The Song of Roland

The rearguard of Charlemagnes army was attacked in a lonely Pyrenean pass on August 15 778 while it was returning from a successful campaign against Saracen Spain. This skirmish gave rise to a moving account of the war which was preserved in the first French epic poem still in existence. Unknown poets The Song of Roland narrates the story of Lord of the Breton Marches the warrior nephew of Charlemagne who bravely leads his soldiers into combat against the Saracens but perishes in the bloodbath remaining stubborn until the last. The war is depicted in the poems as a conflict between Christianity and paganism and Rolands final stand is the pinnacle of honor and French feudal virtues from the twelfth century.