CLEP Western Civ I

Answer: D - The Song of Roland is a chanson de geste that chronicles the events surrounding the greatest military defeat of Charlemagne’s career at the Battle of Roncesvalles. It is the oldest surviving work of French literature. A chanson de geste is a specific style of epic poem from the earliest period of French literature, dating back to the 11th century. They tend to mythologize, if not romanticize, historical events and figures. However, they also fictionalize or augment aspects of the event to fill in unknown information (like private dialogue) or create a more cohesive and emotional narrative. Though The Song of Roland is hardly historic fact, the heart of the story is an actual event in which some of the characters were truly involved. Ultimately, its veracity meant little to the French people, who adopted it as an epic episode of their cultural history.