Anonymous; Sayers trans, The Song of Roland (11thC or 12thC; 1957)

Anonymous.
The Song of Roland.
Translated by Dorothy L. Sayers.
Book Series: Penguin Classics.
London: Penguin Books, 1957.

Book Information : Publisher; Google Books; Wikipedia; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.

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Translator Information : Dorothy L. Sayers

• Dorothy L. Sayers, sayers.org.uk, The Dorothy L Sayers Society.
• Dorothy L. Sayers (1893 – 1957), Wikipedia.
• Dorothy L. Sayers, GoodReads.com.
• Lindsey Scholl, "The Remarkable Dorothy L. Sayers", C.S. Lewis Institute, 07 June 2018.

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Wikipedia Articles : The Song of Roland; French Literature; History of France; History of Spain

• Song of Roland (c.1040 to c.1115).
• Chanson de geste, "Old French for 'song of heroic deeds' ... a medieval narrative, a type of epic poem".
• Twelve Peers (Paladins).
• Matter of France.
• Roland (d. 778).
• Battle of Roncevaux Pass, 778.
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• French literature.
• Medieval French literature.
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• History of France.
• History of France: Frankish kingdoms (486–987).
• Carolingian dynasty.
• Carolingian Empire, 800–887.
• Charlemagne, reign 768 – 814.
• Battle of Roncevaux Pass, 778.
• Muslim presence in medieval France.
• France in the Middle Ages.
• Renaissance of the 12th century.
~~~~~~~~~~
• History of Spain.
• History of Spain: Islamic al-Andalus and the Christian Reconquest (8th–15th centuries).
• Saracen(s).
• Al-Andalus, "the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula".

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Some Other English Translations of The Song of Roland :

• Anonymous. The Song of Roland. Translated by C. K. Scott Moncrieff. London: Chapman & Hall, 1919.
  [Archive.org.]
• Anonymous. The Song of Roland and Other Poems of Charlemagne. Translated by Simon Gaunt and Karen Pratt. Book Series: Oxford World's Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016.
  [Publisher; Google Books; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.]
• Anonymous. The Song of Roland. Translated by Glyn S. Burgess. Book Series: Penguin Classics. New York: Penguin Books, 1990.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Google Books, ebook, different part viewable; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.]
• Anonymous. The Song of Roland. Translated by W. S. Merwin. New York: The Modern Library (Penguin Random House), 1963, 2001.
  [Publisher; Google Books; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.]
• Anonymous. The Song of Roland. Translated by Robert Harrison. New York: Signet Classics (Penguin Random House), 19##, 2012.
  [Publisher; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.]

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Notes:

I recently started reading Don Quixote and following the assigned reading in Roberto González Echevarría's lecture course Cervantes' Don Quixote. The character Alonso Quijano has become obsessed with the literature of Chivalric romance. In his early lectures González Echevarría discusses the literary predecessors of Don Quixote; there is a large body literature from the preceding 500 years before Don Quixote that influenced it and with which I was (and remain) unfamiliar. To satisfy my own obsessive inclinations I wanted to clarify the sequencing, relationships, and characteristics of these literary predecessors. Here is my general outline, with some of the more prominent examples, sometimes with the details of a recently published edition (there are sometimes/often more than one recent edition to choose from). Disclaimer: This is a rough draft; I haven't read this literature.

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1. General Background Topics
   • Medieval literature.
   • Matter of Britain.
   • Matter of France.
   • Matter of Rome.
   • Holy Grail.
   ~~~~~~~~~~
   • Early Middle Ages, late 5th to the 10th century.
   • High Middle Ages, c.1000 – c.1300.
   • Renaissance of the 12th century.
   • Late Middle Ages, ended c.1500.
   • Renaissance, broadly 14th century to 17th century.
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2. Chanson de geste [Song of Heroic Deeds].
   A genre of epic poems celebrating martial valor reflecting the warfare-ridden societies of the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries), which were later written down (composed?) during the High Middle Ages (c.1000 – c.1300) perhaps associated with Renaissance of the 12th century.
   • Anonymous, Song of Roland (c.1040 to c.1115).
   • Cantar de gesta, "a genre of medieval Spanish poetry, analogous to the chanson de geste in Old French".
   • Anonymous, Cantar de mio Cid (12th century).
     The Song of the Cid. Translated by Burton Raffel. Book Series: Penguin Classics. London: Penguin Books, 2009.
     [Publisher; Google Books; Wikipedia; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.]
   • Wace (c.1110 – after 1174), Roman de Brut (completed 1155).
     Wace. Roman de Brut. Translated by Glyn S. Burgess. Book Series: Oxford World's Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2024.
     [Publisher; Google Books; Wikipedia; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.]
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3. Chivalric romance.
   The societies of the High Middle Ages (c.1000 – c.1300) developed significantly since the Early Middle Ages. The Chivalric Romance evolved from the Chanson de Geste with a wider range of themes and reflecting the now more stable societies. This literary genre declined towards the end of the Late Middle Ages (ended c.1500).
   Dorothy L. Sayers discusses this in her Introduction to The Song of Roland.
   
