The Role Of Feudalism In The Song Of Roland
The Song of Roland is a poem that conveys a story of Emperor Charlemagne’s conquest for total control over Spain. In this story, we read of the loyalty that comes from Charlemagne’s vassals, betrayal as a result of personal rivalries, and a debate as to right and wrong in regard to the system of society. The relationship between a king and his loyal followers is of the utmost importance in this poem, as it is the foundation for the feudalism in the community while also being a cause of contention.
The Germanic Tribes, also known as the Franks, lived by strong values of loyalty, military character and most importantly their religion. These are all represented in the relationship between a leader and his faithful followers. By pledging to be devoted to their king, they vow to fight for him and become a vassal. In return for this oath, the king seeks to protect his vassals and support them however he can. This support includes provides fief, or land, for their followers. From there a vassal can have their own vassals, which can chain all the way down to peasants. These peasants (or serfs) pledge to their lord that they will work for them in exchange for the land to do so. Because loyalty is only vertically scaling, meaning that the loyalty doesn’t extend to those on your same level, there can be contention between vassals. The law allows for families to seek revenges against those who have wronged them, resulting it what is called blood feuds. Overall, a military emphasis and a loyalty of followers is paired with land ownership systems (that come from the Romans) to create feudalism. The class text defines it specifically as “a social and economic order in which the lord granted his loyal followers (vassals) lands (fiefs) to support them”.
The fierce loyalty that comes from a feudalistic society is portrayed strongly between Emperor Charlemagne and his vassals in The Song of Roland. These men choose to serve the Emperor because as loyal Christians, they want to serve God. Since the Emperor is considered to be a vassal of God, pledging loyalty to him is essentially serving God. In the poem, all of Charlemagne’s strongest warriors/vassals offer themselves up to go back to King Marsilium in order to deliver the message that their surrender deal has been accepted. This is an example of the oath of faithfulness that these men have towards the Emperor. Charlemagne denies each of their offers. Specifically, to Rolland and Oliver, he says “Be silent both on bench ; Your feet nor his, I say, shall that way wend” (The Song of Roland, lines 59-60). Charlemagne’s denial of his warriors shows the care that he has for his vassals. He is aware that this could be dangerous and is looking out for their best interests.
The relationship between a vassal and their lord is exemplified again with Roland seeking out men to join him in the rearguard that Charlemagne has asked him to assemble. Many of the Emperor’s other loyal vassals volunteer to join alongside Roland. Because these men are all powerful lords, they have their own vassals which are summoned to assemble rearguard as well. The chain of loyalty is prominent in the ease of creating the rearguard due to the willingness of the vassals to serve their lords. Continuing on in the timeline, when Roland and his men are ambushed by the pagans, part of his refusal to blow the horn stems from his loyalty to Charlemagne and the determination to prove his strength as his vassal. He says “My anger is inflamed. Never, please God His Angels and His Saints, Never by me shall Frankish valour fail ! Rather I’ll die than shame shall me attain. Therefore strike on, the Emperour’s love to gain” (The Song of Roland, lines 1088-2094). The last line of the quote “the emperors love to gain” shows how Roland knows that if he can handle this attack on his own Charlemagne will be impressed with his strength as a vassal. Overall, the extreme faithfulness between lord and vassal is evident in The Song of Roland through the actions and word of the characters.
In the Muslim world, vassalage is essentially the same as it is in the Christian world. However, through the lens of the Christians within The Song of Roland, being a vassal to a God that is not theirs doesn’t make them good followers. This is evident in that one of Charlemagne’s demands for their surrender is that King Marsilium will be baptized into Christianity and become his vassal. Charlemagne says (of King Marsilium), “He’ll follow me to Aix, where is my Castle ; There he’ll receive the law of our Salvation : Christian he’ll be and hold from me his marches.” (The Song of Roland, lines 188-190). To Charlemagne, the only way he’ll accept having the pagan king under his rule is if he is of the Christian faith.
As mentioned earlier, there are no loyalty oaths between vassals, and, when conflict arises, revenge against wrongdoings is permitted. The conflict in The Song of Roland arises when Roland’s stepfather Ganelon plots to kill Roland for nominating him to be the one to go to Sarraguce. In regard to the relationship between the two, Ganelon says “Thou shalt not go for me. Thou art not my man, nor am I lord of thee. Charles commands that I do his decree, To Sarraguce going to Marsilie” (The Song of Roland, lines 296-299). Here Ganelon makes it clear that he has no loyalty to his stepson and only to Charlemagne. Once the ambush Ganelon plots is carried out and Roland dies, he claims that he has not committed treason. This is becasue it was revenge that was just between him and his stepson and had nothing to do with the Emperor. This action displays some of the inherent flaws in feudalism. Ideally, you wouldn’t have this conflict of interest between the vassal/king relationship and any sort of feud.
Overall, feudalism plays a major role in The Song of Roland. It can be easily identified in the relationships between Emperor Charlemagne and his vassals by the loyalty and faithfulness both parties have for one another. Even though the pagans have essentially the same societal system, their practices are belittled due to their difference in religion. The feudalistic system contains inherent flaws that are exposed with the conflicts of interest that comes from feuds between vassals. Regardless of issues, what can be taken away is that the relationships formed through feudalism create a bond of extreme devotion towards one another.
