Roland (Italian: Orlando, Frankish: Hruodland, Dutch: Roeland, Spanish: Roldán or Rolando, Portuguese:
Roldão or Rolando, Catalan: Rotllan or Rotllà,
Orlando is now a common name in both Spanish and Portuguese though it is originally Italian) is a character in
medieval and Renaissance literature,
the chief paladin of Charlemagne and a central figure in
the Matter of France. It is thought that the title character of the 12th century Song of Roland, which recounts his final
stand against the Muslims during the Battle of
Roncevaux Pass, is based on a real person who died in that battle (under different circumstances; Roncevaux was fought
against Christian Basques), but the authors of most later chansons de geste and the
Renaissance epics Orlando innamorato and Orlando furioso made little attempt to establish historical accuracy.
History
There exists only one historical mention of a French Roland, found in the section of Vita Karoli Magni on Roncevaux
Pass, written by Charlemagne's courtier and biographer Einhard. Here is the relevant passage, in the 9th of 33 chapters (plus a lengthy postscript):
While he was vigorously pursuing the Saxon war, almost without a break, and after he had
placed garrisons at selected points along the border, [Charles] marched into Spain [in 778] with
as large a force as he could mount. His army passed through the Pyrenees and [Charles] received
the surrender of all the towns and fortified places he encountered. He was returning [to Francia] with his army safe and intact,
but high in the Pyrenees on that return trip he briefly experienced the treachery of the Basques. That place is so thoroughly covered with thick forest that it is the perfect spot for an ambush.
[Charles's] army was forced by the narrow terrain to proceed in a long line and [it was at that spot], high on the mountain, that
the Basques set their ambush. [...] The Basques had the advantage in this skirmish because of the lightness of their weapons and
the nature of the terrain, whereas the Franks were disadvantaged by the heaviness of their arms and the unevenness of the land.
Eggihard, the overseer of the king's table, Anselm, the count of the palace, and Roland, the lord of the Breton March, along with
many others died in that skirmish. But this deed could not be avenged at that time, because the enemy had so dispersed after the
attack that there was no indication as to where they could be found.
-
- Dutton, Paul Edward, ed. and trans. Charlemagne's Courtier: The Complete Einhard, pp. 21-22. Peterborough, Ontario,
Canada: Broadview Press, 1998.)
The original Latin text refers to
"Hruodlandus Brittannici limitis praefectus". The battle took place on 15 August, AD
778.
Roland was the first official appointed to direct Frankish policy in Breton affairs, as local Franks under the Merovingian dynasty did not pursue any specific
relationship beforehand, more passive-aggressive than anything. What is now divided between Normandy and Brittany, their frontier
castle districts (e.g. Vitré, Ille-et-Vilaine) south of Mont Saint-Michel, was the source of present-day Gallo
language and culture that emerged in the likeness of those such as Roland. Roland's successor in Brittania Nova was
Guy of the Breton March, who like Roland, was unable to exert French expansion over
Brittany and merely sustained a Breton presence in the Carolingian-era Holy Roman Empire.
Legend
Roland was a popular legendary figure in medieval Europe. Over the next several centuries, Roland became a "pop icon" in
medieval minstrel culture. According to many legends, he was a nephew of Charlemagne (whether or not this was true we do not know), 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 signalling horn) and an unbreakable sword, enchanted by various Christian relics, named
Durendal. See below 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.
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 sported the display of a defiant Roland statue on their marketplace. The
Roland in Wedel was erected in 1450 as symbol of market justice, and the 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.
In Catalonia Roland (or Rotllà, as it is rendered in Catalan) became a legendary
giant. Numerous places in Catalonia (both North and South) have a name related to Rotllà.
More recently Roland's tale has been exploited by historians exploring the development of the early-modern Christian
understanding of Islam. In 1972 P. M. Holt used Roland's words to begins an essay about Henry
Stubbe: Paien ont tort e crestiien ont dreit - 'Pagans are wrong and Christians are right.'
Orlando
Illustratation to
Orlando Furioso: Orlando saving Olimpia
Orlando is the Italian equivalent of the French Roland. The name Orlando/Roland goes back to a Germanic origin, and is
said to mean "One who is famous throughout the land". It is also said to be derived from hroth, meaning glory and
nantha, meaning audacity.
Italian Renaissance romances
He appeared as a central character in a sequence of verse romances from the fifteenth
century onwards, 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
opera with Orlando in the title role, see: Orlando.
Later works
Orlando: A Biography was written in 1928 by Virginia Woolf, and could at first sight be seen as adding yet some more episodes to the adventures of
the (by now imaginary) Orlando character, but Woolf's story takes a completely different turn, and is set in a time different
from that of the Renaissance Orlandos.
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