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The Song of Roland (Dodo Press)

The Song of Roland (Dodo Press)

Paperback (30 Jan 2009)

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Publisher's Synopsis

The Song of Roland (French: La Chanson de Roland) is the oldest remaining major work of French literature. It exists in various different manuscript versions, which testify to its enormous and enduring popularity in the 12th to 14th centuries. The oldest of these versions is the one in the Oxford manuscript, which contains a text of some 4,004 lines (the number varies slightly in different modern editions) and is usually dated to the middle of the twelfth century (between 1140 and 1170). The epic poem is the first and most outstanding example of the chanson de geste, a literary form that flourished between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries and celebrated the legendary deeds of a hero. The story told in the poem is based on a relatively minor historical incident, the Battle of Roncevaux Pass on August 15, 778, in which the rearguard of Charlemagne's retreating Franks, escorting a rich collection of booty gathered during a failed campaign in Spain, was attacked by Basques. The Song of Roland has been translated many times in many languages. This English translation from 1919 is by Captain Charles Kenneth (C. K.) Scott-Moncrieff MC (1889-1930).

About the Publisher

Dodo Press

Dodo Press has re-published over fifteen thousand out of print or difficult to find titles. By doing this we have made thousands of titles available to readers that were previously impossible to get hold of.

Book information

ISBN: 9781409929833
Publisher: Book Depository Limited
Imprint: Dodo Press
Pub date:
Language: English
Number of pages: 144
Weight: 222g
Height: 229mm
Width: 152mm
Spine width: 9mm