggage train and the relatively small rear guard of the Franks at Roncevaux pass.

The Franks were better armed and armoured and had a number of warriors of note including one Roland. While the Basque had the high ground, superior knowledge of the terrain and the element of surprise. The battle was fierce and drawn out but in the end the Frankish rearguard was slaughtered to the man. The victors sacked the baggage, taking much of the gold the franks had been given and slip away into the night.

And now to La Chanson de Roland.

According to the author, at the opening of the story, Charles (Charlemagne) has been in Spain for seven years and has conquered all the land except the city of Zaragoza where king Marsile reigns.

King Marsile calls his lords and advisors in to a council to decide what to do. He lays out the problem saying they don't have the strength to overcome Charles and do not have the means to raise said army, so what do they do? The wisest man among them, a man named Blancandrin (blan-cand-ran) speaks up. He advises the king to send extravagant gifts, including bears and lions and packs of trained dogs, seven hundred camels and fifty score molted falcons (that is birds that had reached maturity after having molted off the feathers from their awkward teenage years) along with four hundred mules and fifty chariots, all loaded down with gold and silver. Along with ten or twenty young hostages. Blancandrin volunteers his own son as the first. They are to be sent to Charles in pursuit of peace. They are to tell Charlemagne that he can just head on back to France to count all his new wealth and Marsile himself would travel to him to swear fealty and accept the Christian faith at Michaelmas. (Mick-l-mis) But this was to be an act to get the Franks back to France where the army would disperse back to their own homes. Blancandrin advises that Michaelmas was to be allowed to come and go and they would not keep their promise. The hostages, including Blancandrin's own son would lose their heads but it would be better for their children to lose their heads than that they should lose Spain. The king agrees to follow this advice and send messengers to Charlemagne.

The scene shifts to Charlemagne and his army. They are encamped at Cordova where they have won a great victory. They have destroyed the city's walls and towers, plundered much wealth and slaughtered everyone who would not accept the Christian faith. The messengers come upon a gathering of fifteen thousand chevalier including Roland and his best friend Oliver. (Olivier in French) At their center looking so kingly and radiant that the men did not have to ask which is he, is Charlemagne.

Blancandrin is among the messengers and he steps up to greet the mighty Charlemagne in the name of God. He tells him that Marsile has been studying the scriptures and has sent them ahead of lavish gifts in hope of peace and that the king would love nothing more than to convert to the Christian faith in Aix, in front of the mighty Charlemagne and his court.

Charlemagne in his wisdom sits silent for a time before asking how does he know he can trust them. Blancandrin tells him that he can take hostages including his own son as surety.

Having much to think about, Charlemagne calls it a day, deciding to sleep on the matter. The next day, after mass and matins, Charlemagne calls together his knights and advisors to figure out what they should do.

Roland steps up and is like whoa now, wait a second. After we took Seville, (se-vee-ya) Marsile did this exact same thing and you sent a pair of French counts, Bazan and Bastile to negotiate the peace. But Marsile cut off their heads and mounted them on the walls of the city. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Instead, Roland advises them to march on Zaragoza and not leave until the city is destroyed, even if it takes their whole lives. They would find revenge for their own.

The other lords stand up and tell Charlemagne that he is too wise to listen to fools and that anyone who doesn't agree to accept the peace is just trying to get them all killed. Furthermore, if they continue the attack against their weakened enemy who wants to convert, they would be committing a great sin.

Charlemagne agrees to accept the proffered peace and send a knight to negotiate the details. His closest advisors including Roland and Oliver ask to be allowed to go but the emperor says that he needs them and their advice with him. So it can't be any of his twelve peers, his closest friends and advisors. It must be a lord of sufficient enough value that he will be listened to but not so important that he will be missed so Roland volunteers his step father Ganelon, who had been the chief voice calling the king to accept the peace. All his chevalier are like, oooooh, good choice!

Ganelon is not happy he's like yeah I wanted peace, I just didn't want to be the one to stick my neck out for it. He feels that Roland only volunteered him to get rid of his step father, hoping Ganelon would end up like Bazan and Bastile, silencing Roland's chief opposition in court. But the emperor insists and when emperor Charlemagne tells you to do something, ya do it.

