SOURCE: Goldin, Frederick. Introduction to The Song of Roland, translated by Frederick Goldin, pp. 3-46. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1978.

In the following excerpt, Goldin explains the roles of history, Christianity, and loyalty in understanding the world of The Song of Roland.

In the year 777 the Saracen governor of Barcelona and Gerona, Sulaiman ibn Yaqzan ibn Al-Arabi, appeared before Charles, King of the Franks, to persuade him to bring his army into Spain. Al-Arabi had revolted against the authority of the Emir Abd al Rahman of Cordova (a rebel himself against the Abbassid caliphs), and he now made the following offer: if Charles came to his aid against the Emir, then Al-Arabi and his allies (among whom was the governor of Saragossa) would submit to the authority of the Franks. This meeting took place in Paderborn. Charles agreed.

The King led a column of his army...