Very unlike the hymns in character were the Latin songs composed by students who went from one university to another in search of knowledge and adventure. Far from home, careless and pleasure-seeking, light of purse and light of heart the wandering scholars of the Middle Ages frequented taverns, as well as lecture rooms, and knew the wine-bowl even better than books. Their songs of love, of dancing, drinking, and gaming, reflect the jovial side of medieval life.
SONGS OF THE TROUBADOURS
Still another glimpse of gay society is afforded by the songs of the troubadours. These professional poets flourished in the south of France, but many of them traveled from court to court in other countries. Their verses, composed in the Provençal language, were always sung to the accompaniment of some musical instrument, generally the lute. Romantic love and deeds of chivalry were the two themes which most inspired the troubadours. They, too, took up the use of rhyme, using it so skillfully as to become the teachers of Europe in lyric poetry.
THE FRENCH EPIC
If southern France was the native home of the lyric, northern France gave birth to epic or narrative verse. Here arose many poems, describing the exploits of mythical heroes or historic kings. For a long time the poems remained unwritten and were recited by minstrels, who did not hesitate to modify and enlarge them at will. It was not until late in the eleventh century that any epics were written down. They enjoyed high esteem in aristocratic circles and penetrated all countries where feudalism prevailed.
THE CHARLEMAGNE LEGEND
Many of the French epics centered about the commanding personality of Charlemagne. After his death he became a figure of legend. He was said to have reigned one hundred and twenty-five years, to have made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and to have risen from the dead to lead the First Crusade. Angels inspired his actions. His sword contained the point of the lance which pierced the Savior's side. His standard was the banner of St. Peter. Though history shows that Charlemagne had little contact with the Moslems, in the popular mind he stood forth as the great champion of Christianity against Islam.
SONG OF ROLAND
The oldest, and at the same time the finest, epic connected with Charlemagne is the Song of Roland. [7] The poem centers around Roland, one of the twelve peers of France. When leading the rearguard of Charlemagne's army out of Spain, Roland is suddenly attacked by the treacherous Moors. He slays the enemy in heaps with his good sword, Durendal, and only after nearly all the Franks have perished sounds his magic horn to summon aid. Charlemagne, fifteen leagues distant, hears its notes and returns quickly. But before help arrives, Roland has fallen. He dies on the field of battle, with his face to the foe, and a prayer on his lips that "sweet France" may never be dishonored. This stirring poem appealed strongly to the martial Normans. A medieval chronicler relates that just before the battle of Hastings a Norman minstrel rode out between the lines, tossing his sword in air and catching it again, as he chanted the song "of Roland and of Charlemagne, of Oliver and many a brave vassal who lost his life at Roncesvalles."
[Illustration: ROLAND AT RONCESVALLES
From a thirteenth-century window of stained glass in Chartres Cathedral.
At the right, Roland sounding his horn; at the left Roland endeavoring to
break his sword Durendal.]