Status Updates From La Chanson de Roland

176-177 I wonder if he is intended to be an image of Christ here. Gabriel is at his side and he accepts the glove. Arms clasped to his chest, his head falls to his arms. Gabriel and cherubims take his soul to Mont Saint Michel first and then to Paradise. He’s really dead this time. Charles and his men make it through the pass. All he sees is death and yet he searches for his nephew, Oliver, archbishop, and peers.

175-176 What a dramatic death scene. He faces the pagans to show that the Christians prevailed. He confesses his sins and pleads for God’s mercy. He extends his right-hand glove to God as a token and angels rush down from Heaven. Now, that’s the way to go. Under a pine (eternity) tree (Jesus’ atoning death), he recalls his king and his men. He reminds God of Lazarus’s resurrection and Daniel’s escape from lions.

173-174 He keeps hitting his sword on the stone and is grieved that it will not break. He wonders about what relics may lie it: Peter’s tooth? Basil’s blood? Denis’s hair? A piece of Mary’s robe? It was sinful for a pagan to try to steal it. WAIT! So is this like the core of a wand in HP? Only Christians should wield it. Death presses him hard, creeping from head to heart. He looks at the pagans as conqueror.

171-172 He prays that nobody will own the sword who will flee from a foe. He keeps hitting the stone and he hopes to break it. He remembers the bright sunny day when Charlemagne gave him the sword because an angel told him to pick Roland who used it to help the emperor win cities in France and all over Europe (it’s a long list). He’s grieved that a pagan might steal his sword. He prays for help from God.

169-171 He plans to steal R’s sword but then Roland comes to! He speaks to the theif and hits him on the helmet with his horn. That was enough to knock him out dead to the ground. Now his horn is broken! BOROMIR!!!! R’s sight grows dim. His face turns pale. He hits a grey stone in front of him ten times out of rage. He prays to St. Mary for succour. The only left to talk to is his sword.

168-169 His brains are spilling out, but he prays for God to call his peers. St. Gabriel prays for Roland. He takes his horn and sword and walks toward a wide lawn, climbs a mound with a fair tree and four marble stones beneath it. He falls face down. He’ll be easy to find. One Saracen is left because he faked his own death and smeared blood all over himself. You’re kidding me! He runs toward Roland.

166-168 Roland rallies and stands up, in grievous pain. He looks around hill and vale. He sees the archbishop and beats his breast. He folds his hands and looks to Heaven and prays for the archbishop. Since he was a champion of faith, he prays for the bishop to have a place in heaven. He sees his ravaged body and laments for the man in the way that French do to commend him to Heaven. R is also at death’s door.

162-165 He gives them a blessing. He hopes to see them in Paradise amid the rose blossoms. R goes back for Oliver. The bishop shrives them all with prayers. R recalls O’s deeds and how valiant he was. Now R sees all the peers dead and he sees his best friend, Oliver. He cries and swoons a third time (more of the structure). The bishop takes the horn and fills it with water from a stream. He, too, faints.

161-162 The pagans flee to Spain but without a horse R cannot pursue. He turns to the archbishop and treats his wounds with bandages. He tells him he will find their friends and bring them to his sight. The archbiship is glad the pagans have left the field. I love the structure of this poem. R goes and finds the peers and lifts them up and carries them to the archbishop. On his knees, the latter lifts his hands.

160 The pagans regret the day they were born because their doom has come. They have lost their peers and their lords. The trumpets blare and they hear “Mountjoy!” The pagans let their spears fly at Roland and he’s fighting with full wrath. His shield is finally split; his hauberk, piered. His body is not by the spear but he has thirty wounds elsewhere and his horse is dead. The pagans flee and he is alone.

157-159 They fear they’ll not keep Spain. In all the dead bodies, they must not see Roland. Amazingly, he and the archbishop are still alive! What? R and the archbishop are like the terminator. The pagans cry out to each other to go to it. R hates cowards and, when he sees his companion on foot and he on horseback, he decides to take a stand with him. They know Charles is coming and they will do what they can.

156-157 R fights and fights and, when the end is near, he sounds his horn again but it is faint. Charlemagne hears it none the less but also knows it is R’s last call. C tells the host to blast the trumpets with all their might. Sixty thousand play and the valleys ring. The pagans are unappy at what that means. They know the French coming through the pass will rout them. If R survives, he will chase the to the end.

154-156 His horse is killed right out from under him. In spite of that, he leaps to his feet and stands. He tells R he will fight as long as life is in him. He wants to impress Charlemagne that he spared noone. I’m scratching my head at the reference to St. Giles here (looked it up--nada). Roland is the last man standing -- it’s what I thought would happen. It had to! He fights in spite of grievous pain.

