SONG OF ROLAND

ON THE

F I E L D O F R E N C E S VA L S

 As Charlemagne moved his main body of his army

through the pass of Rencesvals, Roland remained in
Spain. Despite, being back at his kingdom,
Charlemagne was grieving and told Duke Naimes
about his vision that Roland and the Twelve Peers
would be destroyed by Ganelon's treachery.
At Saragossa, Marsile gathered four-hundred
thousand Saracen warriors to attack Roland's
twenty thousand men. His nephew, Aelroth,
boastfully wants to face Roland himself. Eleven
other volunteered to fight against the Twelve Peers.

 When the Franks heard the arrival of their

enemies, Oliver went to investigate on the hilltop
and saw the Saracens vastly outnumbered them.
Oliver returned to Roland with the news that they
could not possibly win with only 20,000 knights;
his advice was that Roland should sound the
horn, so Charlemagne reinforced them. Roland
flatly refused.
As the two sides charged into one another Roland
drove his spear into Aelroth, breaking his back.
There are too many little deeds done by the
Twelve Peers, to record here, but the Franks have
done very well against Marsile's forces, right up
til noon. Because around this time, Marsile had
joined in the fray. Realising that even
outnumbered, the Franks had slaughtered a
hundred thousand of his men.

 Roland realised that he should have heeded Oliver's

warning, because there were only 60 Frankish
warriors are left; so the hero decided that he would
blow his horn, the Oliphant. This time, it was Oliver
who said it would not be honourable now that that
tide has shifted. Twice more, Roland said he should
sound the horn, but Oliver argued against it.
Archbishop Turpin told the two friends to cease
arguing with one another. Although, Turpin agreed
that calling for aid from Charlemagne would be too
late in arriving to help them, but at least
Charlemagne could avenge their death.

 So with this advice, Roland blew his Oliphant, which

Charlemagne could be heard 30 leagues away from
the battlefield. The king exclaimed that the rearguard
must be in battle, but Ganelon dismissed that there
were no battle. But Naimes and other members of
Charlemagne heard it too when Roland blew the horn
a second time, and still Ganelon persisted that Roland
and the rearguard was in no trouble, and they should
ride on towards Aix. A third time, the horn was blown,
confirmed everyone's fear. Charlemagne immediately
ordered his army to turn back to Spain, hoping that
he would save what left of the rearguard force.
Charlemagne also ordered the immediate arrest of his
treacherous brother-in-law. Ganelon was placed under
detention of Charlemagne's master cook, whose
charges would beat Roland's stepfather, until the
king's return.

 Back at Rencesvals, the effort of blowing the

Oliphant so hard, caused ruptured in Roland's
temple, and bleeding at the nose and mouth,
which was probable the cause of his death. Roland,
Oliver and the archbishop returned to battle.
Marganice ran his spear through Oliver at the back.
Despite this mortal wound, Oliver killed Marganice
with his sword, Halteclere, and still he continued to
fight while can still stand, killing more Saracens.
Oliver finally feeling his death approaching,
dismounted his horse, and confessed his sins,
before his heart failed him.

 With Oliver's death, Roland grieved for him, and

fainted was still on his horse, Veillantif. When he
regained his sense, Gautier had come down from
the defiles and heights of Rencesvals, having lost
all his men in his command. But Gautier, the
archbishop and Roland were the only ones still left
alive. Hearing Gautier's tiding made the hero
furious, so he killed 20 Saracens in quick
succession, while Gautier felled six and the
archbishop five. But Gautier fell when he came
under the volley of javelins. Turpin also received a
mortal wound, pierced by four spears, but still the
archbishop fought on. Roland blew his horn again;
and this attempt caused the hero to almost faint
from the pain.

 Roland then began searching for all of his Peers, and laid
them around the archbishop. The grief caused Roland to
faint again. Despite his wounds, Turpin took the hero's
Oliphant and went to a nearby stream, to fetch water for
Roland, but weakened by his wounds and loss of blood, the
Archbishop of Reims died.Roland regained his sense, only to
find the archbishop dead with his entrails spilled on the
ground near the water. Roland also felt that he was dying
too because blowing the Oliphant had caused internal
bleeding inside of his head. He moved towards a tree where
he found 4 blocks of large marble, and where Roland
fainted again.
Now that he felt death approaching, he confessed his sins,
and began praying to God for salvation and to the
archangels Michael and Gabriel to guide him. Seeing that all
attempt to destroy the Durendal to no avail, he decided to
hide it under his body, as he sat against the pine tree,
facing the direction of his enemies in Spain. And then, he