While “The Song of Roland” is, an epic poem dissected by a dichotomy with mirroring to rival that of Victor Hugo’s “Les Miserables”, a story with a clear bias as to which side is in the right with their actions. Yet once you realize that it is written in such a way to vilify the Muslims, even though had any other culture done this while they would not be portrayed as hero’s they would not be so vilified as the Muslim in the author’s attempt to slander them and feed the flames of the Crusades with their demonization of the Muslims. King Marsile of the Muslim kingdom of Spain at first attempts to parlay with Charlemagne, but upon hearing of the demands of Charlemagne on top of what he, King Marsile had already offered, Count Ganelon did not have …show more content…
all that much resistance in using Marsile to his own ends. The symmetry of the opposition of good and evil in “The Song of Roland” stems from the need of the Roman Catholic church to warp the events of that happened in order to fuel the flames of its campaign against the Muslims that at that time held the western coast of the Mediterranean and the holy lands near to it. They portray their own side even at their worst in the best possible light taking Roland’s foolish decision and turning his unnecessary death and that of the vanguard that he commanded into a heroic sacrifice for the greater good of Charlemagne’s army, thus propelling the whole lot of them into the rather dubious realm of martyrdom. King Marsile reacts as any sovereign would when faced with losing their kingdom, by pursuing any option he has to76 keep it. Sensibly, first with peace and then as that begins to fail, subtle offensive actions. In the end the purpose of this story was to justify the actions taken against the Muslims, to portray Roland and Charlemagne in the best possible, and to vilify Marsile’s actions that realistically had Charlemagne been in Marsile’s position he himself would have done the same. With Charlemagne and Marsile is an excellent place to begin speaking of the skillful juxtaposition of the opposing sides in “The Song of Roland”.
The two kings are equal both described as wise and reasonable rulers, who are willing to hear counsel even if that is not always what they will do in the end. For all that Marsile is cast to play the villain he listens to the counsel of his advisers and even as Charlemagne is sacking the city of Cordoba, he listens to them. At their urging he prepares to send forth an offer of tribute and hostages in return for a truce. For as one of his knights, Blancandrin advises him, “Far better for them [i.e. the hostages] to lose their heads there/ Then for us to lose the fair ad beautiful land of Spain/ Or suffer misfortunes and privations.” (lines 58-60). To this Marsile wisely agrees and sends forth his emissaries to Charlemagne with his offer. It is only after that Charlemagne places many more additional demands, that Marsile becomes desperate enough that he abandons the sound counsel of his knights and advisers and allows Count Ganelon to lead him down the path at the end of which Roland will lie dead. His attack on Roland and the vanguard is an act of desperation and outrage at the threat to his kingdom. He seeks any way possible to save his kingdom and at Ganelon telling him that Roland is Charlemagne’s strength he seeks to weaken him. He does what surely many kings before him had done when faced but the threat of Charlemagne and his armies. The difference between he and the other kings and a reason this story is about him rather than one of the other kings, however, is that Marsile had help from within Charlemange’s forces that allowed him to succeed. Had Charlemagne been in Marsile’s position, he would have in all probability have done much the same things as Marsile. Charlemagne could not act immediately attack because Marsile originally came to him seeking mercy and as a good Christian he was forced to be merciful, as
Marsile sent his emissaries in good faith to parley. So, Charlemagne was forced to show mercy for a time, as a Christian and by the respect due to another monarch. However, once Roland and the vanguard he commands are slaughter to the last man, the ties of respect and goodwill no longer bind him. The kings that are the main powers in “The Song of Roland” are a great deal more similar than the author of the poem might care to admit. Both at first willing to listen to counsel, both willing to send their enemies to parley, despite a severe distrust of each other, and when they grow desperate, they both strikes swiftly and viciously. The only reason that Charlemagne was shown more favorably in the end is that he was the victor, powerful on his own and more so when backed by the might of the roman catholic church. As for the other pawns arrayed across the board, for yes that is what they are. This poem may be titled “The Song of Roland”, but Roland is just another piece on the board and extension of the power of one of the two kings. Roland and Oliver are the matched set of white knights on Charlemagne’s side of the board opposed by Ganelon and Aleroth on Marsile’s side. In the same way the archbishop Turpin, a loyal lord of Charlemagne is his bishop set against Corsablis on Marsile’s side of the board. With Turpin portrayed as faithfully delivering the last right to those who fell in the pass, until the moment that he himself falls, whereas Corablis is portrayed as a user of dark magics when in fact he probably was doing the same thing for his own side. The other set of bishops is seen in the portrayal of the divine sources with Muhammad and Apollo opposing the Christian god and the angel Gabriel. Then you have the Queens Alde the beautiful, who will fall dead of a broken heart at the news of her betrothed’s, Roland’s death, and Bramimonde who would after the death of her husband and the destruction of his kingdom would be taken and converted to Christianity by Charlemagne, the captured queen. So, with the chess board set it becomes quite clear what the purpose of this juxtaposition is. “The Song of Roland” written well after the actual event is a dramatization of it whose sole purpose is to encourage the medieval European populous to vilify and distrust the Muslims, and fan the flames of the Crusades, for the benefit of the Church. It was greed and a lust for power, and a need for a war too fuel it. That is what “The Song of Roland” sought to do. This was the purpose of its juxtaposition of characters and themes.
