Song Of Roland Analysis

Literature of the Middle Ages can not be discussed without acknowledging the undeniable importance of chivalry. Chivalry in relation to the middle ages is defined as “the code of conduct adhered to by Medieval knights with gallant knightly values including honor, bravery, courteousness and honesty.” This key characteristic is essential in defining an ideal knight as well as his expectations. A knight must live by a chivalric code in which he becomes indebted to the people, his fellow knights, and most importantly, his lord. No other knight displayed more of a devotion to upholding the code then Lanval of Marie de France’s lai “Lanval.” Lanval demonstrates his chivalric nature in essential every action from maintaining comitatus amongst the

​Sir Gawain, nephew to the well-known King Arthur of the Round Table, is regarded as the most elite and noble of all the knights in the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Yet, like anyone else in the world, Sir Gawain is far from perfect. Gawain, a courteous knight living a life dedicated to honor, courage, and self-preservation, is tested on his chivalrous code throughout his journey; a search for the Green Knight. Throughout the tests, Gawain’s actions reveal that even the best of men can be selfish and are subject to guilt and sin.

Chivalry can be considered the code of the medieval warrior, that was based on a set of rules that include honor, valor, courtesy, and, at the center of it all, loyalty. Throughout Njal’s Saga, Njal and his wife are consistently showing chivalry especially when Njal helps Gunnar at the Althing, when he warns Gunnar about the Halberd, and when Bergthora says she will die in the fire with Njal. Similarly to the Nilsson, another character, from Beowulf, who is both a king and warrior consistently shows his chivalry throughout his poem; this warrior is called Beowulf. He shows his chivalry in different ways than that of Njal and his family; he shows his chivalry when he makes an oath to the king, affirms his promise my killing Grendel, and when he protects his men from Grendel. Njal, Bergthora, and Beowulf are both examples of chivalry, and they prove it through their actions that take place in their books.

Aaron Copland is a twentieth century American composer, teacher, and conductor. Schuman (1980), refers to Copland as the “Dean of American Composers”, which he attributes to his stylistic contributions to American culture including film. His works includes songs, chamber music, ballets, theater, symphony orchestra, solos, and chorus. Copland’s approach to composing included twelve-tone, a basic exhibition of serialism. Crawford & Hamberlin (2013), describe this style as organizing twelve pitches of the chromatic scale into a unique pattern. This method expressed a way of organizing notes freely, without focusing on a key center. To non-musical ears, the atonality heard is interpreted as strange, exotic, or in some cases esthetically pleasing. Copland’s musical influence includes his time in Paris during the 1920’s with Stravinsky, a Russian Nationalist. Stravinsky’s style was inclusive of traditional Russian folk music, evident in his ballet Petrushka (Navarro 2011).

The role of chivalry is a complicated concept for solitary heroes within Beowulf and Albrecht Dürer’s Knight, Death, and the Devil. In Beowulf, the concept of chivalry is explained through the eyes of the hero, Beowulf, which is the idea of performing chivalrous actions in the face of death for glory; however, Beowulf does not realize that his actions will not keep his people safe in the end. In Knight, Death and the Devil, the idea of chivalry is the motivation of the knight on religious grounds to be chivalrous in the face of death. The Knight gives the impression that he understood that his actions would ultimately be meaningless, and he appears resigned to the idea. The argument can be made that chivalry is unsustainable in both texts, given that while it inspires these heroes to pursue these tasks, the result is that they believe that mild sacrifices, such as their own life, must be made to ensure victory; however, these two texts differ with their heroes’ anticipated outcomes of their sacrifices, which turns out to be for nothing. Despite having different outcomes of operating within a system of chivalry, these two texts similarly critique the outcomes of chivalry as being unsustainable based on the demands it places on heroes to sacrifice themselves. To defend this claim, I will begin by similarly critiquing how chivalry is unsustainable within both texts. I will then express how both texts show the unsustainability results from the demands of sacrifice. I will then

A romantic poem written in and set in the Middle Ages, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a tale of chivalry and romance. After witnessing his king being challenged, the titular Sir Gawain accepts on his lord's behalf. After completing the challenge, Gawain and those in attendance are astonished to see the Green Knight continue to speak, despite just being decapitated mere moments earlier. Gawain, being concerned only with the attack towards his manhood, does not begin to comprehend the importance of his actions to his future. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, outside perception of manhood is seen as a primary motive for all actions performed. Knights and kings perform things only to stabilize their public image or to increase it. They dare not show their true selves, as they are looked upon as the supreme people in the society. People are influenced by knightly and kingly actions. Thus, being the prime influencers on society, knights and kings are more than just their titles, they mold society itself. This exalts those societal positions to the apex of society. Yet, the matters that influence the influencers are often overlooked. Those matters are the importance of manhood, religious influence, and their roles and impact in society.

