The Role of Women in the Song of Roland
             Women are not mentioned often in the Song of Roland. They appear in only seventeen
             of almost three hundred laisses. It is because they are included so rarely, however, that the
             women stand out amidst the throng of male characters and call attention to the areas of the text
             in which they appear. One of the principle woman characters is Queen Bramimionde, wife of the
             pagan King Marsile. She plays an important role at the end of the text, becoming by association
             the whole of pagandom, and it is only through her that the French emperor Charlemagne can
             achieve a true victory over the Saracens.
             The first mention of women in the Song of Roland comes in laisse 23, when Ganelon
             speaks to Charles: "I well know that I must go to Saragossa;/Whoever goes there cannot hope to
             return./Moreover, I have your sister as my wife...." In these lines, Ganelon uses kinship as a
             means to link himself to Charlemagne, via the woman. He is in effect communicating his 'last
             words' to the emperor and, being reluctant to perform the dangerous task set before him, is
             attempting to evoke guilt in Charles. A suitable paraphrase of the lines would be: "Remember
             that I am married to your sister, whom you are now effectively making a widow." Laisse 23 is
             not only significant because it makes first mention of a woman, but also because it is tied directly
             The pagan Queen first appears in laisse 50: "Then Queen Bramimonde came forward:/'I
             love you dearly, lord,'she said to [Ganelon],/'For my lord and his men hold you in very high
             esteem./I shall send your wife two necklaces...." In this passage two women are mentioned; the
             Queen promising rich gifts to the wife in exchange for the husband's treachery. This passage
             immediately stands out from those before it because it tells of a gift that is from woman to
             woman rather...