152-154 W is dying and R comes to him in haste, full of grief and anger. The three fight on, because W has enough in him to take down more pagans. This is like the Spartans at Thermopylae, grossly outnumbered and fighting to the death. Walter dies first, but he was dead man walking anyway. The archbishop’s helmet and shield split, His head is wounded and his hauberk and mail are pierced, too. Four spears stick him.

150-152 Roland weeps at the sight of his best friend, lying on the ground face down. He grieves to be alive. Then he swoons while in the saddle a second time. Swooning, is that a figurative death? He revives and three remain: R, the archbishop, and a guy named Walter Hum are left. W is grieved that all his men have been mowed down. He calls on R because his spear is shattered and his shield, split. He’s been pierced.

149-150 O’s eyes are covered in blood; he’s blind. His head wasn’t cut so it’s is from other parts of his body. R tells him how he’s loved him as a brother. O says he can’t see R but recognizes his voice. They bow to one another and part with great love (that of comrades in arms). O feels the pangs of death. O gets off his horse and kneels. He makes his confession, clasps his hands, and prays for rest in Paradise.

147-148 In the mean time, he’s lopping off body parts left and right because he knows it’s a mortal wound and he’s going to do as much damage as possible wether it be limbs or weapons. He shouts, “Mountjoy!” and calls out to Roland that they will part from one another today. R sees that his face is grey. R is grief striken and gives him words of comfort and then swoons in his saddle.

145-146 Why is Oliver’s back turned? Was this while speaking to his men? Also are Roland, Oliver, and Turpin the tripartite soul (body, mind, and hear)? Anyway, O is pierced from back to front. The pagan says that his death alone pays for all their loss. O has enough left in him to kill the pagan who got him! WOW! Then he tells the pagan he will never be able to go back home and brag. O cries out to R for help.

144-14 R looks at the Africans and says that death shall betide the French and Oliver adds that the devil should take them. The French respond and resume fighting. It sounds like the fighting comes in waves as the next batch shows up to fight when the previous batch dies. The pagans puff up with pride at the small numbers of French. The leader spurs on his sorrel colt. Then he gets Oliver in the back.

142-143 The pagans hesitate and wonder if they should flee. Then they see Marsile flee and they follow! I didn’t expect that. However, we know it’s false hope. His uncle leads African tribes, 50,000. They ride with the pagan battle cry. R fires up those who are left. They are going to kill us all so let’s make them pay dearly: 15 of them per one of us. When Charlemagne arrives, he will see their valor by body count.

142 Marsilion kills one French after another effortlessly. Roland curses him. I’m glad I’m reading this and not watching. I could not watch all the bloodshed. MA or X-rated for sure! The way they speak during battle reminds me of LotR. R kills a M’s son after his speech. The pagans call on Mohommed and their gods. They fear they will never get rid of the French. Well, y’all don’t belong in Spain. So, there’s that!

140-142 R knows he messed up and he shows grace to O. He calls him brother and vows to fight by his side unto the end. He returns to the fight and kills 24. His aim is now revenge. The archbishop commends him and says that, if a warrior can’t fight with ferocity, he should become a monk and pray. All are spurred to action, but losses are steep. They fight hard because no prisoners will be taken.

137-140 If I’m ever in a bar fight, I want the cooks on my side! They sound the trumpets and march with grief and anger in their eyes. All they want is to fight by Roland’s side, but they fear it will be too late. Charlemagne fears for R. Sixty men are left so this all happened quickly. R looks around and prays that his men will enter Paradise and have bright flowers on their grave. He calls them brave and true.

136-137 Charlemagne’s men strap on their armor and suit up. They grab arms. They mount horses and hope they will not be too late. The sun reflects off steel. Vespers will start soon. All but Ganelon are full of wrath and fear for Roland. Charles has G arrested and he turns G over to the goods to be guarded. The kitchen knaves shave off his facial hair and baste him with sticks. They chain him and put him on a horse.

134-136 Roland sounds it a second time. Blood comes out of his mouth because the veins in his temple burst. More people hear it and again Ganelon is GASLIGHTING them. He piles one lie on top of another! Roland is in bad shape. It’s almost as if blowing the horn is killing him. The emperor says the horn has a long breath and Naimon, a desperate lament. He calls the French to arms. Charles sounds his horn.

131-133 O says that R’s pride over his strength and courage has destroyed the French. Charlemagne could have made it in time to face the pagans and kill Marsilion. He thinks R has cursed them. O’s bitter and unforgiving and consoles himself that they will have a proper burial. R is finally humble and says his words are right and true. R finally blows Oliphaunt (SAMWISE!). Charlemagne hear it. Ganelon is scornful.

129-131 I wonder if Oliver is being snarky “How should I know how to reach Charlemagne?” He’s the one who told Roland to use the horn THREE TIMES! Clearly, he’s still angry. He told R he will get no praise for sounding it now because it’s the wrong time to blow and he thinks it’s cowardly. O blames R because he will never see his sister again. When asked about his anger, O say prudence is worth more than foolishness.