Status Updates From La Chanson de Roland (Frenc...

Decided to add my books that I have to read for class since they’re taking my time away from the books I WANT TO READ😡🖕

227-229 Scouts report that the French army is strong and ready to fight. The emir thinks it is brave, and he tells the pagans to sound the clarion. The pagans arm themselves. The emir wears gilded armor with gems, and he is proud of his gear. His spear and blade have names. He thinks Charlemagne is a fool. The emir looks noble. He is wise in council and stubborn in battle. His son is worthy on praise.

226-227 Charlemagne faces the sunrise and kneels. He reminds God receiving succor in the whale, Daniel in the lion's den, and his three friends in the furnace. He asks that Roland will be avenged if it pleases God. He rises and makes the sign of the cross. He is a changed man, and I wonder if Gabriel's vigil helped. The olifant is spending. They leave the mountain pass and march into the Spanish plain

223-225 The eighth colum is from Flemings and Frisia, another 40K. The ninth column is from Lorraine and Burgundy, this time 50K, with spears that are short but strong. The tenth is huge! The best captains belong to the 100K men. They may be grizzled and grey-bearded but they shout, “Mountjoy!” Geoffrey raises the Oriflamme, a blood-red banner flown from a gilded lance. It was said to flame and drive out Saracens.

218-222 Each column has 20K men. Two columns are French. One is Bavarian and Charlemagne believes they will never break. The fourth is formed of Germans (Alymayne) who are well-furnished. The fifth is made of Normans, well-horsed and well-harnessed. The sixth column is men of Brittany, 30K men with painted spears and bright pennons. Naimon forms a seventhg with 40K knights from Auvergne and Poitou.

216-217 Charlemagne sees the assembly of French who are eager to avenge Roland and his men. He makes a comment about making the pagans pay and Duke Naimon adds, “God grant it so I pray!” He nominates two men to take the place of R and O, one with the sword and one with the Olifant. They are to lead the van of 15K men, all brave bachelors. He selects the leaders of a second band of 15K men. Naimon marshal the columns.

Lit Life for the win!!! It totally saw that Roland, Oliver, and the archbishop might be the tripartite soul. Their hearts knit together seem to confirm it!!! How fun is that!!!

213-215 They are laid on wagons and covered with rich oriental material. They head home and up comes the pagans’ vanward guards who carry the emir’s challenge. This is like THEODEN! A man who appears to be broken from grief is going to rage and he tells his men, “To arms!” They quickly arm themselves and gathers their weapons, mount horses, and gallop. A hundred thousand men do the same for they mean to fight.

212-213 He sounds the trumpet and they find the bodies of their friends, dig a big trench, and lay them in it. Bishops, abbots, canons, monks, and priests give absolution, make signs, kindle myrrh and incense, and cover the mass grave. He takes the hearts out of Roland, Oliver, and the Archbiship, wrapped in silk, and put in a marble white urn. Their bodies are put in roebuck hide after being washed in wine.

210-211 Charlemagne is having a royal pity party. He has looked at all the fallen and he wishes he were dead, too. He wishes someone would pull his spirit out of his body so he could lie down with the dead. Naimon (Mr. Obvious) says that Charlemagne is in great distress. Geoffrey d’Anjou tries to calm him down. Rather than do nothing he says to search for their dead and bury them together. Charles says to go for it.

206-209 His men lift up the king and lean his head against a pine tree trunk. He commends Roland and then says his glory is sinking to an end. He swooms again! Get a grip! He laments some more and tears out his hair. Around 100 thousand French grieve as well. Charlemagne is sad because, when he returns to France, he will have to tell them that Roland lies dead in Spain. When the news spreads, invaders will come.

203-205 He takes off his armor and walks around the field, assessing their losses. He leads them as they search for his nephew. He remembers that Roland said at a feast that he would die in a foreign land, lying beyond his men, facing his enemy. He sees red everywhere. He spots the two trees on the hilltop and the three stones marking the spot where Roland lies. Charlemagne runs, grabs his face, and swoons.

201-203 The queen comes running to the emir with her tale of woe. Her king is dying. She falls before him and he lifts her up. They visit Marsilion and he sits up in bed. With his left hand, he gives the emir his gloves and says he’s lost everything. The emir tells him that, while he is sad, he doesn’t want to waste time because he’s going after Charlemagne. The emperor wakes up while Gabriel watches.

199-201 The envoys arrive without Marsilion and the emir is ticked. They give him the keys and give him a summary of what has passed. The emir goes out of his mind with rage and grief. Then they share Marsilion’s advise to strike quickly. The emir tells them to make haste because he wants to avenge Marsilion. He gives one of his minions command of all his troops. Escorted by four dukes, he rides to Saragossa.

196-198 There are 4K vessels on the Erbo. The emir sent his glove and wand as tokens to Marsilion who tells them to ignore his wife. He’s on death’s door with no heir. They must listen to him, not the queen. Roland killed his only son and, if the emir wants to take on Charlemagne, he can have Spain. He will offer advice and give him the keys to Saragossa. His foe is camped nearby and they can catch him by surprise.

195-196 The queen says that the gods have abandoned them and allowed the French to destroy so many men. Roland maimed her husband. One envoy tells her to bridle her tongue. He explains their mission, the ships on the Erbo, and the emir’s vow to make Charlemagne pay. She says, “As far as France? Fie!” She warns them how fierce Charlemagne is and how he is not afraid of any man.

194-195 The pair mounts their horses and ride to Sargossa. They pass through gates and bridges and see the palace on the hill. The pagans are wailing because they “lost” their gods. Well, that’s on them. They smashed their idols. They are sad that their king has lost his right hand and his son. The envoys arrive and two Saracens hold the reins of their horses. They invoke the gods; the queen scoffs.

193 The emir promises to go to Aix and route the French. He picks two envoys with similar names and asks them to go to Saragossa to tell Marsilion that help is on the way. He gives them his white glove with a golden hem as a token. He also sends his golden wand. He says that he wants Marsilion to swear fealty (well he lost his hand a la Vader). He vows to make Charlemagne convert or rip his crown off his head.

191-192 Ahhhh! Another reminder of LotR. A fleet of ships comes up the river, unbeknownst to the good guys. They are bound for Sargasso. The emir arrives with seventeen kings and a slew of dukes and kings. On a snow white cloth beneath the laurel tree they place a throne of ivory for the emir. He sits and announces that he plans to put an end to Charlemagne and he slaps his thigh with his right glove.

189-191 Marsilion was so frustrated that, in the letter, he said he would renounce his faith and become a Christian. The long distance is what caused the delay. Before long, a fleet sat in Alexandria, and in May, the ships set sail for Spain. The force is so vast that, with lanterns lit, the night is bright and gay. Marsilion gets word that help is on the way. They find the Ebro and head up river.

188-189 I see where this is going. The queen tears out her hair and says that their emir is a coward if he doesn’t go out and avenge what has happened to Saragossa. If the French greybeard can do this, then she expects the same from their emir. Seven years ago, Charlemagne began the Spanish campaign. Marsilion sent a request for help from the emir in Babylon who outlived Homer and Virgil (literally?)

187-188 The gore is NOT over as the dream portends. Twenty thousand of his men curse France and Charlemagne as well as Apollo at his grotto. There must be an altar because they grab the crown and scepter and thrash his image with cudgels. They throw Mahommed to the ground to be chewed by pigs and dogs. They do the same for the third of their vile trinity. Marsilion recovers and his men take him to his bed chamber.