View source for Battle of Roncevaux Pass

{{Short description|8th-century battle in France}}
{{About||the later battle leading to the establishment of the Kingdom of Pamplona|Battle of Roncevaux Pass (824)|the battle in the Peninsular War|Battle of Roncesvalles (1813)}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict    = Battle of Roncevaux Pass
| partof      = the Charlemagne's campaign in the Iberian Peninsula|
| image       = Batalla.roncesvalles.jpg
| image_size  = 250
| caption     = 15th-century anonymous painting of the Battle of Roncevaux Pass
| date        = 15 August 778
| place       = [[Roncevaux Pass]] in the [[Pyrenees]]
| result      = Basque victory
| combatant1  = [[Kingdom of the Franks|Franks]]
| combatant2  = [[Basques]]<br/>[[Andalusians]]
| commander1  = [[Charlemagne]]<br/> [[Roland]]{{KIA}}
| commander2  = Unknown<br/>(speculated: [[Lupo II of Gascony]] or [[Bernardo del Carpio]])<br/>[[Ayxun ibn Sulayman ibn Yaqdhan al-Arabí]] <br/>[[Matruh al-Arabi]] 
| strength1   = 3,000 soldiers who were crossing the pass<ref name="Butt"/><br>(modern est.)
| strength2   = Unknown, but large<ref>Hunt, Janin. ''Mercenaries in Medieval and Renaissance Europe''. McFarland (2013). p. 32. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-7274-1}}</ref><ref name="Ham"/>
| casualties1 = All the men in the rearguard were killed
| casualties2 = Unknown
}}
{{Campaignbox Reconquista}}
The '''Battle of Roncevaux Pass''' ([[French language|French]] and English spelling, ''[[Roncesvalles]]'' in Spanish, ''Orreaga'' in [[Basque language|Basque]]) in 778 saw a large force of [[Basque people|Basques]] ambush a part of [[Charlemagne]]'s army in [[Roncevaux Pass]], a high mountain pass in the [[Pyrenees]] on the present border between France and Spain, after his invasion of the [[Iberian Peninsula]].

The Basque attack was in retaliation for Charlemagne's destruction of the city walls of their capital, [[Pamplona, Spain|Pamplona]]. As the Franks retreated across the Pyrenees back to [[Francia]], the rearguard of Frankish [[Knight#Carolingian age|lords]] was cut off, [[Last stand|stood its ground]], and was wiped out.

Among those killed in the battle was [[Roland]], a Frankish commander. His death elevated him and the [[paladins]], the foremost warriors of Charlemagne's court, into legend, becoming the quintessential role model for [[knights]] and also greatly influencing the code of [[chivalry]] in the [[Middle Ages]]. There are numerous written works about the battle, some of which change and exaggerate events. The battle is recounted in the 11th century ''[[The Song of Roland]]'', the oldest surviving major work of [[French literature]], and in ''[[Orlando Furioso]]'', one of the most celebrated works of [[Italian literature]]. Modern adaptations of the battle include books, plays, works of fiction, and monuments in the Pyrenees.

==Background==
{{Main|Abbasid–Carolingian alliance}}

With the rise of the [[Carolingians]] and [[Pepin the Short]]'s war on Aquitaine, the [[Duchy of Aquitaine]] led by [[Waiofar|Waifer]] was defeated and the Franks encroached farther into the duchy. The Basques (''Vascones'', ''Wascones'') of the [[Duchy of Vasconia]], one of the mainstays of the Aquitanian army, submitted to Pepin in 766 and 769, but the territory south of the [[Garonne]] remained largely unscathed and self-governed. However, as of 778 Charlemagne expanded Frankish takeover of Aquitaine to present-day [[Gascony]], by appointing trusted Franks, Burgundians, and Church officials in key regional positions and establishing counties, such as [[County of Fezensac|Fezensac]], Bordeaux, and Toulouse, on the left bank of the Garonne.{{citation needed|date=January 2016}}