Contrary to many commonly held notions about the first crusade, in his book, The First Crusade and the Idea of Crusading, Jonathan Riley-Smith sets out to explain how the idea of crusading thought evolved in the first crusade. In his book, Riley-Smith sets out five main arguments to show how these ideas of crusading evolved. Firstly, he argues that Pope Urban’s original message was conventional, secondly that a more positive reaction was drawn from the laity (due to the ideas surrounding Jerusalem), thirdly, that the original message of crusading had changed because of the horrible experiences of the first crusaders, fourth, that due to these experiences the crusaders developed their own concept of what a crusade was, and lastly, that these ideas were refined by (religious) writers and turned into an acceptable form of theology. Riley-Smith makes excellent points about the crusade; however, before one can delve directly into his argument, one must first understand the background surrounding the rise of the first crusade.
Authors incorporate religious principles to set forth the moral characteristics and ideals expected of a person. Literary works are illustrated with biblical allusions to help express the message behind the plot of a story. The poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight integrates biblical beliefs to depict the views on human nature. In this work, Christian concepts are embedded into the poem to suggest the Green Knight’s characterization as God, a representation to test human nature’s fidelity.
All in all, this short selection of Usama’s writings does much to further the understanding of the effects on the crusades on many Muslims during this period, though since this was written by an affluent elite it does not describe much of the general populous’ experience. It also provides a good overview of the interactions between Muslims themselves. This was a time fraught with danger and division but Usama’s work shows that a common thread kept many together and preserved a civilization that still exists to this very day.
...st everything. Like Tamburlaine, Roland sought greatness, yet never once did it occur to him to move past the barriers inherent in his vassalage. He carried the burden of having the broad strokes of his life defined by the mere circumstances of his birth, his identity intrinsically tied to servitude. Though he served his position well, he was always the vassal, never the lord.
After reading two versions of “The Life of Charlemagne”, one written by a person who lived with Charlemagne, and one who didn’t, it is evident that Charlemagne is portrayed in a negative way by the author, the Monk of St. Gall, and in a positive way by Einhard. Einhard was very close to Charlemagne. He lived at the same time and with Charlemagne himself. His version of “The Life of Charlemagne” was writing right after his death. The Monk of St. Gall wrote his version more than 70 years after Charlemagne’s death. He did not live with or even at the same time as Charlemagne. This is probably one of the reasons the view on the ruler are completely different.
Warriors of God by James Reston Jr. is a non-fictional view of the third crusade. This particular crusade spanned from 1187-1192, containing many gruesome battles and a lot of intense moments between Islam and Christianity. Reston supplies the reader with a little background to the third Crusade when he talks about the first Crusades happening since 1095. Reston gives a fairly impartial view of this holy war. He discusses the battles, politics, and emotions of the Crusade as an outside party and if he takes any side at all it is with the Muslims. He often speaks badly of King Richard and he speaks well of Saladin, the sultan. He portrays Richard as a greedy, anti-Semite, who is intolerable of other religions, while he shows Saladin as tolerant to the Jews, reasonable, and an overall good leader. Reston wrote this book mostly to inform readers about the third Crusade but also to add some of his own insights. His thesis was a little unclear but he stated that the Crusades were the most violent event in history all the way up to Hitler’s rein. Reston did a good job in proving this when he told of battles and then analyzed them. He told of a time when King Richard had twenty thousand Muslims executed and when Saladin had Reginald of Chatillon beheaded along with many other Christian prisoners.
In the historical poem, ‘Sir Gawain and the green knight’ it is easy to pick the two protagonists Sir Gawain and the Green knight. They are both knights and their heroism is developed through high power and their Christian faith. However, the mode of characterization varies as both Sir Gawain and every other man in the poem argue about the advancement of a Christian hero. Every man including sir Gawain all have real individual characteristics such as self pity, fear, and dishonesty, and though they are characterized by flaws they all excel thus not falling under the classification of just not any common heroes but Christian heroes.
