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On 15 August 778, Charlemagne's army was returning from a successful expedition against Saracen Spain when its rearguard was ambushed in a remote Pyrenean pass. Out of this skirmish arose a stirring tale of war, which was recorded in the oldest extant epic poem in French. The... Read Full Overview

Charles the king, our emperor great,
Has been a full seven years in Spain.
As far as the sea he conquered this haughty land.
Not a single castle remains standing in his path

One of the crowning achievements of medieval literature, The Song of Roland tells the story of the battle of Roncesvals in 778 and enters into the very soul of a gallant, brutal, and tumultuous age.

The first and greatest of French literature's epics, this 11th-century tale of romance and heroism embodies all the power and majesty of its predecessors from other cultures. Its narrative framework echoes that of Greek and German myths, and it melds historic accounts from... Read Full Overview

In the year 778 A.D., Charles the Great, King of the Franks, returned from a military expedition into Spain, whither he had been led by opportunities offered through dissensions among the Saracens who then dominated that country. On the 15th of August, while his army was marching... Read Full Overview

Gerard Brault's 1984 student edition of La Chanson de Roland has become a standard text in classrooms. It contains the text and translation from his 1978 edition along with an introduction illuminating the poem's historical and literary background and significance... Read Full Overview

This is the classical epic, glorifying the heroism of Charlemagne in the 778 battle between the Franks and the Moors. Penned by an anonymous poet, it describes in detail the betrayal and slaughter of Charlemagne's army under Roland at Renceavaux and Charlemagne's bitter revenge... Read Full Overview

No king, no captain ever stood with better. Roland looks up on the mountains and slopes, sees the French dead, so many good men fallen, and weeps for them, as a great warrior weeps: "Barons, my lords, may God give you his grace, may he grant Paradise to all your souls, make them... Read Full Overview