[[Sulayman al-Arabi]], the pro-[[Abbasid]] [[Wāli|Wali]] (governor) of [[Barcelona]] and [[Girona]], sent a delegation to Charlemagne, Master of the Franks in [[Paderborn]], offering his submission, along with the allegiance of [[Husayn of Zaragoza]] and [[Abu Taur of Huesca]] in return for military aid.<ref name="Lewis 2008 p. 244">Lewis (2008) p. 244</ref> Their Lords had been cornered in the [[Iberian Peninsula|Iberian peninsula]] by [[Abd ar-Rahman I]], the [[Umayyad]] [[emir of Córdoba]]. The three rulers also conveyed that the caliph of [[Baghdad]], [[Al-Mahdi|Muhammad al-Mahdi]], was preparing an invasion force against Abd ar-Rahman.<ref name="Lewis 2008 p. 244"/>

Seeing an opportunity to extend [[Christendom]] and his own power, Charlemagne agreed to go to Spain. Al-Arabi induced him to invade [[al Andalus]] by promising him an easy surrender of its [[Upper March]], of which Zaragoza was the capital. Following the sealing of this alliance at Paderborn,<ref>Lewis (2008) p. 245</ref> Charlemagne marched across the [[Pyrenees]] in 778 "at the head of all the forces he could muster".<ref>Lewis (2008) p. 246</ref> Charlemagne led the [[Neustria]]n army over [[Duchy of Vasconia|Vasconia]] into the Western [[Pyrenees]], while the [[Austrasia]]ns, [[Lombards]], and [[Burgundians]] passed over the Eastern Pyrenees through [[Catalonia]]. His troops were welcomed in [[Barcelona]] and [[Girona]] by Sulayman al-Arabi.<ref>Lewis (2008) p. 253</ref> As he moved towards [[Zaragoza]], the troops of Charlemagne were joined by troops led by al-Arabi, before eventually putting the city under siege.{{citation needed|date=January 2016}}

Abd ar-Rahman of Córdoba sent his most trusted general, Thalaba Ibn Obeid, to take control of the possibly rebellious city and to prevent the Frankish invasion. Husayn and Ibn Obeid clashed repeatedly; eventually Husayn managed to defeat and to imprison Ibn Obeid. Reinforced in his autonomous position, Husayn became reluctant to yield his new privileged status to the Frankish monarch and refused to surrender the city to Charlemagne, claiming that he had never promised Charlemagne his allegiance. He seems to have tried to appease Charlemagne by giving him the prisoner General Ibn Obeid and a large tribute of gold, but Charlemagne was not easily satisfied, putting Sulayman al-Arabi in chains. Meanwhile, the force sent by the Baghdad caliphate seems to have been stopped near [[Barcelona]]. Though Charlemagne's forces initially held the upper hand, the siege of Zaragoza dragged on for over a month.<ref name="History Day"/><ref name="Lewis 2008 p.249">Lewis (2008) p. 249</ref> Eventually a deal was struck between Charlemagne and Husayn. The latter would pay gold and the release of several prisoners, while the Franks in return would withdraw their siege.{{citation needed|date=January 2016}}

== Battle ==
{{Main|History of the Basque people}}

[[File:Gustave Doré - Roland à Roncevaux.jpg|thumb|right|''Roland à Roncevaux'' (c. 1877), painting by [[Gustave Doré]] depicting an idealized vision of the Battle of Roncevaux Pass]]