Ganelon agrees to go but is not happy he starts going off on Roland, calling him out for trying to get his own stepfather killed. Roland is just like dude, whatever. I aint even bovvered. Besides you need someone with intelligence for this kind of thing so why doesn't he just run on home and let Roland take his place.

Ganelon is like no, the king told me to go so I'm going, you're not going to steal my thunder. But when i get there, you better believe I'm gonna be trying to figure out how to get back at you. Roland apparently finds this funny and starts laughing in his face. Which, surprise surprise, makes Ganelon even more upset.

Ganelon tells Charlemagne, let's get this over with. So the king hands him his glove and staff which is a sign that the bearer of the glove speaks with the authority of its owner, the king. Ganelon is literally acting as the hand of the king. But when Ganelon reaches to take the glove, he drops it to the ground which the French read as a bad omen. Charlemagne sends him on his way anyway but absolves him of his sins first, you know, just in case.

Ganelon rushes over to talk with Blancandrin. These two are both slippery, sly fellows and seem to get along well. Blancandrin starts by praising Charlemagne but he couldn't help but notice how foolish his advisors were and it is dangerous for a great king to be guided by fools. Ganelon responds by saying the whole cause of everything wrong in the world and the only one trying to perpetuate this war is Roland. But if he were to say turn up dead….

So Ganelon and Blancandrin pinky promise to kill Roland together and the two ride together to go see King Marsile.

King Marsile is chilling, hanging out with his twenty thousand knights when they see Ganelon and Blancandrin come up hand in hand. All conversation stops and it says no one even so much as took a breath in anticipation of what the two would say.

Ganelon announces that he has come from Emperor Charles the Great who demands that Marsile surrender and take up the Christian faith. In return Charlemagne will give him half of Spain to rule, under Charlemagne of course, while Roland rules the other half. Marsile is angry and he is about to throw a golden dart at Ganelon to kill him when he is stopped by his advisers. Ganelon, seeing the king brandishing his weapon, loosens his sword in its scabbard declaring that he would not go quietly and he would not go alone. The kingsmen manage to calm the king down and Ganelon tells him hey, don't get mad at me, I'm just the messenger, see look, and hands him a letter with Charlemagne's seal. The king reads it and again flies into a rage saying he is going to show Charles just what he thinks of his little proposal by killing his messenger. Ganelon, hearing this puts his back to a tree and draws his sword but the men manage to get Marsile off to the side in a private council with only his most trusted advisors. Blancandrin tells them that Ganelon is a friend to their cause and will help them. Marsile is like, well why didn't you say so before! Send him in! So Blancandrin goes and returns hand in hand with Ganelon again. The king apologizes and offers Ganelon an outrageous gift in recompense. Then he asks him, 'so, what can you tell me about Charles? I heard he's over two hundred years old and well past his prime. When is he going to retire and stop going to war?' Ganelon tells him that Charlemagne is just the greatest and he won't retire as long as Roland is there, whispering in the King's ear, stirring up trouble. So they plot how best to handle Roland. Marsile says well hey, I've got four hundred thousand knights, why don't i just attack and wipe them all out and poof, problem solved! But Ganelon says he has a better idea. He advises Marsile to accept the terms of peace and Charles will return home. Guarding the baggage train will be a small rear guard of twenty thousand and Ganelon can make sure Roland and Oliver are among them.

After Charlemagne is out of sight, they should attack Roland and his twenty thousand men with a hundred thousand of their own and kill them all. Then between that loss and not having Roland urging him to wage war, Charlemagne will retire and never go to war again. So they swear to their plan on a sacred book of Mohammed's law. Then the Lords gathered there take turns giving Ganelon lavish gifts as way of thanks. Marsile gives him the key to the city and promises to send ten mules loaded with gold to his home after the deed is done, with ten more to follow every year. With this, Ganelon returns to Charlemagne to put his evil plan into motion.

