Classic Poem

LXI

When with the rear-guard he should go that the Count Roland heard
Then unto his stepfather he spoke a bitter word:
" Thou traitor! thou most wicked! born of a shameful line!
Thou thinkest here the glove will fall out of this hand of mine,
Even as the staff of office fell erewhile out of thine. "

LXII

Count Roland to King Charlemagne his voice uplifted there
" Give me the bow that in thy hand thou evermore dost bear
That no man shall reproach me that I dropped it, I deem well
As, when Ganelon took the truncheon, with thy right glove befell
The Emperor bent down his brow when spoke the paladin
Aye plucked he with his fingers at the beard on lip and chin;
And the tears that came into his eyes, he could not keep there in "

LXIII

Neimes stood forth thereafter. And there was not see
In all the court a vassal that was better man than he.
He said unto the Emperor:
" Well the matter hast thou heard
The anger of Count Roland is very greatly stirred.
His is the rear. No baron in his place may well command.
The bow which thou hast offered give now into his hand.
And whoso'er will aid him now seek thou high and low. "
And the King gave it over, and Roland took the bow.

LXIV

The Emperor called Roland. " Lord Nephew, " then said he,
" Know truly, half mine army will I leave now with thee.
Do thou keep them for thy safety. " Said the Count:
" Nay, Sire, the thing here
I will not do. God slay me if my line to shame I bring.
Twenty thousand gallant Frenchmen will I keep. The gateway
Safe shalt thou pass, nor while I live for any shalt thou fear. "

LXV

Upon his steed of battle the good Count Roland got.
And Olivier his comrade came to him at the spot,
And Gerin was come thither, and Count Gerier the strong;
And thither also Berenger and Othon came along;
And there did Anseis the proud, and Samson too appear;
And Ivoris and Ivo, whom the King held so dear.
Gerard of Roussillon was there; an ancient man was he;
And Engelier, moreover, of the land of Gascony.
Quoth Turpin the Archbishop: " I will go too, by my head. "
" And I with thee, " Count Walter to the Archbishop said,
" For I am Roland's liegeman. By him I must abide. "
Knights were there twenty thousand that thus came forth beside.

LXVI

To Walter a Hume Count Roland has given his command:
" Take now a thousand Franks with thee that are come of France our land.
And prithee get the passes and the little hills in hand,
Lest by ill hap the Emperor should suffer loss thereby. "
" It is my bounden duty, " said Walter in reply.
Therewith he led his squadrons to seize the pass on high
But he will not come down again (for ill news flies about)
Before swords seven hundred to battle are drawn out.
King Almaris that in Belferne the kingdom held his sway
The most terrible of battles will fight with him that day.

LXVII

High were the peaks about them, and dark the vale and black
Sombre the rocks around them, and terrible the track.
All day the French were marching in labor and in pain.
For fifteen leagues the bruit a man might hear it plain.
When they had come to the Greater Land and looked of Gascon
The country of their sovereign, then returned the memory
Of fiefs and farms and children and their gentle wives and good
Was no man but for pity was weeping where he stood.
But greater than any other's was the grief of Charlemagne
That he had left his nephew within the Gate of Spain.
Pity laid hold on him. He wept, for all he was not fain.

LXVIII

In Spain abode the twelve good peers, with twenty thousand
Of Franks that felt no fear at all and dreaded not to die.
King Charlemagne the Emperor hied onward into France;
But underneath his mantle he hid his countenance.
Neimes rode near: " What thinkest thou? " he said unto the King
Charles said:
" He doth me bitter wrong that asketh me this thing
I have so sore a sorrow, what can I do but moan?
By Ganelon the land of France is wrecked and overthrown
Yesternight in a vision an angel showed me clear
How in my hands Count Ganelon had splintered all my spear,
Even he that wrought this matter so that Roland took the rear.
And I have left him lonely in a strange land behind.
God's name, if I should lose him his like I shall not find. "

