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Song Of Roland Term Paper

¶ … Song of Roland The idea of the perfect knight of the Middle Ages even today engenders a clear ideal, an ideal associated with valor and insurmountable strength under pressure.

The idea of the mounted knight brings up romantic thoughts of inhumanly handsome and strong men covered from head to toe in armor, or possibly carrying only the helmet, as he gallops across a former field of battle to celebrate his victory and briefly lament his losses. The Middle Age Knight is brave without error, loyal beyond the average, inhumanly strong, filled with the wisdom of leadership, tireless and always, always mounted on a noble steed. "Roland is brave and Oliver is wise; / Both are marvelous vassals. / Now that they are armed and mounted on their horses / Neither will avoid the fray for fear of death." (Burgess 36)

It is without a doubt that the tireless knight will serve their lord and king to the edges of the earth and to the edges of death without flagging...

"For a true vassal's act, in its wisdom, avoids folly; / Caution is better than great zeal." (56) The true honor and right of a Knight is to win without fail. Breaking any code of the ethic of a knight including acting in such a way that bad luck befalls him and/or his men, will result in the inevitable desertion of the loyalty of the lord. "Charles will never again receive our service. / If you had heeded me, my lord would now be here; / We should have fought this battle and won it./...You will die here and France will be shamed by it." (56)
The challenges of the time of the development of the Knight, and his ideal were riddled with war, both national and regional. The strife of the age was demonstrated through faith as Charlemagne attempted and succeeded to align with the Catholic church and build an empire that included many locations that had formerly been associated with Roman control. The ideals of the faithful, were in…

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It is clear that through the ideals of the Knight came an ideal savior, one willing and able to protect both lord and country. The loyalty of real men in this age was likely much more flagging and regardless of the outcome of any battles the victor is the clear writer of history.

The deaths of Christian men at the hands of the pagans is a serious motivation to continue the fight to keep and even regain the lands lost to them and also a good motivator for moving toward historical pagan strongholds and creating wealth through vengeance, as would occur within the crusades. " In the poem itself the enemy becomes, not the Basques or the Gascons, but the Muslims, who the poet calls Saracens. This change permits the clash to be raised to the status of a struggle between Christinas and Pagans." (10) Burgess notes that it is through this universal fight between two faiths that the persuasion of propaganda allows the deeds of men to be bolstered and the hearts and minds of many to be convinced of the right of the church and state.

Burgess, Glyn, The Song of Roland (Penguin Classics), New York, Penguin Press, 1990.
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