The Song of Roland
The Song of Roland is the oldest known epic in France, dating from around the Twelfth Century AD. Telling the story of Charlemagne at Roncesvalles in 778, the events of The Song of Roland have been shifted into a modern (12th Century) setting, bringing a long history of concerns about Muslim invasion that gripped France in Charles Martel's and Charlemagne's time. The historical part of the battle is changed to make it more understandable, even more tragic, for the Twelfth Century audience. The threat of the Muslims had a very real meaning and a long history that the listeners knew. The Muslim invasions of Spain and even parts of France had forced Western Europeans into close contact with another culture and religion. Charlemagne's struggle with the Saracen forces could take on a theme of good versus evil or right versus wrong, which makes great material for an epic tragedy. In the early Twelfth Century, concrete knowledge about the customs, habits, and religion of the Muslims could be seen as little or non-existent. In a piece of Christian crusade propaganda, one would not necessarily expect the author to take great interest in truthfully revealing the tenets of Islam and the differences between this faith and Christianity
This scene reflects perhaps the ultimate sacrilege to the Christian community, which believed quite strongly in icons, but it makes no sense in Islam as images and pictorial representations were and are not permitted (Lazzari 98). Why did you permit our king to be destroyed? Epics for Students. Lazzari, Marie, Editor. Gale Research. Detroit: 1997. And beat him and smash him to pieces with huge sticks. The Saracen is not without his abominable traits, however (Lazzari 97). Roland sees the approaching enemy in a sense of black versus white, noting that they "are blacker than ink and have no white except for their teeth alone." Just as the Emir symbolizes the almost ideal knight, the Saracen Abisme serves as the stereotypical concentration of French fears of Arabs. Not only is Abisme morally corrupt, he is also physically repulsive. His very humanness is called into question by his inability or unwillingness to laugh and play. The Archbishop Turpin, symbolizing Christianity and Good, takes it upon himself to destroy the personified evil, Abisme. The fight is nothing other than good versus evil, right versus wrong, truth versus lies (Lazzari 98). The portrait of the Saracen in The Song of Roland goes back and forth between the positive and the negative. At the same time that the audience of the 1100's feared the Saracen, and thus pictured them in monstrous terms, they also coveted the refinements of Muslim culture, many of which were totally lacking in the West. The Saracen characters of this story show this movement between fear and envy. The Song of Roland helped shape the attitudes that made the crusades possible. Not simply by opposing Christians and Muslims, but also by constructing a Saracen who was frightening and inhuman enough to kill at the same time that he possessed objects and characteristics worthy of use (Lazzari 99). The epic battle satisfied both of these urges. "O, wretched god, why do you cause us such shame? Where pigs and dogs bite and trample on him. (Lines 2580-2591)
Some common words found in the essay are:
King Marsile, Muhammad Apollo, Song Roland, Emir Babylon, Twelfth Century, Christians Muslims, Apollo Tervagant, Muhammad Tervagant, Admiration Saracen, Archbishop Turpin, song roland, lazzari 98, muhammad apollo, twelfth century, king marsile, versus evil versus, saracen knight, lazzari 97, christian knight, 98 saracen, versus evil, evil versus wrong,
Approximate Word count = 1441
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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