The Song of Roland (Signet Classics)
by Anonymous
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Book Summary Information
Author: AnonymousTranslator: Robert Harrison
Edition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2002-09-03
ISBN: 0451528573
Number of pages: 192
Publisher: Signet Classics
Book Reviews of The Song of Roland (Signet Classics)
Book Review: Part poetry, part propaganda
Summary: 4 Stars
There's no denying this long epic poem was written at a certain place and time, and many of the lines reflect that. Unlike some other epics of this nature, there doesn't seem to be a lot of equanimity; the French Christians are depicted as the good guys, epitomes of courage and bravery (apart from a few instances of pride, vanity, and hubris, but those are individual characteristics and not attributed to their race or religion), while the Arab Muslims are demonised and made out to be horrible "heathens" and "pagans" who deserve to be murdered in really graphic ways, routinely depicted as worshipping Mohammad (which is completely untrue), Apollo, and Tergament, and having their souls carried away by Satan. Obviously most people in Europe at this time weren't very enlightened about other religions and cultures, and while I agree it's ridiculous to want people of another era and culture to think and behave exactly like people of the 21st century, it is still pretty hard to read a lot of these passages with slander against Islam and the Moors in Spain. I was actually rooting for them and not the French, and wished it could have given a more balanced view, showing the faults and virtues of both sides, or letting the reader make up his or her own mind about which side is the righteous side, or if neither side is any better or worse than the other. Particularly chilling is the passage towards the end, after the battle is over, when Charlemagne and his remaining army go through the city destroying all of the mosques and synagogues and force-converting the remaining civilian population. Still, as uncomfortable as such things are to the average modern reader, it's still a quite good story, with a lot of good descriptions and poetry, and as one-sided as it may be, as well as having some probable exaggerations or falsifications in order to make the French and Charlemagne seem even more victorious and virtuous, it also does a good job of depicting politics and warfare in the later part of the early Middle Ages. Most of the classic works of Medieval literature most people are most familiar with hail from after the year 1000, but this takes place in the 700s.
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