During the middle ages, Christian knight were idealized heroes who were nearly characterized as perfect but here the main character has many flaws and makes many mistakes. Lazaro is born in a river; his father worked in a mill and was accused of stealing which is a contrast to Sir Gawain, noble status who was a knight and the nephew of King Arthur. Lazaro, goal is to gain a higher status but to do so he has to use illegitimate procedures like cons and lies whereas Sir Gawain is of noble status and focus on faith, chivalry and honor. Lazaro has no loyalty to any of his masters “He gave me the first shoes I ever wore out in my life; but they didn’t last me a week, and I couldn’t keep up with his gadding about. For that reason, and for a few other trifling matters, I left him”. Gawain put his life in danger to protect King Arthur, and his own honor. Lazaro lacks honor and pride he just wants material comfort, he constantly steals from his masters because he says his hungry and constantly con people for food “ With a weak, sick voice and my hands resting on my breast, with God before my eyes and His name on my tongue, I started to beg bread at
Since this paper is my reflection, I will be honest by stating that I am nineteen years old, white, a male, and have been raised in a Catholic family just outside of Louisville, Kentucky. Now why is this important? This is important because the only viewpoint of the crusades that I have studied, prior to my experience with Maalouf, has been from the Christian point of view. Until now, I have yet to place myself in the shoes of those on the opposite end of the sword, shields, and Jihad. History is a touchy subject for me because I have come to learn there is always another side of the story to learn from. This fact leads to the first main thesis of Maalouf’s adventure.
I chose to elaborate on two of Karen Armstrong’s themes from the first chapter of A History of God as I felt they were both very strong ideas. The first explains how cultural differences between North Africa and Europe during the Romantic Period affected white society’s failure to realize that Islam indeed worshipped the same deity. The second explains how Delacroix’s audience desired the imagery in the painting because people were, during this time, losing their concept of God.
The middle ages were a time period consisting of a prominent code known as chivalry consisting of honor, nobility and demeanor. The most honorable of all were perceived to be the holy knights of the roundtable whose virtue was believed to surmount that of any other peasant. Knights were romanticized figures incapable of doing wrong. However the satire, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight completely shatters that preconceived notion. This story implements elements of fantasy and romance in order to deride the popular ideal of chivalry. One of the most prominent literary elements implemented in this novel is the use of juxtaposition and contrasts. Through the use of contrast and juxtaposition,
In Florence Goyet 's article " Narrative Structure and Political Construction: the Epic at Work" she discusses how Roland’s personal choices affects his relationships and how he makes his decisions that ultimately makes him a hero. Ganelon’s hatred for Roland, which is so far the only real “personal” thing in The Song of Roland, seems quite impersonal. He hates his stepson, so he decides to try to get him killed. Though it is a choice based on personal emotion, it seems logical and not very emotional. So far there has been no great shows of emotion in the epic, and though we see many choices that are based on the personal interests of the characters, the epic still
The fourteenth century English poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight depicts aspects of different kinds of “courtly love”. The poem contains elements of courtly love as well as spiritual, and brotherly love. These elements can be appreciated by Gawain’s respect to Guinevere and Lady Bertilak, the bond between the Knights of the Round Table and Gawain’s devotion to the Virgin Mary.
Religious feelings were the principal cause of the Crusades. Up until 1065 the Moslems had control o...
Similar to Beowulf, in the way that it contains religious aspects, specifically Christian aspects, which tell readers a lot about the practices and current beliefs of the English during the 14th century. During this time in history religion influenced almost every aspect of people’s lives. In this piece of literature unlike Beowulf, the author makes direct and unmistakable connections to Christianity. Specifically Sir Gawain’s faith in the Virgin Mary and need to worship, “Father, hear me,/and Lady Mary, our mother most mild,/let me happen on some house where mass might be heard”( Sir Gawain And The Green Knight 753-755). Sir Gawain’s encounter with the Green Knight and his wife is a test of his faith and morals. The three mornings the Lord’s wife tried to seduce and tempt Gawain are equivalent to the three times Jesus was tempted by the devil in the Bible. As Gawain is tempted and seduced however as long as he trusted in God and his faith remained strong he was safe. It wasn’t until his faith in God waivered and he took the Girdle from the lord’s wife, trusting mystical powers to save him did Gawain suffer. This biblical like parable, was meant as a teaching tool to show people of that time that turning to old pagan habits (like trusting in anything or one other than God) would end in pain. However the story also opens up the Christian belief in forgiveness. Like when Gawain repents for his sins and returns to God in the end, he still suffered but he wasn’t