Roland
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Roland | |
|---|---|
 A statue of Roland at Metz railway station, France. | |
| Native name | Hrōþiland |
| Died | 15 August 778 |
| Buried | Blaye |
| Allegiance | Frankish |
Roland (French pronunciation:
The story of Roland's death at
Two masterpieces of Italian Renaissance poetry, the Orlando Innamorato and Orlando Furioso (by Matteo Maria Boiardo and Ludovico Ariosto respectively), are even further detached from history than the earlier Chansons, similarly to the later Morgante by Luigi Pulci. Roland is poetically associated with his sword Durendal, his horse Veillantif, and his oliphant horn.
In the late 17th century, French Baroque composer Jean-Baptiste Lully wrote an opera titled Roland, based on the story of the title character.
History
The only historical mention of the actual Roland is in the The passage, which appears in Chapter 9, mentions that Hroudlandus (a Latinization of the Frankish *Hrōþiland, from *hrōþi, "praise"/"fame" and *land, "country") was among those killed in the Battle of Roncevaux Pass:
While he was vigorously pursuing the
Breton March, along with many others died in that skirmish. But this deed could not be avenged at that time, because the enemy had so dispersed after the attack that there was no indication as to where they could be found.[2]
Roland was evidently the first official appointed to direct Frankish policy in
According to legend, Roland was laid to rest in the basilica at Blaye, near Bordeaux, on the site of the citadel.
Medieval icon
Roland was turned into a popular and iconic figure of medieval Europe and its minstrel culture. Many tales made him a nephew of Charlemagne and turned his life into an epic tale of the noble Christian killed by hostile forces, which forms part of the medieval Matter of France.
The tale of Roland's death is retold in the 11th-century poem . The Song contains a highly romanticized account of the Battle of Roncevaux Pass and Roland's death, setting the tone for later fantastical depiction of Charlemagne's court.
It was adapted and modified throughout the Middle Ages, including an influential Latin prose version
Other texts give further legendary accounts of Roland's life. His friendship with
In Norway, the tales of Roland are part of the 13th-century Karlamagnús saga.
In the
Roland appears in
From the 15th century onwards, Roland appears as a central character in a sequence of Italian verse romances as "Orlando", including Morgante by
In Germany, Roland gradually became a symbol of the independence of the growing cities from the local nobility. In the late Middle Ages many cities featured defiant statues of Roland in their marketplaces. The Roland in Wedel was erected in 1450 as symbol of market and Hanseatic justice, and the Roland statue in front of Bremen City Hall (1404) has been listed together with the city hall itself on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites since 2004.
In the Faroe Islands, Roland appears in the ballad of "Runtsivalstríðið" (Battle of Roncevaux).
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The eight phases ofThe Song of Rolandin one picture -
Composed in 1098, the first page of theChanson de Roland(Song of Roland) -
![Attributed arms according to Michel Pastoureau:[3] D'or au lion de gueules, à la bordure engrêlées de sable](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Blason_imaginaire_Roland.svg/245px-Blason_imaginaire_Roland.svg.png)
Attributed arms according to Michel Pastoureau:[3] D'or au lion de gueules, à la bordure engrêlées de sable
![Attributed arms according to Michel Pastoureau:[3] D'or au lion de gueules, à la bordure engrêlées de sable](/File:Blason_imaginaire_Roland.svg)
Legacy
In
In Catalonia Roland (or Rotllà, as it is rendered in Catalan) became a legendary giant. Numerous places in Catalonia (both North and South) have a name related to Rotllà. In step with the trace left by the character in the whole Pyrenean area, Basque Errolan turns up in numerous legends and place-names associated with a mighty giant, usually a heathen, capable of launching huge stones. The Basque word erraldoi (giant) stems from Errol(d)an, as pointed out by the linguist Koldo Mitxelena.[4]
Jean Lannes, a Marshal of the First French Empire, was given the nickname Roland de l'Armée d'Italie, which later became Roland de la Grande Armée, for his bravery and charisma.
A statue of Roland stands in the city of Rolândia in Brazil. The city was established by German immigrants, many of them refugees from Nazi Germany, who named their new home after Roland to represent freedom.[5]
Roland is a servant in the game Fate/Grand Order, portrayed as a faithful servant to god and a righteous paladin.[6]
Roland, a main protagonist in the game Library of Ruina by Project Moon, alludes to the historical character. Their resemblances include both characters' love interest being a woman named Angelica and their reactions to losing her, having a partner/foil figure named Olivier, and owning a Durandal as their signature weapon.
The first boss in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 was named after him.
The English expression "to give a Roland for an Oliver", meaning either to offer a quid pro quo or to give as good as one gets, recalls the Chanson de Roland and Roland's companion Oliver.[7]
References
- ^ Hruodlandus is the earliest Latinised form of his Frankish name Hruodland. It was later Latinised as Rolandus and has been translated into many languages for literary purposes: Italian: Orlando or Rolando, Dutch: Roeland, Spanish: Roldán or Rolando, Basque: Errolan, Portuguese: Roldão or Rolando, Occitan: Rotland, Catalan: Rotllant or Rotllà.
- ^ Dutton, Paul Edward, ed. and trans. Charlemagne's Courtier: The Complete Einhard, pp. 21–22. Peterborough, Ontario, Canada: Broadview Press, 1998. Einhard at the Latin Library.
- ISBN 978-2-02-098984-8.
- ^ "Mintzoaren memoria". El País. 13 September 2004. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
- ISBN 978-8598605272.
- ^ "Roland". 1 June 2022.
- ^ Brown, Lesley, ed. (1993). The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. Vol. 2. Clarendon Press. p. 2618.
Sources
- Lojek, A. – Adamová, K.: "About Statues of Rolands in Bohemia", Journal on European History of Law, Vol. 3/2012, No. 1, s. 136–138. (ISSN 2042-6402).
- Adriana Kremenjas-Danicic (Ed.): Roland's European Paths. Europski dom Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik 2006 (ISBN 953-95338-0-5).
- Susan P. Millinger, "Epic Values: The Song of Roland", in Jason Glenn (ed), The Middle Ages in Texts and Texture: Reflections on Medieval Sources (Toronto, University of Toronto, 2012).
External links
- . The American Cyclopædia. 1879.
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 23 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 464–465.
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