   NOTE: The word "romance" has been used to describe several different literary forms, themes, and genres in the Western literature of the last thousand years, which may cause confusion. Consult the article Romance (prose fiction) for some clarification on this topic.
   • Knight-errant, "a figure of medieval chivalric romance literature ... the knight-errant would wander the land in search of adventures to prove his chivalric virtues, either in knightly duels (pas d'armes) or in some other pursuit of courtly love."
   • Chrétien de Troyes (c.1160 – 1191), author of several chivalric romances.
     Chrétien de Troyes. Arthurian Romances. Translated by William W. Kibler and Carleton W. Carroll. Book Series: Penguin Classics. London: Penguin Books, 1991, 2004.
     [Publisher; Google Books; Wikipedia; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.]
   • Marie de France (fl. 1160–1215), Lais of Marie de France (late 12th century), important influence on the development of chivalric romance.
     Marie de France. The Lais of Marie de France. Translated by Glyn S. Burgess and Keith Busby. Book Series: Penguin Classics. London: Penguin Books, 1986, 1999.
     [Publisher; Google Books; Wikipedia; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.]
   • Wolfram von Eschenbach (c.1160/80 – c.1220), Parzival (early 13th century).
     Wolfram von Eschenbach. Parzival and Titurel. Translated by Cyril Edwards. Book Series: Oxford World's Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
     [Publisher; Google Books; Wikipedia; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.]
   • Anonymous, The Quest of the Holy Grail [Queste del Sante Graal] (early 13th century France).
     Lancelot-Grail Cycle, Wikipedia.
     The Quest of the Holy Grail. Translated by Pauline M. Matarasso. Book Series: Penguin Classics. London: Penguin Books, 1969.
     [Publisher; Google Books; Wikipedia; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.]
     (A fusion of Arthurian legend and Christian symbolism.)
   • Guillaume de Lorris (c.1200 – c.1240), Roman de la Rose (part 1 c.1230; part 2 c.1275).
     Guillaume de Lorris. The Romance of the Rose. Translated by Frances Horgan. Book Series: Oxford World's Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994, 2008.
     [Publisher; Google Books; Wikipedia; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.]
   • Anonymous, Amadis de Gaula (14th century).
     Earliest surviving printed edition 1508, compiled by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo (c.1450 – 1505).
     ** Significant influence on Don Quixote.
   • Anonymous (Gawain Poet), Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (late 14th century).
     Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Translated by Keith Harrison. Book Series: Oxford World's Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983, 1998, 2008. [How does this compare to Tolkien's translation?]
     [Publisher; Google Books; Wikipedia; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.]
   • Thomas Malory (c.1393 or 1425 to c.1470), Le Morte d'Arthur (completed c.1470, printed 1485).
     Thomas Malory. Le Morte D'Arthur, Volume 1 of 2. Edited by Janet Cowen. Book Series: Penguin Classics. London: Penguin Books, 1969, 1986, 2004.
     [Publisher; Google Books; Wikipedia; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.]
   ~~~~~ NOTE: Aristo's and Tasso's works may be categorized as belonging to the Renaissance (broadly 14th century to 17th century) era. ~~~~~
   • Matteo Maria Boiardo (1440 – 1494), Orlando innamorato (1495).
   • Ludovico Ariosto (1474 – 1533), Orlando Furioso (early version 1516, final version 1532) [Orlando = Roland].
     Ludovico Ariosto. Orlando Furioso. Translated by Guido Waldman. Book Series: Oxford World's Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1974, 1983, 1998, 2008. [This is a prose translation; there is also a poetry translation in Penguin Classics.]
     [Publisher; Google Books; Wikipedia; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.]
   • Torquato Tasso (1544 – 1595), Jerusalem Delivered (1581).
     Torquato Tasso. The Liberation of Jerusalem. Translated by Max Wickert. Book Series: Oxford World's Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.
     [Publisher; Google Books; Wikipedia; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.]
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4. Spanish Literature before Don Quixote
   • Medieval Spanish literature, beginning of the 13th to the end of the 15th century.
   • Spanish Renaissance literature, 15th and 16th centuries.
   • Anonymous, Cantar de mio Cid (12th century).
     The Song of the Cid. Translated by Burton Raffel. Book Series: Penguin Classics. London: Penguin Books, 2009.
     [Publisher; Google Books; Wikipedia; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.]
   • Fernando de Rojas (c.1465/73 – 1541), La Celestina (1499).
     ** Significant influence on Don Quixote.
     Fernando de Rojas. Celestina. Translated by Margaret Sayers Peden. Book Series: Margellos World Republic of Letters. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009, 2012.
     [Publisher; Google Books; Wikipedia; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.]
   • Picaresque novel.
   • Anonymous, Lazarillo de Tormes (earliest published edition 1554).
     ** Significant influence on Don Quixote.
     'Lazarillo de Tormes' and 'The Swindler': Two Spanish Picaresque Novels. Translated by Michael Alpert. Book Series: Penguin Classics. London: Penguin Books, 1969, 2003.
     [Publisher; Google Books; Wikipedia; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.]
   • Teresa of Avila (1515 – 1582), The Way of Perfection (1566); Interior Castle (written 1577, published 1588).
   • St John of the Cross (1542 – 1591), Dark Night of the Soul (written in the late 1570s?).
   • Miguel de Cervantes (1547 – 1616), Novelas ejemplares (written 1590-1612, published 1613).
     Miguel de Cervantes. Exemplary Novels. Translated by Edith Grossman. Edited by Roberto González Echevarría. Book Series: Margellos World Republic of Letters. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2016, 2018.
     [Publisher; Google Books; Wikipedia; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.]
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5. Miguel de Cervantes (1547 – 1616). Don Quixote (1605, 1615). Translated by Edith Grossman. New York: Ecco / HarperCollins Publishers, 2003.
   [Publisher; Google Books; Wikipedia; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.]

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