Before leaving the Iberian Peninsula, Charlemagne decided to further secure his hold on the Basque territory (Wasconia).<ref name="Lewis 2008 p.249"/> He first eliminated any possible opposition from the natives of the region (the [[Basque people|Basque]] tribes), believing that many of them were allied with the [[Moors]]. He gave orders to tear down the walls of the Basque capital [[Pamplona, Spain|Iruña]], possibly fearing that it could be used for future conflicts. Some primary sources suggest that he destroyed the city altogether,<ref name="Lewis 2008 p.249"/> and many towns in the region were also razed.<ref name=Britannia>
{{cite encyclopedia
 | title= Orreaga; Roncevaux
 | last= Vicente
 | first= Rodriguez
 | encyclopedia= [[Encyclopædia Britannica]]
 | url= http://www.britannica.com/place/Roncesvalles#ref211366
 | access-date=December 20, 2015
}}
</ref>
Garrisons and military outposts were placed throughout the territory, and there were accounts of the Franks' harsh treatment of the Basques during their occupation.<ref name=Ham/>

After securing the region, Charlemagne marched for the Pyrenees mountain pass to return to France. Many of his notable [[Knight#Carolingian age|lords]], such as Roland, military governor of the [[Breton March]], and Eggihard, [[Mayor of the Palace]], were placed in the rearguard probably to protect the retreat and the baggage train.<ref name=Butt>Butt, John J. ''Daily Life in the Age of Charlemagne''. Greenwood (2002). pp. 40–51. {{ISBN|978-0-313-31668-5}}</ref><ref name="History Day"/>
Unknown to Charlemagne, the enraged Basques sent their warriors in pursuit of him and his army in retaliation for the destruction of their city, and the Basques' knowledge of the region helped them overtake the Franks.<ref name=Count/>

In the evening of August 15, Charlemagne's rearguard was suddenly attacked by the Basques as they crossed the mountain pass. The Franks were caught off guard by the surprise attack, with their army in confusion and disarray as they tried to escape the ambush.<ref name=Nar/> The Basques managed to cut off and isolate the Frankish rearguard and the baggage train from the rest of the escaping army, and although the Basques were not as well-equipped, they held the upper ground and the knowledge of the terrain that gave them a huge advantage in the skirmish.<ref name="History Day">{{cite web
 | title= This Day In History: August 15, 778
 | publisher= [[History (U.S. TV channel)|History]]
 | url= http://www.historychannel.com.au/classroom/day-in-history/754/battle-of-roncevaux-pass
 | access-date= 2015-11-04
 | archive-date= 2015-12-22
 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151222113055/http://www.historychannel.com.au/classroom/day-in-history/754/battle-of-roncevaux-pass
 | url-status= dead
 }}</ref>
As Charlemagne tried to regroup and evacuate his army, Roland and the others held for a considerable amount of time before the Basques finally massacred them completely. Though killed to the last man, the rearguard nonetheless succeeded in allowing Charlemagne and his army to continue to safety.<ref name=Ham>Hamm, Jean Shepherd. ''Term Paper Resource Guide to Medieval History''. Greenwood (2009). pp. 88–90. {{ISBN|978-0-313-35967-5}}</ref><ref name="History Day"/><ref name="Hickman">{{cite web
 | title= Charlemagne: Battle of Roncevaux Pass
 | last= Hickman
 | first= Kennedy
 | publisher= Military History
 | url= http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/battleswarsto1000/p/roncevaux.htm
 | access-date= 2015-11-04
 | archive-date= 2015-12-24
 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151224163706/http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/battleswarsto1000/p/roncevaux.htm
 | url-status= dead
 }}</ref>
The Basques then looted the baggage that was left behind and took advantage of the darkness to flee, leaving no trace for the Franks to follow the following morning.<ref name=Count>{{cite web
 | title= Charlemagne's Commander Roland Killed by Basques at Battle of Roncevaux Pass
 | last= Cline
 | first= Austin
 | publisher= Skepticism in History
 | url= http://skepticism.org/timeline/august-history/7754-charlemagnes-commander-roland-killed-
 | access-date= 2015-11-04
 | archive-date= 2019-12-15
 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191215133451/http://skepticism.org/timeline/august-history/7754-charlemagnes-commander-roland-killed-
 | url-status= dead
 }}</ref><ref name=Hickman/> The revised version of the [[Royal Frankish Annals|''Annales Regni'']] reads:<ref name=Nar>Narbaitz, Pierre. ''Orria, o la batall de Roncesvalles. 778''. Elkar (1979). pp. 105–114. {{ISBN|84-400-4926-9}}</ref>

