Characteristics of Roland and Karl

"Song of Roland" is one of the brightest works studied at school in foreign literature lessons. Many people are impressed by the protagonist - the glorious knight Roland, who, like a vessel, absorbed all the most positive qualities, always stands on the side of good, and hence victory in life's battles will follow him.

Roland's characterization must be considered sufficiently deep so that it is possible to correctly perceive the whole meaning and the main idea conveyed in the work.

Roland - knight, the standard of all the best qualities

The basis of the "Song of Roland" is really historical events. They were subject to literary comprehension for the reader's correct perception.

The characteristic of Roland is quite banal for works of literature of the time. The main character is a knight, in which, it seems, are embodied all the best ideas about the hero, who saw him in medieval France. Thanks to this essay, each reader gets a unique opportunity to go through the whole difficult path of Roland, while our hero will only have brave hearts as companions.

Personal qualities

Studying the "Song of Roland", Roland's description is almost perfect: he is brave, a patriot to the core, and the main thing for him is to hold back the word given earlier. Roland is loyal to his king and will never betray him, as he looks down on traitors. The Christian faith for him is a value that can be called more important than life itself, which is why Roland's description appears in such noble tones, he is the man who puts religion and church at the top of personal values, only such people the medieval France could call heroes .

And he does not have the courage to take

Of course, the characteristic of Roland as the hero of that time implies that he will be the most valiant and bravest. At the same time, the author adds one more quality to him: he is as clever as he is brave, probably it is the merger of these two factors that makes Roland almost invincible in any battles. The main goal in the life of our hero is also formulated quite clearly - the honor of France - the homeland - must be preserved at all costs.

Unequal battle

Even realizing that the last battle described is unequal, Roland accepts it. Of course, a person like him can not give up, he will fight boldly until the end, even if the end is a terrible death. It is also important that the last seconds of his life the hero devoted his thoughts to his beloved country - this is one of the most important moments in the work "The Song of Roland." Characteristics of heroes like Roland, always goes under the same scenario - for the love of the homeland and the church you must earn eternal life in ballads.

As you can see, Roland is a perfect example of an ideal knight, which was so often sung and presented in literary works of that time.

The image of Charlemagne

The characteristics of Roland and Karl are similar in that both heroes are hyperbolized in comparison with their real prototypes. And if Roland - the bravest and most faithful knight, then Charles - the wisest, the best king. Interestingly, according to historical data, Karl was only thirty at the time of the beginning of the Spanish campaign, but our literary Karl is a two hundred-hundred-year-old sage, whose face is truly patriarchal. Hyperbolized the author also the extent of Charles's possessions, since many of the countries mentioned in the poem really did not belong to his empire in the period described here. Even the non-existent country of Normandy was also inscribed in his domain. A similar step in literature was often used during the Middle Ages, so that the reader admired his hero.

Today, Charles would be called a superhero, because only like him, probably, under the power to stop the sun in the sky. The power of the influence of Christianity on the literature of that time is emphasized here, as the sun in the sky has frozen for the sake of our king being able to punish all the unfaithful churches, thereby setting the true path of others who have not yet accepted faith as a single source of truth and enlightenment.

The religious thread stretches through the entire poem, we can draw a lot of parallels with the biblical stories. Carl and Roland are practically perfect and similar to the apostles. This once again confirms that the literature of that period was sufficiently monotonous and had a single goal - to turn people towards the church.