“Rolland the valyaunt, and champyon of the crysten fayth, was moche sorouful of the crysten men bycause they had noo socours. He was moche very gretely abasshed and moche affebled in hys persone, for he had lost moche of hys blode by his foure mortal woundes, of whych the leste of them was suffysaunt for hym to have deyed, and he had gret payn to get hym oute fro the Sarasyns, for to have a lytel commemoracyon of God before or the soule sholde depart fro hys body. So moche he enforced hym, that he came to the fote of a montayne nygh to the port of Cesarye, and brought hymself nygh to a rocke ryght by Roncyval, under a tree in a fayr medowe. Whan he sat doon on the grounde he byheld hys swerde, the best that ever was, named Durandal, whych is as moche to say as gyvyng an hard stroke, whych was ryght fayr and rychely made: the handle was of fyn beryle shynynge mervaylously, on it it had a fayre crosse of gold in the whych was wryton the name of Jhesus. It was so good and fyn that sooner sholde the arme fayle than the swerde: he toke it oute of the shethe, and sawe it shyne moche bryght, and bycause it sholde chaunge hys maister he had moche sorrowe in hys herte, and wepynge, he said in this maner pytously, ‘O swerde of valure, the fayrest that ever was, thou were never but fayr, ne never fonde I the but good! Thou hast been so moche honoured that alway thou barest with the the name of the blessed Jhesus, sauvyour of the world, which has endowed the wyth the power of God. Who may comprehende thy valure! Alas, who shal have the after me! Whosomever hath the shall never be vanquysshed; alway shall he have good fortune! Alas, what shall I moreover say for the good swerde; many sarasyns have been destroyed by the; thynfydels and myscreaunts have ben slayn by the; the name of God is exalted by the; by the is made the path of sauvement! O how many tymes have I by the avenged thynjury made to God! O how many men have I smyton, and cutte asondre by the myddle! O my swerde whych has ben my comfort and my joye, whych never hurtest persone that myght escape fro deth. O my swerde, yf ony persone of noo value sholde have the, and I knewe it, I sholde deye for sorowe!’ After that Rolland had wept ynough he had fere that some paynym myght fynd it after hys deth. Wherfore he concluded in hymself to breke it, and toke it, and smote upon a rocke wyth all hys myght iii tymes wythout hurtynge ony thynge the swerde, and clefte the rocke to therthe, and colde in no wyse breke the swerde. Whan he sawe the facyon, and colde do no more therto, he toke his horne whych was of yvorie moche rychely made, and sowned and blewe it moche strongely, to thende that yf there were ony crysten men hyd in the wodes, or in the waye of theyr retournynge, that they sholde come to hym before they went any further, and tofore he rendered hys soule. Then seynge that none came he sowned it ageyn by soo grete force and vertu, and soo impetously, that the horne roof asondre in the myddle, and the vaynes of hys necke braken asondre, and the synewes of hys bodye stratched. And that noyse or voys, by the grace of God came to the eeres of Charles, whych was eyght myles fro hym. The emperour heerynge the horne, he knewe well that Rolland had blowen it, and wolde have retorned ageyn; but Ganellon the traytre which knewe wel alle the fayt dystourned hym, in sayenge that Rolland had blowen hys horne for some wylde beest that he chaced for hys playsyr; for oft tyme he wold blowe hys horne for lytel thynge: and that he sholde not doubte of nothynge. And thus he dyd the kynge to understond, that he beleyved hym and made none other semblaunt. Nevertheles Rolland beynge in thys sorowe, he peased hys woundes al so wel as he myght, and stratched himself on the grasse to the fressheness for to forget hys thurst, whych was over grete.
“Here upon Baulduyn hys brother came unto hym, whyche was moche hevy and soroweful for hys brother Rolland whych was in that necessyte. And anone Roulland sayd to hym, ‘My frende and my brother, I have so grete thurst that I must nedes dye yf I have not drynke to aswage my thurst.’
