CM1 Bilingual Ms. Hamzaoui Visual arts / Language arts

The Battle of Roncevaux and the Song of Roland The Battle of Roncevaux took place in 778 in the Pyrenean mountains (See your history lesson). It has been represented in various forms of arts: paintings, stained glasses, sculptures, manuscripts etc. Roland, who was Charlemagne’s nephew died during this battle. The Song of Roland is an epic poem based on the Battle of Roncevaux. It is the oldest surviving French poem. 1/

A page of the manuscript: The Song of Roland. It was probably composed between the 10th and the 11th centuries. It is kept at the Bodleian Library of Oxford, United Kingdom.

The death of Roland and the Battle of Roncevaux (in the background). From an illuminated manuscript (1455-1460).

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CM1 Bilingual Ms. Hamzaoui Visual arts / Language arts

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Some historical and artist ic

references: Stained glass is a decorative composition made with pieces of coloured glass. In Europe, the art of stained glass reached its height between 1150 and 1500, when magnificent windows were created for great cathedrals. To assemble a window, these pieces are joined together with strips of lead. The patterns represented religious scenes, the life of Saints, of heroes and gave us a lot of historical information. The stories are read from the bottom to the top. In the Chartes Cathedral, (where the roundel above comes from) there are 176 stained-glass windows.

13th century stained glass roundel from the Chartres Cathedral. It is showing Roland Attempting to break Durendal and blowing his “Olifant”.

Now, answer the following questions:

1. What does the stained glass represent? (4 steps to describe): - The bloody battle - Roland trying to break Durendal - Roland blowing his Olifant - His defeat, he’s now praying God. 2. Why is Roland trying to break his sword? - The sword is what he cherishes the most; he doesn’t want the enemy to have it. 3. What does the mountain represent? - The mountain is split in two; it shows Roland’s strength. 4. What is a stained-glass window made of? What is it used for? - Pieces of coloured glass, strips of lead. - It is used to decorate cathedrals, showing the life of famous people, religious people