The Song of Roland

One of the features of epics is that the protagonist, quite often, is a warrior. Gilgamesh, Rama, Achilles, Ulysses, all of these protagonists are fighters, warriors, and the epics that contain them are full of massive battles, duels, magical weapons, and other fighters. The fact that all of these epics are so fixated on battle is a reflection of their warrior culture. The Song of Roland, produced in the warrior culture of medieval France, is no exception. Even the priest within The Song of Roland, Archbishop Turpin, is a warrior, and slays many pagans by the end of the epic.

What sets the culture that produced The Song of Roland apart is that it was a monotheistic one. Unlike the Mesopotamia that produced Gilgamesh and the India that produced The Ramayana, the Franks pray to one god. Saying that there is one god within Roland would be a mistake however. We are frequently introduced to “Mahomet” and “Apollin,” the gods of the (ironically monotheistic) Moors. In this way, there are actually multiple gods within the epic, despite its creators praying to one. While the gods of Gilgamesh and The Ramayana act independently as developed characters themselves. The Christian god of The Song of Roland, whose purpose, it would seem, is solely to help the warriors of the poem to live and fight in battle.

One of the features important in both The Ramayana and The Song of Roland is that the hero adheres to a certain code. In Ramayana this is the code of grace and virtue held by Hindu culture. In The Song of Roland, it is the chivalric codes held by the knights of medieval Europe that include allegiance to one’s king, god, and other rules for conduct, that hold this spot. Of course, Roland adheres to these codes so strictly, that it results in his death. Part of the warrior code, as we discussed in class, consists of fulfilling one’s duties to the king even if it leads to death. Roland refuses to blow his horn when it is clear that his army is outnumbered, it is more shameful to call for reinforcements than to die fighting.