Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/251

* ROLAND. the sun in its coiu^o. ici'iitc'is Spnin on the snnio (lay, utterly routs the ■|>af;iins,' and returns to France, sorrowful but triuuipliant. At the tid- ings of Roland's death. Aide, his betrothed (Oli- ver's sister), falls lifeless at the Emperor's feet. Ganelon is tinally found {juilty by the 'judgment of Heaven' and is eondenmed to be torn "limb from limb' by infuriated stallions. In this form the Cliansoii dc Uoland was car- ried to almost every nation in Europe. It was ]nit into German verse by a certain Conrad about 1130. later into Norse prose and into English verse; the story early penetrated to Italy: it was known to Dante, and after several recastings it was adapted to the national character by the poets Pulei (Moriiante maggiorc) . Boiardo {Or- Ifindo iiuuimonifo) . Ariosto {Orlando furioso), and Berni {Orlando amoroso). In Spain na- tional jealousy disjilaced religious zeal. Eonce- vaux became a Spanish victory, and the dawn of .Spain's national glory. Finally the legend cast abroad the names of its heroes, some of which became localized in foreign parts, notably 'Roland' in Xorthern Germany about Bremen. The legend is also the theme of several operas. The historical facts underlying the story are told by Einhard, the biographer of Charles the Great. He relates that on August 15, 778, while passing through a detile of the Pyre- nees, part of the French army w-as attacked by the mountaineers, the Basques, who, owing to their light armor, gained an easy victory. In this battle perished ''Eggihard. provost of the royal table; Anselm. coiuit of the palace; and Roland {Hruotlandiis), prefect of the JIarch of Brittany." This is the sole dictum of history on the hero's character. But two Latin works, a chronicle of the twelfth century attributed to Turpin, and a poem De Proditioiw (lucnonis of the same date, reveal two versions of the legend preceding that represented by the French poem. From evidence in these works it is held that the legend of Roland was first fashioned in Brittany, recast in Anjou, and given its present form in the country surrounding Paris or the He dc France. Tlie best manuscript of the French poem is the famous "Digby 23" of the Bodleian Li- brary, Oxford; it is apparently in the writing of a scribe of the middle of the twelfth century. As a literary production, the Chaitsoii dc Roland is worthy to be classed with the two other great mediseval epics, the Beou-ulf and the Xihc- lungcnlied. Doubtless they are both its supe- riors on the iesthetie and human sides; each of them is a more or less complete expression of a past stage of civilization, whereas the Roland represents only a part of the French nation, the feudal barons. Yet. in its rough grace, it excels them both in directness, and. above all, in the expression of a national spirit. Bibliography. Consult : Seelmann. Bihlio- graphie dcs alffran::osif!chcn Rolaiidnlicdcs (Heil- bronn, 1888). The best editions of the text are bv Gautier (Tours, 1899); bv Miiller (Giittin- gen, 1878); by Stengel (Leipzig, 1900). For criticism consult especially G. Paris, Poemcf: ct le'gcndes dii moycn age (Paris, 1900). Transla- tions; .J. O'Hagan (London. 1880) in the metre of "Christabel"; Rabillon (New York; 1888) in blank verse; an excellent German translation is that of William Hertz (Stuttgart. 1801) ; and by far the best in modern French is the blank verse translation of .Joseph Fabre (Paris, 1902). 227 ROLAND DE LA PLATIERE. ROLAND DE LA PLATIERE. d. hi pift'. t,v;a', .Than .Mauii: i 17:! I n.l i. . French p<iliti- ciaii, born at Tliizy. near illi'Irunche (Voiine). He was early forced to shift for hiiMself, hut succeedyd in becoming an authority in nuil- ters pertaining to industry and eoniinercc iind received an appointment as inspector ordiniiry of manufactures at Amiens. In 1775 he met Marie .Teaniie Philipon, a young woman twenty years his junior, of brilliant genius and faseinnting beauty, and they were married February 4. 1780. When the Revolution broke out in 17Sli, Roland. wlio was then living at Lyons, became a deciartisan of the nu)vement. In 1791 he was sent to Paris by the municipality to ]>resent to the Constituent Assendily the deplorable condition of the Lyonnese weavers. After the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly, he founded at Lyons the Club Central, the members of which, marked by their attachment to constitutional lil>erty, re- ceived the name of Rolandins. Toward tlie"elose of 1791 he settled in Paris, and soon became one of the recognized leaders of the Girondists. In -March, 17!»2, he was appointed Minister of the Interior, a post which, with the I'xception of the period between June 10 and August 10. 1792, he held till .January, 179.3. when he resigned in despair of seeing moderate counsels adopted. l"]ion the fall and proscription of the Girondists he lied and concealed himself in Rouen. When news reached him of the execution of his wife, he committed suicidi> at a small village in the environs of Rouen. November 15. 179.'J. Roland wrote and published several memoirs and dis- quisitions on branches of industry, the mo.st im- portant work being the Dictionnaire des tnanu- fneturcs et des arts (Paris, 1785-90). His let- ters to his wife before they were married have also been published in part. ROLAND DE LA PLATIERE, Marie or JIaxox .Jeaxxe Piiilu'OX. Madame (1754-93). A leader of society at the time of the French Rev- olution. She was the daughter of Pierre Graticn Philipon. an engraver, and was born in Paris, JIarch 17, 1754. At an early age she showed great precocity, being especially attracted by the works of great poets and UKU'alists. When eleven years of age she entered a convent school in Paris, but soon returned to her parents and gave herself up to fresh reading and study. She was speedily attracted by the philosophical ideas of Rousseau and the Encyclopa-dists. In 1780, after a friend- ship extending over five years, she married Jean Marie Roland de la Platifre. and her subsequent career is closely identified with his political life. During the Revolution she became prominent in Parisian literary and political life, and her salon- wan fre<|uented by Brissot, Buzot, Pi'^tion, and other Girondist leaders. After the fall of the Girondists and Roland's flight from Paris, his wife continued to support the lost cause. She was arrested June 1, 1793, and lodged in prison, where she spent her time in WTiting her Mctnoires (4 a-o1s., edited by Dauban. Paris. 1804). She also composed four letters to Buzot. who ahme of her admirers hiid awakened deeper sentiments than those of friendship. Their mu- tual love had been, however, a blameless one. After a sununary trial before the Revolutionary Tribunal. Madan'ic Roland was led to the guillo- tine and bravely met death, November 8, 1703. Consult: Dauban, Etude sur Madame Roland