This book offers a detailed interpretation of the Song of Roland, one of the best-known texts in all heroic literature. It also includes a commentary that treats the poem's place in the eleventh (or early twelfth) century, its importance to the society that produced it, and the ways in which it is read today.

"This book provides the reader with a new, challenging, and sophisticated critical analysis of the Song of Roland." --Choice " Haidu's] close reading of the Song of Roland is interesting, informative, and significant... " --American Historical Review "Probably the most sophisticated book ever written on the Song of Roland.... It is at once a work of linguistic analysis, of literary theory, of literary history, and, finally, of history." --R. Howard Bloch Haidu argues that the 12th-century Song of Roland played an essential role in the creation of the nation-state, in that the narrative transforms the independent and violent warriors of the feudal period into the subordinate instruments of the nation-state by enforcing on them the subjection to the rule of monarchy.

A contemporary prose rendering of the great medieval French epic, The Song of Roland is as canonical and significant as the Anglo-Saxon Beowulf. It extols the chivalric ideals in the France of Charlemagne through the exploits of Charlemagne's nephew, the warrior Roland, who fights bravely to his death in a legendary battle. Against the bloody backdrop of the struggle between Christianity and Islam, The Song of Roland remains a vivid portrayal of medieval life, knightly adventure, and feudal politics. The first great literary works of a culture are its epic chronicles, those that create simple hero-figures about whom the imagination of a nation can crystallize, observed V. S. Pritchett. The Song of Roland is animated by the crusading spirit and fortified by national and religious propaganda. This edition features W. S. Merwin's glowing, lyrical translation.

Swift yet resonant, this masterful new verse translation conveys the immediacy, intimacy, and power of this greatest of Old French epic poems. John DuVal approaches the unadorned syntax of The Song of Roland in straightforward modern English, attuned to the nuance and detail of the narrative and the poetry of the original text. In his concise but thorough general Introduction, David Staines traces the origins of the poem and its reception in medieval society, discusses its content and its themes, and in clear, accessible prose illuminates the epic poem’s chivalric spirit. Footnotes provide glosses on events, characters, and medieval terms. Endnotes discuss editorial and translational issues. This edition also includes a selected bibliography, a map, and a glossary and index. An appendix provides the entire text of the Old French original.

This 1929 book includes nine essays by Sir Herbert Read covering different authors and centered around the concept of 'glory'.

Placing heroes from a wide range of medieval traditions shoulder to shoulder, this title provides the opportunity to examine what is common across medieval mythic, legendary, and folkloric traditions, as well as what seems unique. Myths of gods, legends of battles, and folktales of magic abound in the heroic narratives of the Middle Ages. Mythology in the Middle Ages: Heroic Tales of Monsters, Magic, and Might describes how Medieval heroes were developed from a variety of source materials: Early pagan gods become euhemerized through a Christian lens, and an older epic heroic sensibility was exchanged for a Christian typological and figural representation of saints. Most startlingly, the faces of Christian martyrs were refracted through a heroic lens in the battles between Christian standard-bearers and their opponents, who were at times explicitly described in demonic terms. The book treats readers to a fantastic adventure as author Christopher R. Fee guides them on the trail of some of the greatest heroes of medieval literature. Discussing the meanings of medieval mythology, legend, and folklore through a wide variety of fantastic episodes, themes, and motifs, the journey takes readers across centuries and through the mythic, legendary, and folkloric imaginations of different peoples. Coverage ranges from the Atlantic and Baltic coasts of Europe, south into the Holy Roman Empire, west through the Iberian peninsula, and into North Africa. From there, it is east to Byzantium, Russia, and even the far reaches of Persia.

Simple words have had the most profound effect on the world — its history, literature, art, science, religion and economics. To know and to have read the great masters is to understand and appreciate the complex interaction of world events as they unfold. 51 Great Books You Should Have Read (and probably didn't) is the first attempt to organize the great literature, both fiction and non-fiction, in such a way as to demonstrate their world-wide impact. This invaluable book is a selection of 51 seminal works and a fascinating peep into the beliefs, teachings and thought-process of some of the greatest and the finest minds who ever walked this planet. Every attempt has been made to introduce readers to books and literature that is international in scope and spans the centuries. The works included are from Homer's The Iliad, Plato's The Republic and Mahabharata to Nelson Mandela's The Long Walk to Freedom and Alan Turing's On Computable Numbers. The works chosen are not necessarily the most famous — nor are their authors. Rather, they represent seminal works, masterpieces that every educated individual should have at least some familiarity with. In a few short pages, you will learn about the authors, their background and influences, as well as a good deal about the works themselves. In many ways this is a very sophisticated book with many important topics — but it is presented in an easy-to-read reference style.

Arranged alphabetically, with a brief introduction that clearly defines the scope and purpose of the book. Illustrations include maps, B/W photographs, genealogical tables, and lists of architectural terms.