A review by joelogsliterature
The Song of Roland by Unknown

3.5

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.