Rolandskvadet - The Song of Roland

This one, also called “Roland og Magnus kongen“ (Roland and king Charlemagne) is a modern rendition of the medieval Song of Roland. Roland was one of Charlemagne’s Twelve Peers, who died together with Holger the Dane and part of their levies, after the Basque tribes, with Moorish assistance, ambushed them in the Roncesvalles/Roncevaux Pass in the Pyrenees. Roland was said to carry two items which were blessed, plus his loyal steed Vielantif: his hunting horn Olifant and his sword, Durandal, which the moors tried to steal but could not take away from his dead hands. Roland became a symbol of the Christian Knight, who would rather die than retreat, even after trason, and is still a popular figure in the folklore of many countries, from France to Germany, Norway, Italy and Spain. The Moors in the song are referenced to as “blaumann“, which comes from the poem’s “blaumadur“, “blue-men“, in reference to their dark skin color. I decided not to mak