{{quote|text=Having decided to return, [Charlemagne] entered the mountains of the Pyrenees, in whose summits the [[Vascones]] had set up an ambush. They attacked the rearguard, causing confusion which spread to all the army. And, while the Franks were superior to the Vascones both in armament and in courage, the roughness of the terrain and the difference in the style of combat made them generally weaker. In this battle were killed the majority of the paladins that the King had placed in command of his forces. The baggage was sacked, and suddenly the enemy vanished, thanks to their knowledge of the terrain. The memory of the injury so produced overshadowed in the King's heart that of the feats done in Hispania.}}

=== Basque army ===

One of the principal units of the Vascones was the [[guerrilla]] army of the Basques.<ref name="Lewis 2008 p. 244"/> A later source, the anonymous ''Saxon Poet'', talks of the Basque spears, agreeing with the Pyrenean and Basque tradition much later among the [[almogavars]].<ref>[http://www.entrada1598.com/games/whancients/9thcenturyspain.pdf 9th Century Spain]</ref> A typical Basque mountain warrior was armed with two short spears and a knife or short sword as his main weapons, and bows or javelins for missile weapons. He would not normally wear armour. [[Pierre de Marca]], a [[Béarn]]ese author, suggests that the attackers were a reduced number of mostly local [[Lower Navarre|Low Navarrese]], [[Soule]]tines, and [[Baztan, Navarre|Baztanese]], whose main motivation may have been plunder.<ref name=Nar/> The Vascones had a history of resisting Carolingian rule since the incursion of Frankish king [[Pepin the Short]], which saw the defeat of [[Waiofar]], the last independent Duke of [[Aquitaine]].<ref>Lewis (1965) p. 30</ref>

The accounts of Einhard and Pierre de Marca suggest that the perpetrator of the attack was [[Lupo II of Gascony]].<ref>Lewis (2008) p. 38</ref> He held the territory of the Pyrenees, making him responsible for the tragedy that happened in his realm. Regions surrounding his kingdom such as Bordeaux were under the control of the Carolingians. While the Duke did pay homage to Charlemagne by offering Hunald II (a rebel leader and a possible heir to Waiofar) and his wife to him, there were disputes over the trans-Pyrenean Basque lands ruled by Lupo and those under Carolingian suzerainty.<ref name=Nar/> The authors of the General History of [[Languedoc]] also believed in the same theory that the Duke was the leader of the attack. Their reasons were that he and the Vascones opposed Carolingian expansion into [[Duchy of Vasconia|Vasconia]] after the [[Pepin the Short#Expansion of the Frankish realm|Franco-Aquitanian war (760–769)]].<ref name=Texas>
{{cite book
 | title= The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718–1050
 | last= Lewis
 | first= Archibald R.
 | author-link= Archibald R. Lewis
 | year= 1965
 | publisher= University of Texas Press
 | location= Austin
 | isbn= 978-0-292-72941-4
 | pages= 38–50
 | url= http://libro.uca.edu/lewis/sfcatsoc.htm
 | access-date= March 26, 2013
}}
</ref>

=== Location ===
[[Image:Roncevaux-Ibaneta.jpg|thumb|Ibaneta (Roncevaux) pass]]
[[File:Iberian Peninsula in 125-en.svg|thumb|left|Map of the roads in Hispania. The pass of Roncesvaux is located on the ''Ab Asturica Burdigalam'' road that started in [[León, Spain|Castra Legiones]] to Benearnum and meets [[Bordeaux|Burdigala]].<ref name="Nar"/>]]
[[File:Marca hispánica 814.svg|thumb|right|The Spanish March and surrounding regions during the time of Charlemagne. Roncevaux Pass (labeled Roseida Vallis on this map) is to the northeast of Pamplona (Pampilona)]]