In Arthurian romances, the knight Gawain fulfills a central role as a member of the legendary Round Table. Alone or accompanied by other chivalrous knights, Gawain traverses the land of Logres, searching for adventures and achieving great feats of heroism. To those he encounters on his quests, Gawain often represents the epitome of chivalry and knightly valor. However, Gawain’s actual characterization is not constant in every tale where he is present. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Chretien de Troye’s Perceval, and Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur, Gawain’s character vacillates from being the paragon of chivalry to the antithesis of heroism, and these characterizations serve as a foil to the figures of

Ideas that have been taught in many societies since the first civilizations of Mesopotamia to the world now are duty, loyalty and bravery. No period relied on these ideas more than the Middle Ages time of Europe. The European societies were based on the nature of feudalism. Feudalism worked if everyone in the society did their duty and gave loyalty to everyone above the on the social latter. The knight was the backbone of the feudal society. He was the protector of the heavenly Lord, their lady and the earthly lord. The roles and duties of the knight are quotes as, “the most noble knight under Christ, And the loveliest lades that lived on earth ever, and he the comeliest king, that the court holds.” (P. 26) Sir Gawain and the Green Knight gives a perspective to view life from the courtly aspect of the European feudal

At this point in history the men who fought the wars were lead by their leaders with a code of chivalry. Chivalry can be explained as “the Anglo-Saxon code on steroids.” (McGee) Which is, explained further, a moral system for a good way to conduct fighting. The knights in Arthurian time went even further with that code to say that it was a way to conduct oneself not only in battle, but at all times. Knights, by being chivalrous, were kind to all people, fought well and true, kept faith and believed in the Christian God, and fought for their kings. Chivalry can be found across the Arthurian texts, The Song of Roland is one of the texts that has multiple examples of chivalry.

In Carleton Noyes’ “General Introduction” of Poetry, he writes, “The human heart has ever dreamed of a fairer world than the one it knows.” In medieval romances, an embellished, magical world is portray as opposed to the natural world. Medieval romances are adventure stories with knights, kings, and damsels in distress, often inspired by true events and teach a lesson or tell a story. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, translated by Marie Boroff, includes a part which tells the story of a green knight who challenges one of King Arthur’s knights to a Christmas game to evaluate the quality of Arthur’s knights. The excerpts from Thomas Malory’s Morte d’ Arthur describe the death of King Arthur after battling temptation and the trials one knight must face to try to save Arthur. These stories relate to Carleton Noyes’ quote as both excerpts describe tests of loyalty and temptation in magical universes in order to teach readers how to behave.

The stories of Lancelot (The Knight of the Cart) and Perceval (The Story of the Grail) within Chrétien de Troyes’ Arthurian Romances depict a world of Medieval Romance that is somewhat different from one that was depicted in earlier epics. These romances are more focused on the battle between love and honor rather than on war and valor, which were depicted in earlier epics of de Troyes’ time. The tale of Lancelot follows a star-struck knight who undergoes an inner conflict between both the lover and hero inside him. His intense commitment to rescuing the queen causes him to make rash decisions which inevitably restrain him from controlling his own fate. Perceval’s story exhibits a different purpose for love in a knight’s life. Unlike Lancelot, he accepts love only when he believes it can further advance him in becoming the perfect knight. The two heroes’ actions showcase an inner conflict between maintaining their honor as knights and the love for another. Through these two tales, Chrétien de Troyes shows that that idealistic love and conscious chivalry cannot necessarily successfully coexist, yet it is the unachievable idealistic view that these two ideals do coexist.

When comparing the epic poem of The Song of Roland to the romantic literature of Ywain, the differences between the early medieval period and the high medieval period become evident. Both The Song of Roland and Ywain depicts the societies from which each story derives its fundamental characteristics. Through close observation, one is able to see the shifts in customs and mentality that make the move from the epic to the romance possible. In his chapter 'From Epic to Romance', R.W. Southern shows how this transformation manifests itself through changing ecclesiastical and secular thoughts and feelings.

Of all his chivalric qualities, Roland’s honor through his loyalty is the most redeeming. Though his jealous scheming stepfather claims that “you [Charlemagne] have no lord of such great vassalage” (page 76) with deceitful intent (to set Roland up to die), the statement rings true. Roland’s loyalty to both his earthly lord, Charlemagne, and his heavenly Lord leads him to constantly strive to please them in life and in death. When he hears that he has been assigned to the rear guard at his stepfather’s recommendation, he is eager for his chance to make Charlemagne proud, though he suspects his uncle has ulterior motives (76). Later, at the battle’s tragic end, Roland still desires Charlemagne’s

The Song of Roland presents two realms in history, the Franks and the Muslims. These dominions possess strikingly similar qualities, with only one major difference: religion. As a French literary work, the author creates a bias towards the Frankish nation based on religious difference. Antonio Garcia argues “The author vilifies the Saracens as treacherous and hateful, and idealizes the Franks, particularly Roland and his men, as the embodiment of Christian knightly virtues.” (Garcia 315).

(83-84) Because of this folly, he is beaten in battle and every Frankish soldier in the skirmish, himself included, is killed. When he finally does blow the horn, it is much too late to save