Stories of Roland Told to the Children by H E Marshall

Stories of Roland Told to the Children by H E Marshall

The classic Romantic French epic poem, known as The Song of Roland (La Chanson de Roland), is here retold for younger readers by master storyteller H. E. Marshall. The Song of Roland is one of the oldest surviving major works of French literature, dating from around 1150 A.D, and possibly the greatest heroic and romantic poem of its genre. Although The Song of Roland is presented as part of the great war between the European Franks under Charlemagne and the Moorish invaders of Spain, it is a highly embroidered and romanticized version which is only very loosely based on real events. The Song of Roland unfolds as Charlemagne and his great army are fighting Muslim invaders in Spain, and follows the story of the great Frankish captain Roland until shortly after his death at the hands of a Muslim attack. The events are based loosely on the Battle of Roncevaux Pass of 778 A.D. Charlemagne's army was withdrawing from Spain after campaigning against the Muslims, when the rearguard commander, Roland, was killed in an ambush set by a local Basque army. The Song of Roland took these events and, mainly through oral tradition, romanticized them into a major conflict between Christians and Muslims-when in fact both sides in the Battle of Roncevaux Pass were Christian. Nonetheless, The Song of Roland remains a major work of heroic literature, and this retelling is the perfect way to introduce younger readers to an important part of European culture and heritage. This edition has been completely reset and hand-edited, and contains all the original illustrations by L. D. Luard.

Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall, a prominent author of children's history books a century ago, is suddenly regaining prominence. Our Island Tale, A History of England for Boys and Girls was originally published in 1905, and was immediately followed by Scotland's Story in 1906 and Our Imperial Story in 1908. A History of France, A History of Germany, This Land of Ours, and English Literature for Boys and Girls are among her other works. She also contributed to the critically acclaimed Told to the Children series, writing The Tale of Napoleon and The Story of Cromwell for the Children's Heroes series.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781599150024
ISBN 10	1599150026
Title	Stories of Roland Told to the Children
Author	H E Marshall
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Yesterday's Classics
Year published	2005-11-13
Number of pages	104
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.