The Pyrenees are a mountain range that form a natural border between France and Spain, extending about 490&nbsp;km (305 mi) from [[Cape Higuer]] on the [[Bay of Biscay]], to [[Cap de Creus]] on the Mediterranean Sea.  Suggested places where the battle could have taken place, range from Navarre and [[Aragon]] to as far as [[Catalonia]].{{citation needed|date=January 2016}}

The mainstream opinion is that the battle took place somewhere not far from Roncevaux itself, as it is not just on one of the easiest routes but also the traditional one. Indeed, the Roman road ''Via ab Asturica Burdigalam'' which started in ''Castra Legiones'' (modern [[León, Spain|León]]) and went to Benearnum (mod. [[Lescar]]), crossed the Pyrenees through Roncevaux. However, the historical Roman road (also called the ''Route of Napoleon'') followed a route different from the modern one, not crossing at Ibañeta (the traditional location) but heading up eastwards and crossing instead the Lepoeder and Bentartea passes &ndash; next to mount Astobizkar &ndash; not far from mount [[Urkulu]], identified as the ''Summum Pyreneum'' of the classic Roman sources.<ref name=Nar/><ref name=Walk>
{{cite web
 | title= Roncesvalles
 | publisher= World Walking
 | url= https://worldwalking.org/route/qsygf3/milestone/nqo0ol
 | url-status= dead
 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151222130449/https://worldwalking.org/route/qsygf3/milestone/nqo0ol
 | archive-date= 2015-12-22
}}
</ref><ref name=Collins1990>
{{cite book
 | last= Collins
 | first= Roger
 | title= The Basques
 | year= 1990
 | publisher= Basil Blackwell
 | location= Oxford, UK
 | isbn= 0-631-17565-2
 | edition= 2nd
 | page= 122
}}
</ref>

==Aftermath==
[[File:Lavisse elementaire 022 roncevaux.jpg|thumb|right|The death of Roland and his men]]
Charlemagne biographer [[Einhard]] stated that the men in the rear were "massacred to the last man."<ref name="Ein">{{cite web |url=https://www.karwansaraypublishers.com/mwblog/a-legend-grows//|title=A legend grows |last=Baker |first=Patrick |publisher=Karwasaray Publishers |date= January 23, 2014 |access-date=November 4, 2015}}</ref> The ''[[Vita Karoli Magni|Vita Karoli]]'' mentions the names of the most important lords killed such as Eggihard, Roland, and Anselmus, the [[count palatine]].<ref>[[Einhard]], Notker the Stammerer. ''Two Lives Of Charlemagne''. Digireads.com (2010). [https://books.google.com/books?id=EYY3AAAAQBAJ&q=Roland General Introduction]. {{ISBN|978-1-4209-3811-1}}</ref>{{page needed|date=August 2020}} The battle caused numerous losses among the Frankish troops, including several of the most important aristocrats and the sack of the baggage, probably with all the gold given by the Muslims at [[Zaragoza]].{{citation needed|date=January 2016}}

