The Song of Roland
A Medieval French Epic of Charlemagne's Rearguard, Christian Chivalry, Feudal Loyalty, Betrayal, and MartyrdomBy Anonymous
Length3h 48m
About this audiobook
The Song of Roland is the foundational chanson de geste of medieval French literature, recounting the defeat of Charlemagne's rearguard at Roncesvaux and the heroic death of Roland, betrayed by Ganelon and overwhelmed by Saracen forces. Composed in decasyllabic laisse form, its elevated diction, recurring formulas, stark oppositions, and dramatic repetitions reveal its roots in oral performance while giving the poem remarkable architectural control. The narrative transforms a historical episode associated with Charlemagne's eighth-century campaigns into a meditation on feudal loyalty, martial honor, Christian faith, political authority, and the costs of heroic absolutism. Its stylized violence and devotional imagery place it within the ideological world of the medieval crusading imagination, even as its emotional intensity complicates its celebration of war. The poem's author is anonymous, as is typical of much medieval vernacular epic. Rather than pointing to a single identifiable writer, this anonymity reflects a collaborative cultural process in which inherited legends, oral singers, clerical learning, and aristocratic values were shaped into a literary monument. The surviving Oxford manuscript, generally dated to the early twelfth century and associated with the scribe Turoldus, preserves a work likely developed over generations. Its fusion of historical memory with contemporary concerns about Christian militancy and feudal obligation helps explain both its enduring authority and its powerful narrative focus. Readers interested in epic, medieval history, religious culture, or the formation of European literary traditions will find The Song of Roland indispensable. It rewards attention not only as a stirring tale of sacrifice and betrayal but also as a complex document of how societies construct heroes, enemies, and collective identity. Its concise grandeur makes it an ideal introduction to medieval epic, while its tensions—between loyalty and judgment, faith and violence, glory and grief—continue to invite serious interpretation.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 3.8 (26K)
Includes Goodreads, LibraryThing, Amazon
GenrePoetry
Length3 hrs 48 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateNov 21, 2023
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Beowulf (Annotated)
2I
3II: SO ENDS THE TALE WHICH TUROLD HATH CONCEIVED. (pt. 1)
4II: SO ENDS THE TALE WHICH TUROLD HATH CONCEIVED. (pt. 2)
Dhammapada: The Sayings of the BuddhaAnonymous1h 31m4.5 (37.9K)$1.99 · $0.00
The Story of Burnt Njal (Icelandic Saga)Anonymous14h 57m4.2 (7.1K)$1.99 · $0.00
The Kebra NagastAnonymous10h 21m4.3 (4.5K)$1.99 · $0.00
LI KI (The Book of Rites)Anonymous2h 14m4.2 (295)$1.99 · $0.00
The Analects of Confucius (Bilingual Edition: English/Chinese)Anonymous4h 7m4.4 (1.3K)$1.99 · $0.00
Pistis Sophia (The Message of Resurrected Jesus)Anonymous12h 23m4.2 (615)$1.99 · $0.00
THE ROMANCE OF LUSTAnonymous19h 16m3.3 (1.5K)$1.99 · $0.00
THE ROMANCE OF LUSTAnonymous17h 4m3.3 (2.1K)$1.99 · $0.00
The Mabinogion (Welsh Arthurian Legends)Anonymous11h4.1 (13.6K)$1.99 · $0.00
Thanksgiving CookbookAnonymous2h 14m$1.99 · $0.00
