Many of the French epics centered about the commanding
personality of Charlemagne. After his death he became a figure of legend. He
was said to have reigned one hundred and twenty-five years, to have made a
pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and to have risen from the dead to lead the First
Crusade. Angels inspired his actions. His sword contained the point of the
lance which pierced the Savior's side. His standard was the banner of St.
Peter. Though history shows that Charlemagne had little contact with the
Moslems, in the popular mind he stood forth as the great champion of
Christianity against Islam.
SONG OF ROLAND
The oldest, and at the same time the finest, epic
connected with Charlemagne is the Song of Roland. The poem centers around Roland,
one of the twelve peers of France. When leading the rearguard of Charlemagne's
army out of Spain, Roland is suddenly attacked by the treacherous Moors. He
slays the enemy in heaps with his good sword, Durendal, and only after nearly
all the Franks have perished sounds his magic horn to summon aid. Charlemagne,
fifteen leagues distant, hears its notes and returns quickly. But before help
arrives, Roland has fallen. He dies on the field of battle, with his face to
the foe, and a prayer on his lips that "sweet France" may never be
dishonored. This stirring poem appealed strongly to the martial Normans. A
medieval chronicler relates that just before the battle of Hastings a Norman
minstrel rode out between the lines, tossing his sword in air and catching it
again, as he chanted the song "of Roland and of Charlemagne, of Oliver and
many a brave vassal who lost his life at Roncesvalles."