Once again, having attended mass and matins, Charlemagne is hanging out in the orchard with his knights. Ganelon comes up and presents the king with the key to Zaragoza and assurance that more treasure is following behind. He hands over the hostages into the king's keeping, apologizing that the caliph is not numbered among them. He concocts a story about how, on hearing Marsile wanted to convert and seek peace, the caliph stormed off in a huff with Marsile's three hundred thousand men to head back home. But as they set sail a storm blew in and all of them were killed. So no worries about this being a secret plot to get you to lower your defenses so we can attack from the rear, there's no army left.

Charlemagne is ecstatic. He praises Ganelon and promises him rich rewards. With that, the emperor has the trumpets blown to signal it is time to pack up camp and head home. The French begin packing up camp. While they are distracted, Marsile's four hundred thousand men march in secret to lay in wait.

That night, the king is plagued with bad dreams. First, he dreams that he is sitting, holding his spear but Ganelon rips it from his grasp and shatters it. Then he dreams that a bear has his hand in its mouth while a leopard is charging in for the kill. But at the last instant a hound charges in to protect the king. The battle of the beasts is fierce, the outcome, uncertain. Then the king awakes and they continue their march.

As they come to the mountains, an uneasy Charlemagne assembles a rear guard and asks for someone to lead it. Ganelon proposes Roland. Surprise, surprise. Charlemagne is not happy. Roland is his nephew and most trusted companion. He leads the vanguard, what will that leave him if his most trusted general is not at the front? Roland isn't thrilled either but he will do his duty, swearing that if he were in charge of the rear guard, no harm would befall a single pack mule. Both him and Charlemagne call out Ganelon, sensing some sort of trap but Ganelon just looks up at the sky and whistles nonchalantly.

Roland asks Charles for his bow, using the opportunity to take a dig at his stepfather by saying he would not drop it as Ganelon had done when given the glove and staff earlier. Saddened, but seeing no other choice, Charlemagne agrees and gives Roland his bow. He tells his nephew that he will leave him with half the army under his command but Roland stops him. He tells him that he needs those men at the front, in case anything were to happen so he would be protected. Instead he asks the king to choose twenty thousand men to follow Roland and guard the rear. Among these men are Roland, Oliver and the rest of the twelve peers, the greatest and best warriors France has to offer, the bravest, mightiest of men, the epitome of knighthood. Each volunteers for the position, even knowing it was likely a trap.

Rollánd sits on his steed,

and nigh him rides

His comrade Olivier.

There came Gerin, (jear-on)

Gerier (jear-ee-ay) the brave,

Othon (oat-on) and Berengier; (beer-on-jhee-ay)

There came Sansun,

Anseïs (on-say-ee-s)the fierce;

there came

Also Gerard de Roussillon (rue-see-yawn)the old,

Together with the

Gascuin Engelier. (Gas-con on-jhel-ee-ay)

The Archbishop said:—

"I, by my head, will go!"

"—And I with you,"

exclaimed the Count Gualtier; (gull-tee-ay)

"Rollánd's own man am I,

and follow him!"

From all are chosen

twenty thousand knights.

Charlemagne and his men clear the pass and are back on French soil but the King's thoughts are on Roland and his men. He hides his face and weeps for these brave few who would never weep for themselves nor regret their lot. The men notice and ask their emperor what is wrong. Seeing he can no longer hide it, Charlemagne weeps openly for his nephew, telling his men that he had had a prophetic dream that Ganelon would destroy the army of France through treachery. Yet Ganelon was not taken, nor did the king or any of his men turn back to help.

Meanwhile, back in Zaragoza, Marsile and his vast host are preparing to waylay Roland and his twenty thousand. His nephew steps up and swears to kill Roland. He asks for eleven of the best men they have, hand selected by the king to go with him to challenge the twelve peers.

With this the Saracens don their arms and armour, all gleaming in the bright sun. The trumpets sounding the advance.

Roland and his men hear the trumpet's call and prepare themselves for war. Roland calls for his men to be brave and do their duty, to set an example of what a knight should be, to give their all, even to their last breath to let no man say there was a single coward among them. Oliver rides up on a rise and sees the vast army marching towards them. He can hear the rumbling of their feet even at that distance. He returns and tells Roland what he saw, saying it is due to the treason of Ganelon. Roland stops him, telling him not to speak ill of his step father. The guy has to know that this step father he is defending has committed treason against his king and country and is out to murder him, and yet he is sitting there defending his stepfathers name to his best friend.