LXIX

King Charles the mighty Emperor wept, for all he was not fain.
For him a hundred thousand Franks suffered great grief and pain.
And for the good Count Roland great fear they had as well.
Count Ganelon the traitor had wrought that treason fell.
From the sovereign of the Saracens resplendent gifts had he,
Gold and silver and noble cloths, and silken finery,
And of lions, steeds and camels and mules great company.
King Marsile bade his barons come unto him amain,
Counts, viscounts, dukes, and almaçors of the fair land of Spain
With the emirs and the children of the counts throughout the land.
And full four-hundred thousand were added to his hand.
The drums in Saragossa he bade beat them in that hour.
They carried up Mahomet into the highest tower.
Thereby was found no Paynim but did worship and adore.
Then out with a great tumult the army rode to war.
Through Cerdagne, and through the valleys and the mountains they marched on,
Until of the French army they saw the gonfalon,
Where all the twelve companions with the French rear-guard lay.
King Marsile will not tarry till he have joined the fray.

LXX

The nephew of King Marsile before them all did stand
He smote the mule he rode on with the cudgel in his hand.
In merriment his uncle right fairly he bespake:
" Fair Lord and King, much service have I compassed thy sake
Much have I suffered for thee in labor and in pain.
I have fought many a battle and won the field amain.
To fight this fight with Roland, now give me guerdon here;
And I myself will slay him with the sharp point of the spear
If that Mahomet unto me his favor fair will grant.
I will free all Spain from the Aspre pass even to Durestant
Charlemagne shall be weary, and the Franks shall be sick of war
Thou shalt never have a battle in all thy lifetime more. "
To his nephew the King Marsile forthwith the glove gave o'er

LXXI

The nephew of King Marsile in his hand the glove'd take
And there unto his uncle a fiery word he spake:
" My fair Lord King, a mighty thing hast thou given until
Choose now eleven barons out of thy chivalry.
Against the twelve companions to battle will I ride. "
And first of all one Falsaron gave answer and replied
(He was King Marsile's brother): " Nephew, let us away
For thou and I together shall surely fight this fray.
The rear-guard of the gallant host that Charles to battle led
Surely the thing is written that we shall strike them dead. "

LXXII

King Corsablis, moreover, rose up upon his part
From the land of Barbary was he, a man of wicked art.
He spake like a good vassal in the law of chivalry,
And not for all the gold of God a coward would he be.
And Malprimis of Brigal, behold, came running there.
On his feet was he faster than any steed to fare.
With a loud voice to Marsile his purpose he did show:
" I will adventure my body in the pass of Roncevaux.
And if I come on Roland, he shall get his overthrow. "

LXXIII

An admiral, moreover, of Balaguer was there.
Most splendid was his body, and his face was proud and fair.
Gallant he was to ride in arms and to gallop on his steed.
And for great feats of battle men gave him aye his meed.
Had he been Christian, noble had he been in very deed.
And he cried before King Marsile:
" I will ride in Roncevaux.
If I may come on Roland, I will bring his head full low.
To the twelve peers and Olivier I will even do the same.
All of the French shall perish in sorrow and in shame.
Old and weak in understanding is the Emperor Charlemagne.
He will dread sore the battle to undertake again.
In liberty shall Spain abide to us forevermore. "
And the King Marsile forthwith thanked him right well therefor.

LXXIV

An almaçor of Moriane before the King did stand.
There was no greater scoundrel in all the Spanish land.
And he made his boast.
" To Roncevaux with my men will I advance.
There he full twenty thousand with buckler and with lance.
Lowest, and I come on Roland, by my hand he shall be slain.
No day shall pass but the sorrow shall weigh on Charlemagne. "

LXXV

Turgis of Tortelosa rose also at that tide.
He was a count, and the city was his heritage beside.
He hated well the Christians. To the others by the King
He strode and said to Marsile:
" Fear thou not anything.
For greater than Saint Peter, the Roman, is Mahound.
If thou serve him, to our honor the victory shall redound.
I will ride forth with Roland in Roncevaux to fight.
There is no man shall save him from death and from despite
Seest thou my long and splendid blade. 'Gainst the edge Durend "
Will I set it. Swiftly shalt thou hear how victory shall fall
The French are dead, an we find them. Sorrow and ill renown
Shall come to Charles the ancient that no more shall wear crown