While the skirmish was a small setback, Charlemagne did lose huge quantities of treasure and good men.<ref name="Count"/><ref name="Ein"/> It was the only significant defeat that Charlemagne ever suffered in his otherwise successful military career.<ref name="Ein"/><ref>Kearney, Milo. ''Further Studies in Rio Grande Valley History''. [[University of Texas at Brownsville]] (2006). {{ASIN|B000NLBN3Y}}.</ref>{{page needed|date=August 2020}} Never again would Charlemagne take it upon himself to lead an army to battle in Spain, having to rely instead on his generals for future campaigns in the Iberian Peninsula.<ref name="Nar"/> The Franks failed to capture Zaragoza and suffered a significant loss at the hands of the Vascones, but Charlemagne would return to establish the [[Marca Hispanica]], to serve as a buffer region between his Christian empire and the Muslims to the south. A decade later the Franks finally captured [[Barcelona]].<ref name="Count"/> He would also later establish the Kingdom of [[Aquitaine]] with the son of [[Louis the Pious]] as its first king. Land in the Pyrenees would be overseen by Carolingian officials, and distributed among colonisers and to the Spanish Church who were allied to Charlemagne. A Christianization program was put in place across the high Pyrenees. The Basques would continue their rebellion to Carolingian rule until the appointment of [[William of Gellone]], who would dissolve their rebellion after capturing and exiling Lupo's son and Basque leader [[Adalric of Gascony|Adalric]] in 790.<ref>[http://www.encyclopedia.com/article-1G2-3407711861/william-aquitaine-st.html "William of Aquitaine, St."]. Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved on 2014-01-17.</ref>

Zaragoza, however, remained a Muslim city and capital of the Upper March, and later of an [[Taifa|independent emirate]] until the 11th century. Pamplona itself would remain in the hands of the Muslims until a rebellion in 798–801 expelled them as well. The Vascones would finally consolidate the [[Banu Qasi]] realm and eventually the constitution of the independent [[Kingdom of Navarre|Kingdom of Pamplona]] in 824 after the birth of a new resistance to Carolingian rule. In that same year, the Basque army defeated another [[Carolingian]] army in the same mountain pass. The second [[Battle of Roncevaux Pass (824)|Battle of Roncevaux Pass]] was almost identical to the first, with the Basques again taking advantage of the terrain, but against a much larger Frankish force. Unlike the first battle in which Charlemagne's army managed to escape, the Carolingians led by [[Aeblus|Count Aeblus]] were trapped and routed, and a larger number of their men were slaughtered than those of Charlemagne.<ref name="Texas"/> Frankish vassals Aeblus and [[Aznar Sánchez|Aznar]] were captured by the joint forces of [[Iñigo Arista]]'s [[Kingdom of Navarre|Pamplona]] and of the [[Banu Qasi]], consolidating the independence of both realms.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Baskoniako Dukerria – Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia |url=https://aunamendi.eusko-ikaskuntza.eus/eu/baskoniako-dukerria/ar-38128/ |access-date=2023-08-15 |website=aunamendi.eusko-ikaskuntza.eus |language=eu}}</ref>

==Legacy==
[[File:OrreagaHDR.jpg|thumb|right|Monument of the Battle of Roncesvalles Pass. Note that Roland's name is spelled in its Spanish version "''Roldan".''<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SHZQkg2wDp8C|page=5|title=La canción de Roldán|author=Auriga Ediciones|publisher=Ediciones Rialp|year=1982|isbn=978-8472810761|language=es}}</ref>]]
[[File:Monumento batalla de Roncesvalles.JPG|thumb|Monument commemorating the 12th centenary of the Battle of Roncevaux Pass, [[Roncesvalles]], Navarre, Spain.]]

