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Has anyone here read the Song of Roland – the story of the attack of Charlemagne's rear guard on his way past the Pyrenees?
The song of Roland or the Battle of Roncevaux Pass where the rear guard of Charlemagne's army was defeated by the Basques.This "chanson de geste" is the oldest surviving major work of French literature. The olifant and Durandal.
I have read it but only in translation. It is pretty good for epic poetry but I am certain that like all epic poetry it is infinitely better in the language in which it was written. I believe it was written in Early French but Aeth could probably tell us for sure. I read it while taking a medieval history class.
I think you refer to the Song of Roland and his good friend Oliver–read it in grade school–wonderfulstuff!WillyD
I think you refer to the Song of Roland and his good friend Oliver--read it in grade school--wonderful
My bad - I corrected the title in my initial post.
I've read it a long time ago: 25 years ago or something…The original text is indeed in old French even if among the 9 manuscripts still existing, the oldest, and probably the original, is said to be written in Anglo-Norman (which is Old French aka 1 of the O?l dialects)It is now conserved at the Bodleian Library, Oxford: It possesses one of the foremost monuments of French literary culture in the shape of the earliest surviving manuscript of La Chanson de Roland, a small and scruffy manuscript which might have been carried in the pocket of a travelling jongleur (MS. Digby 23, part 2, given by Sir Kenelm Digby in 1634).http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/bodley/library/specialcollections/western_rarebooks/medieval The author is still unknown.Here an excerpt:En ceste tere ad asez osteiet / En France, ad Ais, s'en deit ben repairer / Vos le sivrez a la feste seint Michel / Si recevrez la lei de chrestiens / Serez ses hom par honur e par benEven for a French-speaking person, this Old French is barely understandable if you haven't studied it.
But if you have some knowledge of French, Italian and Latin you seem to be able to get the sense of the meaning even if only through a glass darkly. It appears to be a vocabulary problem as some of the verb forms and nouns seem do seem to be knowable. Very interesting--thanks for the post.WillyD (Francophile)
Has anyone here read the Song of Roland - the story of the attack of Charlemagne's rear guard on his way past the Pyrenees?
Yes. It's a great story.
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