The Voyage of BranAnonymous2h 2m4.1 (231)$1.99 · $0.00
Buddhist ScripturesAnonymous3h4.0 (2K)$1.99 · $0.00
MY SECRET LIFE (Complete Edition)Anonymous26h 11m3.5 (1.5K)$1.99 · $0.00
My Secret Life (An Anonymous Erotica in 3 Vols.)Anonymous26h 12m3.5 (1.1K)$1.99 · $0.00
I CHING (The Book of Changes)Anonymous16h 33m4.4 (31.4K)$1.99 · $0.00
Beowulf (Collector's Edition)Anonymous34h 41m$1.99 · $0.00
Lazarillo de Tormes: BiographyAnonymous2h 32m3.9 (40.2K)$1.99 · $0.00
The Kebra NagastAnonymous10h 26m4.3 (3.2K)$1.99 · $0.00
Serbian Folk-loreAnonymous8h 27m4.3 (18)$1.99 · $0.00
Manuscrit de VoynichAnonymous13m4.3 (3.3K)$1.99 · $0.00
Maybe You Never Cry AgainBernie Mac4h 25m4.6 (3K)$20 · $0.00
Inquire WithinIn-Q2h 18m4.6 (993)$16 · $0.00
The Complete Poetry (The Classic Illustrated Edition)Samuel Taylor Coleridge26h 23m4.6 (1.3K)$1.99 · $0.00
The Weary Blues (Annotated)Langston Hughes2h 13m4.5 (4.6K)$2 · $0.00
The Complete Poetical Works of Edgar Allan Poe (Illustrated)Edgar Allan Poe18h 27m4.5 (4.2K)$2 · $0.00
The Complete Poetry (Annotated)Oscar Wilde6h 44m4.5 (15.5K)$2 · $0.00
Saundarya LahariUnknown Author3h 16m4.6 (256)$18 · $0.00
The Mesnevi (Annotated)Maulana Jalal al-Din Rumi18h 41m4.5 (4.2K)$2 · $0.00
Songs of a SourdoughRobert W. Service2h 13m4.5 (13.6K)$1 · $0.00
Little Flower of Jesus (Annotated)Thérèse of Lisieux5h 4m4.5 (1.4K)$1.99 · $0.00
The Poems of LeopardiGiacomo Leopardi3h 9m4.5 (3.6K)$2 · $0.00
Nikki Giovanni: Love Poems & A Good CryNikki Giovanni2h 44m4.6 (405)$18 · $0.00
The Complete Poetry of Walt Whitman (Annotated)Walt Whitman19h 58m4.5 (4.2K)$1.99 · $0.00
A Year with RumiColeman Barks5h 56m4.5 (2.6K)$24 · $0.00
Complete Poetry of Rudyard Kipling (Annotated)Rudyard Kipling22h 50m4.5 (2.6K)$3.99 · $0.00
The Complete PoemsPaul Laurence Dunbar12h 40m4.5 (1.5K)$21 · $0.00
The Odes of John Keats - Complete CollectionJohn Keats22h 16m4.5 (1.3K)$1 · $0.00
SonnetsWilliam Shakespeare2h 39m4.4 (128.3K)$3 · $0.00
PoemsEdna St. Vincent Millay2h 39m4.5 (1.3K)$2 · $0.00
PoemsW. B. Yeats5h 6m4.4 (46.9K)$1 · $0.00
You may also like
The Empty ThroneBernard Cornwell11h 12m4.4 (43.9K)$29 · $0.00
The Lay of the Nibelung MenAnonymous12h 38m4.0 (19K)$2 · $0.00
The Song of RolandAnonymous3h 33m3.8 (28.5K)$1 · $0.00
Warriors of the StormBernard Cornwell12h 12m4.5 (39.6K)$29 · $0.00
The Greatest KnightThomas Asbridge13h 51m4.3 (6.2K)$33 · $0.00
History of The Decline and Fall of The Roman Empire Vol VIEdward Gibbon26h 38m4.1 (273)$2.30
Defenders of the WestRaymond Ibrahim13h 59m4.6 (1.9K)$23
Sword of KingsBernard Cornwell13h 19m4.4 (30.5K)$33 · $0.00
In Freedom's Cause - a Story of Wallace and BruceG. A. Henty12h 27m4.2 (3K)$2.30
El CidDécio Martins De Medeiros1h 3m$12 · $0.00
Old Court Life in Spain (Vol.1&2) (Annotated)Frances Minto Elliot18h 18m$2 · $0.00
The Hundred Years’ War. Part II.Santiago Machain6h 24m$21 · $0.00
Belisarius the GreatTALLI44m4.8 (17) Only with Ultra
The Court Life in SpainFrances Minto Elliot18h 15m$1.99 · $0.00
The Story of Rome (Illustrated Edition) (Annotated)Mary Macgregor13h 9m3.8 (88)$2 · $0.00
The Boke of NoblesseVarious6h 45m$2 · $0.00
Ulf Van Yern, and Other BalladsVarious19m$2 · $0.00
William the ConquerorJacob Abbott7h 1m3.8 (789)$2 · $0.00
Spanish PapersWashington Irving13h 17m$2.30
Wulnoth the WandererHerbert Inman7h 13m4.0 (33)$1 · $0.00