English 2332 Unit 13 Study Guide


(Return to the Unit 13 Home Page) Unit 13 Study Guide The Song of Roland is the foundation of all French literature. It memorializes the death of Roland on August 15, 778 A.D. A gallant knight in the service of King Charles (later the Emperor Charlemagne), Roland died in a Spanish Basque attack on the King's rear guard. The story of his heroic fight and efforts to save his colleagues in the face of imminent death became for the French and French nationalism the glorious martyrdom of what Davy Crockett's "last stand at the Alamo" became for Texans. The English counterpart for the French Song of Roland (1485) was Sir Thomas Malory's Morte Darthur--The Death of [King] Arthur. Long before Malory (1405 - 1471) wrote his epic saga of the life of King Arthur, his Queen Guinevere, Sir Lancelot, and the rest of the Round Table, the tales of the legendary Arthur had circulated in both England and the Continent in the oral tradition. Written while in prison where he had the time to focus his efforts, Malory compiled the fullest version of the tales ever assembled. William Caxton, England's first printer (text) set the work to type, assigning the unfortunate name suggesting the end of Arthur's Camelot. The full work, however, covers Arthur's youth, recovery of his sword, Excalibre. Readings Read the Introduction to The Song of Roland, pp. 1104 - 1108 Read The Song of Roland, pp. 1108 - 1168 Read the Introduction to Thomas Malory's Morte Darthur, pp. 1610 -1611 Read Morte Darthur, pp. 1611 - 1627 Study Questions 1) Cite evidence of Roland's final efforts in battle that elevate his status from warrior to warrior-hero. 2) Why does the heroic poem continue after the death of Roland? What justifies the shift in focus to the study of treason? 3) Reconstruct the value system of the courtly love tradition as it is exhibited in the relationship between Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot. 4) What is responsible for the demise of the Round Table? Is it only the adultery of Guinevere and Lancelot? What other characters figure in that decline? Key Concepts The Sacrificial Hero The appeal of Roland is, in part, his valiant fight to save his unit in war and the valor that he exhibits in the face of death. He becomes the quintessential model of the warrior hero, motivated by values beyond the raw anger of Achilles, the all but blind commitment to duty of Aeneas, or the narrow, personal focus of Odysseus, who willingly exposes his own sailors to danger and disaster in his personal quest to return home following the Trojan War. Knight-errantry and the Chivalric Code While some cultural historians argue against any fixed code of conduct common to all the warrior societies of the European Middle Ages, at least a kind of evolving/devolving set of values, assumptions, and practices gave substance to an ideal called the "Chivalric Code." The ideal, if not the manifestation, accounts for the whole hierarchy of social levels and roles of feudal society, and particularly defined the decorum expected of members of the ruling class. Consult the online sources for a fuller discussion of the code. . This page was last modified on January 17, 2006, and is maintained by Dr. Geoffrey A. Grimes.