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3.26 AVERAGE
3.26 AVERAGE
Another text on my reading list for university! This is a French epic about the warrior nephew of Charlemagne, Roland, with a conflict meant to be a symbol for the war between Christianity and Islam.
This is epic, but without much characterisation, in contrast to the Icelandic sagas I have been enjoying so much. The author shows you should support someone and idolise them merely be telling us they are "virtuous" or "treacherous" and then sharing their religion, and then seems to expect you to feel great emotion when many meet their demise. That did not pay off for me.
I'm glad I have read it, but it is not a text that I loved.
This is epic, but without much characterisation, in contrast to the Icelandic sagas I have been enjoying so much. The author shows you should support someone and idolise them merely be telling us they are "virtuous" or "treacherous" and then sharing their religion, and then seems to expect you to feel great emotion when many meet their demise. That did not pay off for me.
I'm glad I have read it, but it is not a text that I loved.
I'm on pg. 50, but only because we skipped the Introduction. I'm already loving this book!
Part of the canon of Middle Ages Europe, it is almost essential reading for someone interested in the period, but my rating is not meant to reflect historical significance. The second half of the poem is approached with all the grace of a sloth falling out of a tree. I like the idea that that part is an addition of the scribe who wrote the extant copy because the beginning is pretty strong. You should really read the main dramatic beats aloud for maximal effect. Maybe improvise a bit yourself on the formulas like the old jongleurs might have done. Anyway, I´d venture to say that most of the value of this text lies in its themes, especially insofar as they relate to the Crusades and people of the time: honor and chivalry, the ideal knight, (righteous) vengeance and mercy, manifest destiny, the role of God and feudalism. The structure is also fairly interesting with the tense shifting creating a dream-like atemporality at times and with the intra- and inter-laisse repetition being a nice basic demonstration of classical rhetoric, to greater or lesser effect at times. While lost in translation, it is also worthwhile to read the Anglo-Norman Old French excerpts provided to get some idea for the aesthetic quality of the meter, mainly the final (stressed) vowel assonance, which while loose, might remind one of Beowulf or other such compositions.
I originally read this in an older Penguins Classics edition with the translation by Sayers. I would suggest perhaps looking at both. I would not doubt if there's a great Norton critical edition as well. The introduction of the older Penguin edition discusses some things not hinted at in the reviewed version.
I originally read this in an older Penguins Classics edition with the translation by Sayers. I would suggest perhaps looking at both. I would not doubt if there's a great Norton critical edition as well. The introduction of the older Penguin edition discusses some things not hinted at in the reviewed version.
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
A pretty good read for a medieval tale about a battle between the Christians and the Pagans.
It's actually based on real life events, though the poet took liberties with the villains and the bloody and tragic death of Roland.
A lot of repetition, but this comes as no surprise.
It's actually based on real life events, though the poet took liberties with the villains and the bloody and tragic death of Roland.
A lot of repetition, but this comes as no surprise.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
This is a very famous epic poem from Medieval France, sometimes even called the “National Epic” of France. But in reading it… I have no idea why. I wouldn’t call it a good story that I’d recommend. The basics of the story itself were interesting: Charlemagne’s Army, in returning to France from the wars in Muslim Spain, has the hero Roland and his peers guarding them in the rear. They are attacked by the Muslim forces, and most of the story is Roland and his group’s heroic last stand to protect the rest of Charlemagne’s army. So it’s a heroic last stand story, similar to 300. What’s not to like about that? Basically, the portrayal of Muslims and non-Europeans is just terribly hateful. Distractingly so. And it’s often blatantly racist. On top of that: the heroic feats of the main characters become just unrealistic, almost like superheroes. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this. El Cid, a similar epic poem from medieval Spain, has a much more developed, respectful, and just interesting take on this subject matter.
Also, this translation felt very awkward and un-poetic. It’s difficult to translate poetry, but I have seen it done much better than this.
Would still recommend reading this for purely historical pursuits, however. If someone desires to look into the literature (good and bad) of the medieval era, this is still a very significant text.
Also, this translation felt very awkward and un-poetic. It’s difficult to translate poetry, but I have seen it done much better than this.
Would still recommend reading this for purely historical pursuits, however. If someone desires to look into the literature (good and bad) of the medieval era, this is still a very significant text.
Absolutely fascinating - kind of "Iliad" but set in early days of French kingdom and instead of Greek Gods, St.Gabriel visits Charlemagne in a dreams to warn him about upcoming danger. Obscure poet Turold might or might have not been responsible for this masterpiece of epic saga that probably used to be recited out loud by the fires and to remind generations about heroic deeds by real people who actually fought at some point in history - naturally it is all embellished (Charlemagne was not two hundred years old, for the start) but names are real and yes, these people actually existed, lived and died very much as described here. So it could be taken as a historical document or poetic memory of something that occurred at the southern border of France. Names and historical figures abound - they can all be checked - focus is exclusively on warriors and their fights, horses and weapons so not much of romance and frills (two single female figures appear and they both faint while men are doing the fights) but fights are fierce and there is a blood everywhere - I am surprised Hollywood have not filmed this, because it reads as some swashbuckling spectacle made for big screen.
Its Christians against Muslims so naturally it reflects its time - I guess this was just around First Crusade - of course we read it differently now and have different sensibility than people back than, however it does describe even enemies as noble and brave in order to make them more dangerous towards our heroes - each knight is listed by name and we got detailed description of what they wore and their image, on both sides. It is not Muslims or their king but Christian lord Ganelon who is the ultimate villain and he gets classic, unforgettable treatment which by the way was quite popular back than.
Excellent - I enjoyed this so much that I might even re-visit it again.
Its Christians against Muslims so naturally it reflects its time - I guess this was just around First Crusade - of course we read it differently now and have different sensibility than people back than, however it does describe even enemies as noble and brave in order to make them more dangerous towards our heroes - each knight is listed by name and we got detailed description of what they wore and their image, on both sides. It is not Muslims or their king but Christian lord Ganelon who is the ultimate villain and he gets classic, unforgettable treatment which by the way was quite popular back than.
Excellent - I enjoyed this so much that I might even re-visit it again.
The Song of Roland is a classic and a beautifully written epic poem, but it is not the greatest of its kind. Other epics like Homer's Odyssey and Beowulf have more entertaining stories, but the Song of Roland stands on its own against the others. What particularly comes to mind is the overt Christian message and the graphic bloody descriptions all done poetically. While The Song of Roland might not be the best epic poem for today's reader it is certainly a fine work and one worth reading.