Assignment 3: The Song Of Roland
Assignment 3: The Song of Roland
The adjective ‘brave’ is defined as “possessing or exhibiting courage or courageous endurance,” “making a fine appearance,” or “excellent; fine; admirable.” Though Charlemagne’s nephew Roland foolhardily led himself and warriors to their deaths he showed a great amount of courage, honor, and confidence throughout his leadership of the troops till his demise. It is clear that bravery during that time is very much the same as how it is viewed today. The French epic poem, the Song of Roland displays just how brave Roland was during the ambush that took place in 778. Roland never showed an ounce of fear throughout the entire time of the ambush. Never speaking of defeat the words he spoke were “fierce and proud.”
To be courageous you must be able to face difficulty without fear. There was a time during the ambush when Roland looked out to the Saracens saying “a greater number no man has ever seen.” To a person of little courage this realization would have been intimidating but for Roland it only increased the thrill saying “You’ll have a battle like none on earth before!”
Not even at his death did Roland submit to fear. When Roland realized he was about to die he only hoped that people would know he died like a conqueror. He confesses his sins and offers his glove to God. He believed it was better to die than to live with shame. He wanted the deaths to do honor to the king. Even today especially when it comes to those who have served in the armed services, soldiers go to war knowing how high the risk is of dying. However they are satisfied with the fact that they died for their country.
Not only was he courageous and honorable but despite the size of the Saracens he remained confident in his troops. He made sure that no matter what, his men knew to hold their ground. He also showed confidence in himself by saying how the blade of his sword would be covered with blood and how Spain had no protection from death.
Many of Roland’s actions and words show the same type of bravery seen in modern day. Though the dialect is different, the message remains the same. Displaying courage, honor and confidence are some of the basic traits to be considered brave in that time period and today.
The adjective ‘brave’ is defined as “possessing or exhibiting courage or courageous endurance,” “making a fine appearance,” or “excellent; fine; admirable.” Though Charlemagne’s nephew Roland foolhardily led himself and warriors to their deaths he showed a great amount of courage, honor, and confidence throughout his leadership of the troops till his demise. It is clear that bravery during that time is very much the same as how it is viewed today. The French epic poem, the Song of Roland displays just how brave Roland was during the ambush that took place in 778. Roland never showed an ounce of fear throughout the entire time of the ambush. Never speaking of defeat the words he spoke were “fierce and proud.”
To be courageous you must be able to face difficulty without fear. There was a time during the ambush when Roland looked out to the Saracens saying “a greater number no man has ever seen.” To a person of little courage this realization would have been intimidating but for Roland it only increased the thrill saying “You’ll have a battle like none on earth before!”
Not even at his death did Roland submit to fear. When Roland realized he was about to die he only hoped that people would know he died like a conqueror. He confesses his sins and offers his glove to God. He believed it was better to die than to live with shame. He wanted the deaths to do honor to the king. Even today especially when it comes to those who have served in the armed services, soldiers go to war knowing how high the risk is of dying. However they are satisfied with the fact that they died for their country.
Not only was he courageous and honorable but despite the size of the Saracens he remained confident in his troops. He made sure that no matter what, his men knew to hold their ground. He also showed confidence in himself by saying how the blade of his sword would be covered with blood and how Spain had no protection from death.
Many of Roland’s actions and words show the same type of bravery seen in modern day. Though the dialect is different, the message remains the same. Displaying courage, honor and confidence are some of the basic traits to be considered brave in that time period and today.