LXXVI

Escremis of Valtierra before them all did stand.
He was a Saracen indeed; and his was all that land.
And unto the King Marsile right through the press he cried
" I too will go to Roncevaux to overthrow their pride.
If I come on the Count Roland, there shall he lose his head,
And likewise the Lord Olivier who ruleth in his stead.
The twelve are doomed to perish. The French shall all be slain
France shall lie waste. Good vassals shall be lost to Charlemagne "

LXXVII

And Estorgant a Paynim before them did appear
And Estramaris, moreover, his boon companion dear.
There were no falser traitors nor felons in the land.
To them cried out King Marsile:
" Now forth before us stand
Unto the Gates of Roncevaux, ye two shall get you gone.
There shall ye aid my marshals to lead mine army on. "
And they answered:
" O, King Marsile, we wait on thy command.
Against Olivier and Roland we twain will lift the hand.
The peers will have no warrant that death they may withstand.
Behold our blades of battle that are so keen and good.
Vermilion will we make them with the hot bursts of blood.
The French shall perish. Charlemagne in sorrow shall be bent.
The Greater Land for a good gift to thee we shall present.
Come there, O King, if that the thing thou verily wouldst see.
The Emperor we will give o'er for a suppliant to thee. "

LXXVIII

Then Margaris of Seville came running there beside.
His land unto the sea coast extended far and wide.
And all the ladies loved him for his fair countenance.
None ever lived that saw him but brightened at the glance,
And would she not or would she, from smiling could forbear.
So chivalrous a gallant was no other Paynim there.
He came amid the others and shouted through the press,
And he said unto King Marsile:
" Have no manner of distress.
I will go unto Roncevaux. Count Roland will I slay.
Neither shall the Lord Olivier carry his life away.
And the twelve peers, moreover, hard death shall have and hold.
Look now unto my weapon with the great hilt of gold.
The Admiral of Prime that sword gave for a gift to me,
And drenched in the vermilion blood I promise it shall be.
And all the French shall perish, and France be shamed in that hour.
And Charlemagne the ancient, with the great beard like a flower,
Shall never have a day go by, but woe and wrath shall betide
Let but a year pass over we shall have all France beside.
In the city of Saint Denis at our ease we then may lie. "
The master of the Paynims bowed his head low in reply.

LXXIX

Cornubel of the Black Valley stood forth from thou around
And his long hair about him swept down unto the ground.
He bore a greater burden for a jest, when he would play
Than seven mules could carry. In the country, so they say
That he came from is no sunshine, nor groweth any grain,
Nor is there any dew at all nor any falling rain.
And the stones in that country they are all black as well.
And men say this, moreover, that there the devils dwell.
" My good sword have I girded, " then Cornubel he said,
" When I brandish it at Roncevaux I wot it shall be red.
If I come on that proud Roland in the middle of my way,
If I attack not, let no man believe me from that day.
There Durendal will I conquer with this good sword of my own
There all the French shall perish and France be overthrown
At that word the twelve companions on their throng

Of Saracens they led with them an hundred thousand strong
That were eager for the battle and hasted on the way.
And underneath a pine-wood they armed them for the fray.

LXXX

In the strong hauberks Saracen, themselves the Panims
The greater number armor of triple thickness had.
Good helms of Saragossa they laced upon them then,
And they girded swords upon them of the sharp steel of Vien
They held Valentian lances, and shield on shoulder wore.
White and blue and vermilion were the gonfalons they bore.
Behind they left the palfreys and the sumpter mules to stray.
They mounted on the chargers and rode in close array.
The sun broke on them splendid, and fair the morning came;
There was no bit of armor but was blazing in a flame;
And to make it yet more glorious a thousand horns blew clear.
So mighty was the uproar that the French at last did hear.
Said Olivier:
" My comrades, and my good lords I trow
With the Saracens a battle we are like to have one now. "
Count Roland spake in answer:
" Now may God grant the thing.
Well now should every man of us bestir him for our King.
That for his overlord a man should suffer much is meet.
He should risk for him both life and limb and bear both cold and heat.
Let every man look to it that he strike good strokes and strong;
Never of any man of us shall they sing an evil song.
For wrong is with the Paynims, but with the Christians right.
Never an ill example will I set you in the fight. "