Editing Roland (section)

== Medieval icon ==

Roland was turned into a popular and iconic figure of medieval Europe and its [[minstrel]] culture. Many tales made him a nephew of [[Charlemagne]] and turned his life into an [[Epic poetry|epic tale]] of the noble [[Christians|Christian]] killed by hostile forces, which forms part of the medieval [[Matter of France]].

The tale of Roland's death is retold in the 11th-century poem ''[[The Song of Roland]]'', where he is equipped with the [[Olifant (instrument)|olifant]] (a signaling horn) and an unbreakable sword, enchanted by various Christian relics, named [[Durendal]]. The ''Song'' contains a highly romanticized account of the Battle of Roncevaux Pass and Roland's death, setting the tone for later fantastical depiction of Charlemagne's court.

It was adapted and modified throughout the Middle Ages, including an influential Latin prose version ''[[Historia Caroli Magni]]'' (latterly known as the ''Pseudo-Turpin Chronicle''), which also includes Roland's battle with a Saracen giant named [[Ferracutus]] who is only vulnerable at his navel. The story was later adapted in the anonymous Franco-Venetian epic ''L'Entrée d'Espagne'' ({{c.}}&nbsp;1320) and in the 14th-century Italian epic ''La Spagna'', attributed to the Florentine Sostegno di Zanobi and likely composed between 1350 and 1360.

Other texts give further legendary accounts of Roland's life. His friendship with [[Olivier (The Song of Roland)|Olivier]] and his engagement with Olivier's sister [[Aude (character)|Aude]] are told in ''[[Girart de Vienne]]'' by [[Bertrand de Bar-sur-Aube]]. Roland's youth and the acquisition of his horse [[Veillantif]] and sword are described in ''[[Aspremont (chanson de geste)|Aspremont]]''. Roland also appears in ''[[Quatre Fils Aymon]]'', where he is contrasted with [[Renaud de Montauban]] against whom he occasionally fights.

In [[Norway]], the tales of Roland are part of the 13th-century ''[[Karlamagnús saga]]''.

In the ''[[Divine Comedy]]'' [[Dante]] sees Roland, named '''Orlando''' as is usual in Italian literature, in the Heaven of [[Mars]] together with others who fought for the faith.

Roland appears in ''[[Entrée d'Espagne]]'', a 14th-century Franco-Venetian chanson de geste (in which he is transformed into a [[knight errant]], similar to heroes from the [[King Arthur|Arthurian]] [[Romance (heroic literature)|romances]]) and ''[[La Spagna]]'', a 14th-century Italian epic.

From the 15th century onwards, Roland appears as a central character in a sequence of Italian verse romances as "Orlando", including ''Morgante'' by [[Luigi Pulci]], ''[[Orlando Innamorato]]'' by [[Matteo Maria Boiardo]], and ''[[Orlando Furioso]]'' by [[Ludovico Ariosto]]. (See below for his later history in Italian verse.) The ''Orlandino'' of [[Pietro Aretino]] then waxed satirical about the "cult of personality" of Orlando the hero. The Orlando narrative inspired several composers, amongst whom were [[Claudio Monteverdi]], [[Jean-Baptiste Lully]], [[Antonio Vivaldi]] and [[George Frideric Handel]], who composed an Italian-language [[opera]] with ''[[Orlando (opera)|Orlando]]''.

In [[Germany]], Roland gradually became a symbol of the independence of the growing cities from the local nobility. In the late Middle Ages, many cities featured defiant [[Roland (statue)|statues of Roland]] in their marketplaces. The Roland in [[Wedel]] was erected in 1450 as symbol of market and [[Hanseatic League|Hanseatic]] justice, and the [[Bremen Roland|Roland statue]] in front of [[Bremen City Hall]] (1404) has been listed together with the city hall itself on the [[UNESCO]] list of [[World Heritage Site]]s since 2004.

In the [[Faroe Islands]], Roland appears in the ballad of [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg_418mWCJE "Runtsivalstríðið" (Battle of Roncevaux)].

<gallery mode=packed heights=180px widths=180px>
File:Grandes chroniques Roland.jpg|The eight phases of ''[[The Song of Roland]]'' in one picture
File:Bodleian Libraries, La Chanson de Roland 1r.jpg|Composed in 1098, the first page of the ''[[Chanson de Roland]]'' (Song of Roland)
File:Blason imaginaire Roland.svg|[[Attributed arms]] according to [[Michel Pastoureau]]:<ref>{{cite book |last=Pastoureau |first=Michel |author-link=Michel Pastoureau |title=L'Art de l'héraldique au Moyen Âge |publisher=éditions du Seuil |date=2009 |location=Paris |page=197 |language=fr |isbn=978-2-02-098984-8}}</ref> ''D'or au lion de gueules, à la bordure engrêlées de sable''
</gallery>