Roland

:This article is about historical/legendary figure, for other uses, see Roland (disambiguation).

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Historically, the marquis of Brittany, Roland ('Hruodland' in contemporary spelling) was a Frankish seneschal (or commander) in Charlemagne's service, who was killed in the Battle of Roncevaux Pass by the Basques on 15 August, 778 CE. Contemporary accounts mention him only once, in a brief note in Einhard's Vita Caroli Magni, a biography of Charlemagne. It took several centuries for him to become a "pop icon" in high-medieval minstrel culture.

Related Topics:
Marquis - Brittany - Frankish - Seneschal - Charlemagne - Battle of Roncevaux Pass - Basques - 15 August - 778 - Einhard - Vita Caroli Magni

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By that time, folklore had significantly embroidered his tale: He was said to have been the nephew of Charlemagne, but had been brought up by his mother (the Lady Bertha) as a beggar, living in a cave near Sutri, Italy. At the age of 12, he was told the truth and acknowledged by Charlemagne.

Related Topics:
Charlemagne - Lady Bertha - Sutri

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The legend growing around Roland turned his life into an epic tale of the noble Christian killed by Islamic forces, which forms part of the medieval Matter of France. Roland's tale is retold in the eleventh century poem The Song of Roland, where he is equipped with the Olifant (a signaling horn) and an unbreakable sword named Durandal. See Orlando for his later history in Italian verse, leading to the epic Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto. In the Divine Comedy Dante sees Roland's spirit in the Heaven of Mars together with others who fought for the faith.

Related Topics:
Epic - Christian - Islam - Matter of France - Eleventh century - The Song of Roland - Olifant - Durandal - Orlando - Orlando Furioso - Ludovico Ariosto - The Divine Comedy

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In Germany, over time Roland became a symbol of the independence of the growing cities from the local nobility, and in the late middle ages many a city sported the display of a defiant Roland statue on their market place. The Roland in front of the town hall of Bremen (1404) is listed together with the town hall on the List of World Heritage Site from the UNESCO since 2004.

Related Topics:
Germany - Bremen - 1404 - World Heritage Site - UNESCO - 2004

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In Catalonia Roland (or Rotllà as Catalan people say) became a mythical powerful giant. Lots of places in Catalonia (both North and South) have a name related to Rotllà.

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In the United States, Warren Zevon updated this legend to include the CIA, Patty Hearst and the Congo in his 1978 ballad, Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner.

Related Topics:
United States - Warren Zevon - CIA - Patty Hearst - Congo - 1978 - Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner

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http://members.aol.com/chansonro/headless.htm

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