Oliver addresses the men, telling them that he has seen those who march against them. They Are vast, at least a hundred thousand strong. He encourages them to be brave and stand firm. They reply "cursed be those who fly the field! Ready to die, not one shall fail you here."

Oliver takes Roland aside and tells him the numbers against them are to great, asking his friend to sound his horn, his mighty olifant, an olifant is a French horn made from an elephant's tusk. Contemporary horns could also be made of metal. Sometime around 1650 we see the cor de chasse appear. This shortens the long body of the horn by curling it into a ring making it more convenient to carry and use on horseback without sacrificing volume. In 1818 Germans Heinrich Stölzel and Friedrich Blümel come up with the concept of adding valves to make it so you can play different notes easily. In 1839 Francois Périnet modifies these German valves to include pistons, giving the instrument a chromatic scale and allowing simple key changes, giving us the French horn we know so well. But i digress. Oliver asks Roland to sound his horn so Charlemagne can turn and help them in this fight. Roland refuses, saying that to call for help would be an act of cowardice and would bring dishonour. Dishonour on him, dishonour on his family, dishonour on his cow… and most importantly would bring dishonour on his country and its ruler. Instead he will feed his mighty sword, the legendary Durendal, with the blood of his Saracen foes. He fights for God, king and country, he does not want it said that he was afraid of a bunch of pagans. He vows to strike one thousand, seven hundred blows with Durendal himself and the rest of the French too will bravely strike their foes and the Spanish arrayed against them will fall, no matter their numbers. Oliver is like, seriously, there are a LOT of guys there, we are insanely outnumbered, it would be no shame to ask for help given the odds against them. Roland again refuses. He would rather die than live a single day in dishonour.

Oliver is wise, while Roland is brave and headstrong. The Two are best friends, Oliver grounds Roland with his wisdom, the two balance each other. Both are great warriors and will fight to the death but right now Oliver is not happy with his friend. The enemy is close enough now that they can see them and he tells Roland, look at the huge army charging at us, now look at our little group. We are vastly outnumbered, because of your stubborn pride all of these great, brave and honourable knights will die. But if you would just sound the horn, the rest of the army could join them and they could win the field and these great chevaliers could live to serve their king another day.

In reply Roland addresses everyone there. He tells them the king has chosen them and trusts them to guard the pass because he knows that they are not cowards. He will fight with his Durendal which Charlemagne had given him so that when he is fallen, whoever wields it next will know that this was the sword of a great man.

The archbishop Turpin preaches a sermon to the men, saying:

Seigneurs Barons, Carle

left us here: for him,

Our King, our duty is to die,

to aid

In saving Christendom,

the Faith of Christ

Uphold. There, battle

will ye have, for there

Before your eyes behold

the Saracens.

Confess your sins, and

for God's mercy pray!

For your soul's cure I

absolution give....

If you should die, as

holy martyrs ye

Will fall, and places find

in Paradise!

He blesses them and absolves them of their sins, unburdened by guilt, sure of their duty and final reward they turn their eyes to their enemy ready to fight and to die, to give their all for their cause. With this in mind, they advance, Roland at their head, leading the way as they charge into the enemy lines.

Oliver, riding right behind Roland, feels pity for his brave companions. He chastises Roland telling him that because he did not blow his horn to call for help, Charlemagne, their king has no knowledge of what is going on or of Ganelon's treachery. When all these poor, brave Frenchmen are slain, it will not have been the king's fault, and it certainly won't be the fault of these chevaliers when they lose the battle, but all blame is on Roland and his stubborn pride. Then Oliver addresses his companions, urging them on "Seigneurs Barons, recoil not from the foe,

In God's name! bearing ever this in mind,

Hard blows to deal and hard blows to endure

Forget we not the war-cry of King Carle!"

With this, the whole french army shout with one voice the warcry of their king: Montjoie! (Mon-jhoy)

With renewed courage and purpose, they charge into the waiting saracens and battle begins.

I am going to leave this here. We will return next episode to learn the fate of Roland and his men.