Editing Roland (section)

== History ==

The only historical mention of the actual Roland is in the ''[[Vita Karoli Magni]]'' by [[Charlemagne]]'s courtier and biographer [[Einhard]]. Einhard refers to him as ''Hruodlandus Brittannici limitis praefectus'' ("Roland, prefect of the borders of Brittany"), indicating that he presided over the [[Breton March]], [[Francia]]'s border territory against the [[Bretons]].<ref>''Hruodlandus'' is the earliest [[Medieval Latin|Latinised]] form of his [[Frankish language|Frankish]] name ''Hruodland''. It was later Latinised as ''Rolandus'' and has been translated into many languages for literary purposes: [[Italian language|Italian]]: ''Orlando'' or ''Rolando'', [[Dutch language|Dutch]]: ''Roeland'', [[Spanish language|Spanish]]: ''Roldán'' or ''Rolando'', [[Basque language|Basque]]: ''Errolan'', [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]: ''Roldão'' or ''Rolando'', [[Occitan language|Occitan]]: ''Rotland'', [[Catalan language|Catalan]]: ''Rotllant'' or ''Rotllà''.</ref> The passage, which appears in Chapter 9, mentions that ''Hroudlandus'' (a Latinization of the Frankish ''*Hrōþiland'', from ''*hrōþi'', "praise"/"fame" and *''land'', "country") was among those killed in the Battle of Roncevaux Pass:

{{quote|While he was vigorously pursuing the [[Saxon Wars|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 [[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.<ref>Dutton, Paul Edward, ed. and trans. ''Charlemagne's Courtier: The Complete Einhard'', pp. 21–22.  Peterborough, Ontario, Canada: Broadview Press, 1998. [http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/ein.html Einhard at the Latin Library].</ref>}}

Roland was evidently the first official appointed to direct Frankish policy in [[Bretons|Breton]] affairs, as local [[Franks]] under the [[Merovingian]] dynasty had not previously pursued any specific relationship with the Bretons. Their frontier castle districts such as [[Vitré, Ille-et-Vilaine]], south of [[Mont Saint-Michel]], are now divided between Normandy and Brittany. The distinctive culture of this region preserves the present-day [[Gallo language]] and legends of local heroes such as Roland. Roland's successor in ''Brittania Nova'' was [[Guy of Nantes]], who like Roland, was unable to exert Frankish expansion over [[Brittany]] and merely sustained a Breton presence in the [[Carolingian Empire]].

According to legend, Roland was laid to rest in the basilica at [[Blaye]], near [[Bordeaux]], on the site of the citadel.