The Emperor Charlemagne in La Chanson de Roland

A reader must always remember that the foremost theme of this poem is the triumph and superiority of Christianity over foreign religions and foreign civilizations (i.e. the Saracens). “The Song of Roland evolves around the image of an old king whose mission is the establishment and constant defense of an empire beloved of God” (Uitti, 65). Therefore Charlemagne, as the

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They are engaging in what they interpret as God’s will by conquering Saracen civilization ultimately converting pagans. Most demonstrative of Charlemagne’s role as divine agent on earth is the series of three dreams that come to the king during the course of the poem. Chansons de geste and other genres of French literature in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries focus more on the individual hero and his adventures or misadventures such as in the genre of the roman d’aventure. “Immediately after Roland’s death, it seems, Charlemagne assumes his nephew’s function and for some thirteen hundred lines unites in himself the figures of both warrior and king” (Niles, 134). This intimacy clearly illustrates that the emperor is more than human and larger than life. Here the audience reads about a brave warrior showing complete fidelity to his overlord because he bears the title and majesty of kingship, not because he is a noble king. When contrasted with the rashness of Roland, Charlemagne “was a man not hasty in reply / But wont to speak only when well advised” (p.

French literature of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, which is famous primarily for its romances and other stories of the adventures of chivalrous knights, is indebted to La Chanson de Roland for its presentation of the king Charlemagne. The movement of literature of the period is towards individualism and away from national unity with a king at the head of a state of empire. “The tendencies of contemporary feudalism undermined the grandiose position of the king in the earliest poems” (Comfort, 305-306). “He appears primarily in the Roland in his proper place, that of the leader of the people” (Comfort, 292).

This clear line of communication between him and the divine, in the form of dreams, and the subject matter that is transmitted clearly shows that Charlemagne is the vicar of Christ and/or God on earth. These distinctly human reactions show Charlemagne in a human and vulnerable light. The first set of dreams in laisses 56 and 57 serve both thematic and practical purposes. But it was Charles the warrior, the right arm of the Church, the valiant defender of Christendom against pagan and Infidel invasion that comes most prominently into view” (Comfort, 285).

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Approximate Word count = 1523
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

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