Roland
Roland was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. The historical Roland was military governor of the Breton March, responsible for defending Francia's frontier against the Bretons. His only historical attestation is in Einhard's Vita Karoli Magni, which notes he was part of the Frankish rearguard killed by rebellious Basques in Iberia at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass.
The story of Roland's death at Roncevaux Pass was embellished in later medieval and Renaissance literature. The first and most famous of these epic treatments was the Old French Chanson de Roland of the 11th century.
Two masterpieces of Italian Renaissance poetry, the Orlando Innamorato and Orlando Furioso, are 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 Vita Karoli Magni by Charlemagne's courtier and biographer Einhard. Einhard refers to him as Hruodlandus Brittannici limitis praefectus, indicating that he presided over the Breton March, Francia's border territory against the Bretons. The passage, which appears in Chapter 9, mentions that Hroudlandus was among those killed in the Battle of Roncevaux Pass:Roland was evidently the first official appointed to direct Frankish policy in Breton affairs, as local Franks under the Merovingian dynasty had not previously pursued any specific relationship with the Bretons. Their frontier castle districts such as Vitré, Ille-et-Vilaine, south of Mont Saint-Michel, are now divided between Normandy and Brittany. The distinctive culture of this region preserves the present-day Gallo language and legends of local heroes such as Roland. Roland's successor in Brittania Nova was Guy of Nantes, who like Roland, was unable to exert Frankish expansion over Brittany and merely sustained a Breton presence in the Carolingian Empire.
According to legend, Roland was laid to rest in the basilica at Blaye, near Bordeaux, on the site of the citadel.
'' in one picture
Legacy
Roland was a popular and iconic figure in 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 of Roland, where he is equipped with the olifant and an unbreakable sword, enchanted by various Christian relics, named Durendal. 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 Historia Caroli Magni, which also includes Roland's battle with a Saracen giant named Ferracutus who is only vulnerable at his navel. The story was later adapted in the anonymous Franco-Venetian epic L'Entrée d'Espagne and in the 14th-century Italian epic La Spagna, attributed to the Florentine Sostegno di Zanobi and likely composed between 1350 and 1360.
Other texts give further legendary accounts of Roland's life. His friendship with Olivier and his engagement with Olivier's sister Aude are told in Girart de Vienne by Bertrand de Bar-sur-Aube. Roland's youth and the acquisition of his horse Veillantif and sword are described in Aspremont. Roland also appears in Quatre Fils Aymon, where he is contrasted with Renaud de Montauban against whom he occasionally fights.
In Norway, the tales of Roland are part of the 13th-century Karlamagnús saga.
In the Divine Comedy Dante sees Roland, named Orlando as it is usual in Italian literature, in the Heaven of Mars together with others who fought for the faith.
Roland appears in Entrée d'Espagne, a 14th-century Franco-Venetian chanson de geste and La Spagna, a 14th-century Italian epic.
From the 15th century onwards, he appears as a central character in a sequence of Italian verse romances as "Orlando", including Morgante by Luigi Pulci, Orlando Innamorato by Matteo Maria Boiardo, and Orlando furioso by Ludovico Ariosto. The Orlandino of Pietro Aretino then waxed satirical about the "cult of personality" of Orlando the hero. The Orlando narrative inspired several composers, amongst whom were Claudio Monteverdi, Jean-Baptiste Lully, Antonio Vivaldi and George Frideric Handel, who composed an Italian-language opera with Orlando.
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 has been listed together with the city hall itself on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites since 2004.
In Aragón there are several placenames related to Roldán or Rolando, including the mountain pass Roland's Breach and the rock formation Salto de Roldán.
In Catalonia Roland became a legendary giant. Numerous places in Catalonia 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 stems from Errolan'', as pointed out by the linguist Koldo Mitxelena.
In the Faroe Islands, Roland appears in the ballad of .
A statue of Roland also stands in the city of Rolândia in Brazil. This city was established by German immigrants, many of whom were refugees from Nazi Germany, who named their new home after Roland to represent freedom.