“Baulduyn had grete payn in goynge here and there, and colde fynde noo water, and came to hym ageyn, and sayde he colde fynde none; and in grete anguysse he lepte on Roulland’s hors, and rode for to fetch Charles; for he knewe wel that Roulland was nyghe hys deth. Anone after came to hym Thyerry duc of Ardayne, whych wept upon Roulland so continually, that he myght not speke but wyth gret payn. Rolland confessed hym and dysposed hym of hys conscience, nevertheles that same day Rolland had receyved the body of our Lord. For the custom was that the subgettes of Charles that day whych they sholde fyght, were confessed and comuned wythoute fayllynge by men of the chyrche, whych alway were wyth them. Rolland whych knewe hys ende by entyer contemplacyon, hys eyen lyfte up to heven, and hys hondes joyned, al stratched in the medowe, began to say thus, ‘Fayre Lorde God my maker, my redemour, son of the gloryous moder of comfort, thou knowest myn entencyon, thou knowest what I have doon. For the bounte that is in the, by the grete mercy of whyche thou art envyronned, by the grace whych in the aboundeth, by the meryte of thy passyon holy and bytter, wyth a good and humble hert I requyre the that tofore the thys daye my faultes, synnes, and ygnoraunces may be pardonned to me. And take no regarde to the trespaces that I have doon to the, but beholde that I deye for the and in the fayth that thou hast ordeyned: remembre that thou hangest on the tree of the crosse for the synnars, and so as thou hast redeemed me, I beseech the that I be not loste. Alas, my maker God omnipotent, wyth good wyll I departed out of my countreye for to defend thy name, and for to mayntene crystendom. Thou knowest that I have suffred many angoysses of hungre, of thurst, of hete, of colde, and many mortal woundes. And day and nyght to the my God I yelde me culpable. I mystrust not thy mercy, thou art pytous, thou art comen for the synnars, thou pardonest Mary Magdalen and the good theef on the crosse bycause they retourned unto the; they were synnars as I am; lyke as they dyd, I crye for mercy, and better yf I colde say it. Thou byheldest how Abraham was obeyssaunt to the of hys sone Isaac, wherefore he ferde moche the better; byholde me how I am obedyent to the commaundements of the chyrche. I byleve in the, I love the above all other, I love my neyghbour. O good Lord, I beseche the to pardone and forgive alle theym that thys daye ben deed in my companye, that they may be saved. Also my maker I requyre the to take heed of the pacyence of Job, for whych he was moche the better, that I deye here for thurst, and am alone. I am wounded mortally, and may not helpe myself; and take in pacyence alle the sorowe that I suffre, and am therwyth content when it pleaseth the. As all thys is trewe, pardone me, comforte my spyryte, receyve my soule, and brynge me to reste perdurable.’ Whan Rolland had prayed thus, he sette hys handes on hys bodye, holdyng hys flesshe, and after sayd thre tymes, ‘Et in carne mea videbo Deum salvatorem meum,’ and after layed hys handes on hys eyen, and sayd, ‘Et oculi isti conspecturi sunt.’ ‘In thys flesshe that I hold I shall see my sauyour, and these eyen shal behold hym:’ and after, he sayd, that he sawe thynges celestyall, whych the eyen of man myght not see, nor the eeres here, ne the hert thynke, the glory whych God hath maad redy to them that love hym. And in sayenge, ‘In manus tuas Domine commendo spiritum meum,’ ‘Into thy handes, O Lord, I commende my spyryte,’ he layed hys armes upon his body in maner of a crosse, and gaf and rendred his soule to God the xvi kalends of Juyl.[44]
“OF the rysyon of the deth of Roulland, and of the sorowe of Charles. Capitulo iiii.
“The day that Roulland the marter rendred hys soule unto God, I Turpyn, archbysshop of Raymes, was in the valeye of Rouncyval, tofore Charles the Emperour, and sayde masse for the soules whych were passed out of thys world. And as I was in the secrete of the masse I was ravysshed, and herd the aungellys of heven synge and make grete melodye. And I wyst not what it might be, ne wherfore they soo dyd. And as I sawe the aungellys mount into heven on hye, I saw comynge a grete legyon of knyghtes alle blacke ageynst me, the whych bere a praye whereof they made grete noyse. Whan they were tofore me in passynge, I sayd to them, and demaunded who they were, and what they bare. One of the deveylles aunswered and sayd, we bere the kyng Marfuryus into helle, for long agoon he hath well deserved it. And Roulland your trumpette, wyth Michel thaungel, and many other in his companye, is brought into joye perdurable to heven. And as the masse was fynysshed, I recounted to Charles the vysyon whyche I had seen, how thaungellys of heven bare the soule of Roulland into Paradys, and the devylles bare the soule of a sarasyn into helle. Thus as I sayde these wordes Baulduyn whyche rode on Rolland’s hors came hastely, and sayd to Charles how the crysten men were dede and bytrayed, and how Rolland was hurte, and in what estate he had left hym.”
CHAPTER IX.