Over the years, this battle was [[Romance (heroic literature)|romanticized]] by oral tradition into a major conflict between [[Christians]] and [[Muslim]]s although in fact, the Basques of the period were mainly pagans and Charlemagne had been allied to some of the Muslims. In the tradition, the Basques are replaced by a force of 400,000 [[Saracen]]s, and mythical objects such as [[Durendal]] and [[Olifant (instrument)|Oliphant]] were also added.<ref name="Lewis 2008 p.249"/> Although Roland died in the battle with little information about him, the battle popularized him as a chivalric hero of honor in the Middle Ages.<ref>Laura A. Hibbard, ''Medieval Romance in England'', New York: Burt Franklin, 1963, p. iii. {{ISBN|978-0-8337-2144-0}}</ref> ''[[The Song of Roland]]'', which commemorates the battle, was written by an unknown poet of the 11th century. It is the earliest surviving of the ''[[chansons de geste]]'' or epic poems of medieval France written in [[Old French]]. Together with the [[Knights of the Round Table]] in Britain, the story of Roland and the [[paladins]] have become the archetypal icons of [[chivalry]] in Europe; greatly influencing [[Knight#Chivalric code|knightly culture]] and inspiring many Christian warriors that came after. During the [[Battle of Hastings]] in 1066, knights and soldiers under [[William the Conqueror]], chanted the poem to inspire themselves before their fight with the Anglo-Saxons.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com.ph/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=wsJ2VtT2H4LN8gfUzpPADg#q=song+of+roland+battle+of+hastings|title=The Battle of Hastings and the Beginnings of Anglo-Norman England|date=December 20, 2015|work=England and English History|author=Gareth Pullen}}</ref> The English expression, "to give a Roland for an [[Oliver (paladin)|Oliver]]", meaning either to offer a ''[[quid pro quo]]'' or to give as good as one gets, which is referenced directly from the companionship of Roland and Oliver during the battle.<ref>{{citation
| title = The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary
| volume = 2
| year = 1993
| editor-first = Lesley
| editor-last = Brown
| publisher = Clarendon Press
| page = [https://archive.org/details/newshorteroxford00lesl/page/2618 2618]
| isbn = 978-0-19-861271-1
| url = https://archive.org/details/newshorteroxford00lesl/page/2618
}}</ref> One example was said during the [[Combat of the Thirty]] in 1351; a [[judicial combat]] between two groups of knights during the [[Breton War of Succession]]. The knights were described by the French author [[Jean Froissart]] as "if they had been all Rolands and Olivers," which admired their honor and companionship in battle.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://crm.revues.org/12910|title=Military Courage and Fear in the Late Medieval French Chivalric Imagination|date=December 20, 2015|work=Journal of Medieval and Humanistic Studies|author=Craig Taylor|access-date=December 20, 2015|archive-date=December 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222182507/https://crm.revues.org/12910|url-status=dead}}</ref> Memorials have also been erected to commemorate the battle, such as the Roncesvalles Pass Monument in Navarre, Spain.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.caminoadventures.com/camino-frances/st-jean-to-roncesvalles/|title=Day 1 St Jean to Roncesvalles|date=September 3, 2015 |work=Camino Adventures|author=Leslie }}</ref> [[Roland's Breach]], situated in the [[Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park]], is a gap thought to have been caused by Roland while fighting.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130608180416/http://reddeparquesnacionales.mma.es/parques/ordesa/guia_mapa.htm "Parque Nacional Ordesa y Monte Perdido"] archive.org, retrieved 2013-08-20</ref> At the summit of the Roncevaux Pass are the remains of an early chapel of San Salvador also known as Charlemagne's Chapel and the Charlemagne Monument built in 1934; both built to commemorate the Emperor's campaign in the region.<ref name="Britannia"/>

