The Trouble with Roland
Are we justified in calling Roland proud? A web essay examining passages in the Chanson de Roland in which the hero is associated with terms of approbation or disapprobation.
Turoldus is the name that appears in the very last line of the Chanson de Roland, and depending on how you interpret the key word declinet it could belong to the scribe writing the poem down, the jongleur performing it, or (perhaps least likely) the author of the poem in our modern sense.
The line runs: « Ci falt la geste que Turoldus declinet. »
It could be variously interpreted as: "Here ends the tale that Turoldus has been—copying? relating? reciting? performing?"
—or even (at a stretch) as: "Here ends the tale, because Turoldus is getting tired (i.e., his head is bending low)."
See the French Wikipédia article Turold. The accompanying picture is from the Bayeux tapestry, and may or may not be the Turoldus of the Chanson de Roland.
Are we justified in calling Roland proud? A web essay examining passages in the Chanson de Roland in which the hero is associated with terms of approbation or disapprobation.
Why art thou sad, my Beppo?"
Mad Beppo (aka the Professor) is neither sad nor mad. He delights in French, poetry, film, and Baroque music. More about Mad Beppo…