The song is also commemorated in the Italian literary classic ''[[Orlando Furioso]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ww.operapaedia.org/Content/Operapaedia/Operas/Ariodante/LibrettoSource.htm|title=Orlando furioso (Orlando Maddened)|work=Operapaedia|author=Lodovico Ariosto|author-link=Lodovico Ariosto|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20160217163331/http://ww.operapaedia.org/Content/Operapaedia/Operas/Ariodante/LibrettoSource.htm|archive-date=2016-02-17}}</ref> The battle is also referenced in the song "Roncevaux" by [[Van der Graaf Generator]], originally recorded in 1972 but only released in rather rough form many years later on the album ''[[Time Vaults]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vandergraafgenerator.co.uk/timevaults.htm |title=Time Vaults |publisher=Van der Graaf Generator |access-date=2013-03-27}}</ref> The battle and Orlando's sacrifice inspired several composers, amongst whom were [[Claudio Monteverdi]], [[Jean-Baptiste Lully]], [[Antonio Vivaldi]] and [[George Frideric Handel]], who composed an Italian-language [[opera]] with ''[[Orlando (opera)|Orlando]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/12/20/arts/opera-handel-s-orlando-at-american-repertory.html|title=Opera: Handel's 'Orlando' At American Repertory|date=December 20, 1981|work=[[The New York Times]]|author=John Rockwell|author-link=John Rockwell}}</ref> Modern adaptations of the battle drew heavily on the romanticized versions. A 1978 French film ''[[The Song of Roland (film)|La chanson de Roland]]'' features an adaptation of the ''Song of Roland'' and features the battle as depicted in the poem.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/147489/La-Chanson-de-Roland/overview |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071101053945/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/147489/La-Chanson-de-Roland/overview |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 November 2007 |department=Movies & TV Dept. |work=[[The New York Times]] |author=Clarke Fountain |date=2007 |title=New York Times: The Song of Roland |access-date=26 October 2008}}</ref> The battle is also featured minimally in the [[graphic novel]] ''[[The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier]]'', in which Roland is named [[Orlando (comics)|Orlando]], an amalgamation of fictional characters that were named Roland and Orlando.<ref name="Winter, Andrew">{{cite news
 | last = Winter
 | first = Andrew
 |author2=Moore, Alan
  | title = Northampton's Finest: Alan Moore Interview
 | work = Tripwire Annual 2007
 | pages =12–17
 | publisher = Tripwire Publishing
 | year = 2007
 | isbn = 978-0-9543751-1-9}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Duchy of Vasconia]]
* [[Kingdom of Navarre]]
* [[Roland's Breach]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Lewis |first=Archibald Ross |author-link=Archibald Ross Lewis |title=The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718–1050 |publisher=University of Texas Press |location=Austin |year=1965|isbn=978-0-292-72941-4}}
* {{cite book |last1=Lewis |author-link=David Levering Lewis |first1=David L. |title=God's Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe, 570 to 1215 |url=https://archive.org/details/godscrucibleisla00lewi |edition=1st |year=2008 |publisher=W.W. Norton |location=New York |isbn=978-0-393-06472-8 }}
*Xabier Irujo. 2021. ''[[doi:10.2307/j.ctv1pncr97|Charlemagne’s Defeat in the Pyrenees: The Battle of Rencesvals]]''.  Amsterdam University Press

==External links==
{{Commons category|Battle of Roncevaux Pass}}
* [http://image.ox.ac.uk/show?collection=bodleian&manuscript=msdigby23b Earliest manuscript of the Chanson de Roland], readable online images of the complete original, Bodleian Library MS. Digby 23 (Pt 2), ''La Chanson de Roland'', Anglo-Norman, 12th century, ?2nd quarter.
* [http://www.bartleby.com/49/2/ The Song of Roland, trans. John O'Hagan]
* [http://www.bartleby.com/183/18.html "Battle of Roncesvalles" by Thomas Bulfinch (1796–1867), from ''Legends of Charlemagne'']
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070311004314/http://www.sewanee.edu/Spanish/santiago/carpio.html Romances de Bernardo del Carpio] {{in lang|es}}
* [http://www.rencesvals.com Roncesvalles carolingio y jacobeo] {{in lang|es}}

{{The Song of Roland}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Roncevaux Pass}}
[[Category:Battles involving Francia|Roncevaux Pass 778]]
[[Category:Charlemagne]] 
[[Category:Matter of France]]
[[Category:Roland]]
[[Category:Military history of Navarre|Roncevaux Pass]]
[[Category:Medieval history of the Basque Country]]
[[Category:Lower Navarre|Roncevaux pass, Battle of]]
[[Category:770s conflicts|Roncevaux]]
[[Category:778]]
[[Category:Last stands|R]]
[[Category:8th century in Francia]]