Rolandskvadet | Norwegian ballad of the Song of Roland (lyrics)

A Norwegian retelling of the famous Song of Roland, a medieval French epic or chanson de geste written down around the 12th century AD. The epic poem itself is based on the defeat of Charlemagne's rear guard as his army returned from Moorish Spain in 778. It has since, however, become unrecognizably embellished as the story continued to grow in popularity.

This version is performed by the Mediaeval Trio, and can be found on Amazon, along with a wonderful collection of other Norwegian songs on their album "Folk songs", whose link I have included below:

Vocals: Anna Maria Friman, Linn Andrea Fuglseth, Torunn Østrem Ossum
Percussion: Birger Mistereggen

The original text is in Norwegian: (English translation by Andrew Smith)

-----------------

Seks mine sveinar heime vera
Og gjøyme det gullet balde;
Dei andre seks på heidningslando
Gjøyme dei jarni kalde.

Ria dei ut or Franklandet
Med dyre dros i sadel.
Blæs i luren, Olifant,
På Ronsarvollen.

Slogest dei ut på Ronsarvollen
I dagane två og trio;
Då fekk'kje soli skine bjart
For røykjen av manneblodet.

Ria dei ut or Franklandet...

Roland sette luren for blodiga mundi
Blæs han i med vreide.
Då rivna jord og jardarstein
I trio døger av leide.

Ria dei ut or Franklandet...

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Six men stayed behind
To guard their gold;
The other six in heathen lands
Brandished cold steel.

They rode out of Frankish lands
With spoils in their saddles.
Blow your horn, Olifant,
At Roncevaux.

They fought at Roncevaux
For two days, if not three;
And the sun could not shine clear
Through the stench of men's blood.

They rode out of Frankish lands...

Roland placed the horn to his bloodied mouth
And blew with all his might.
The earth shook and mountains resounded
For three days and nights.

They rode out of Frankish lands...

-----------------

For the high and late medieval depictions of the Battle of Roncevaux and the Song of Roland, the following site does a great job in collecting a large number of images, each organized according to scene:

Thank you,
Rex Falsus

Disclaimer: All the music and images in this video belong to their rightful owners and creators, to whom all credit goes. I am not making a profit from this video, but intend it purely for educational purposes and to expose more people to these wonderful works. I do not intend any copyright infringement and will gladly remove this video if asked to.

[thLegio]

Love those depictions of Charlemagne kneeling beside Roland. Tolkien was smart to use that as the inspiration for Boromir and Aragorn. So cool!

[Jean-wbrb]

I was also told of the story of the four Aymon brothers, of whom Roland is the eldest. The story says they hid in the belgian ardennes forest. Over here in Belgium, we still have "the rock of Bayard" which is the rock Roland's horse named Bayard, is said to have split in half. Now hearing Norwegians singing about this is just plain awesome. European cultures are linked, it's just beautiful.

[frognipp]

im norwegian and we sang this in school, i loved it

[ImmanuelTheKing]

Three incredible vocalists and a drummer in a chamber captured lightning in a bottle with this one. One of the best recordings of any piece of music I've ever heard in any genre.

[lululun]

Years ago I accidentally found this song - it has no name, nothing and I fall in love with it. I'm so glad I've found it again - could never imagine how much more beautiful and powerful it could be now that I understand the meaning of it.

And you did a great job with the video - very pleasant to watch and follow the story.

[Awesome]

been listening to this since 12th century AD, this song gives me so much nostalgia

[paz.]

C'est une très belle interprétation de l'histoire de Roland ! Vous faites honneur à cette grande figure de l'empire Carolingien.

[danneskjoldr]

A more literal translation of the last verse is more epic

Roland set the lure 'fore bloody mouth
Blows in it with WRATH!
Then rifts earth and warriorstones 
for three days linked.

[bauglirbah]

To give some more background of this song, it is based on the French chivalric epic "The song of Roland", but it is not itself the song of Roland, it is the "kvad" of Roland. In the 1200's Norway the Karlamagnús saga based on "The Song of Roland" about Charlemagne was written down in old norse and this song from the 15-1600's or earlier based on that text. "The Song of Roland" is a massive body of work that could not have been distilled into a short song like this. On the melody of this version, there are earlier melodies written down, but this in particular is of Faroese tradition from the 18-1900's, I'm not sure how different earlier ones would have been.

[waldwulfwulfila]

The Song of Roland is an 11th-century chanson de geste based on the deeds of the frankish military leader Roland at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in AD 778, during the reign of the emperor charlemagne. It is the oldest surviving major work of french literature. It exists in various manuscript versions, which testify to its enormous and enduring popularity in Medieval and Renaissance literature from the 12th to 16th centuries.
The epic poem written in Old French is the first and one of the most outstanding examples of the chanson de geste, a literary form that flourished between the 11th and 16th centuries in Medieval Europe and celebrated legendary deeds. An early version was composed around 1040 AD, with additions and alterations made up to about 1115 AD. The final poem contains about 4, 000 lines.The Song of Roland's account of the Battle of Roncesvalles is not supported by history. According to Einhard's Vita Karoli Magni from the late eighth century, the attackers were Basques seeking revenge against Charlemagne's army for the looting of Pamplona. The following is the depiction in the poem itself, not a historical account.Roland was a frankish military leader under charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the matter of france. The historical Roland was military governor of the Breton March, responsible for defending francia's frontier against the Bretons. His only historical attestation is in Einhard's Vita Karoli Magni, which notes he was part of the Frankish rearguard killed in retribution by the Basques in Iberia at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass.The only historical mention of the actual Roland is in the Vita Karoli Magni by Charlemagne's courtier and biographer Einhard. Einhard refers to him as Hruodlandus Brittannici limitis praefectus ("Roland, prefect of the borders of Brittany"), indicating that he presided over the Breton March, Francia's border territory against the Bretons.The passage, which appears in Chapter 9, mentions that Hroudlandus as among those killed in the Battle of Roncevaux Pass:Roland was evidently the first official appointed to direct Frankish policy in Breton affairs, as local Franks under the Merovingian dynasty had not previously pursued any specific relationship with the Bretons. Their frontier castle districts such as Vitré, Ille-et-Vilaine, south of Mont Saint-Michel, are now divided between Normandy and Brittany. The distinctive culture of this region preserves the present-day Gallo language and legends of local heroes such as Roland. Roland's successor in Brittania Nova was Guy of Nantes, who like Roland, was unable to exert Frankish expansion over Brittany and merely sustained a Breton presence in the Carolingian Empire.In 778 Roland, the warden of the Breton March, had accompanied Charlemagne on his campaign into the Iberian peninsula across the Western Pyrenees. Einhard, the biographer of Charlemagne, mentions in his Vita Karoli Magni a fatal event involving Vasconian raiders who laid an ambush by hiding in the woods on top of a high mountain while Frankish troops were crossing the mountain pass. Subsequently, the raiders attacked the rear guards of the Frankish army on their way down into the valley.According to Einhard, Eggihard, the King's steward; Anselm ("Anshelmus"), Count Palatine; and Roland ("Hruodlandus"), Governor of the March of Brittany, with very many others, lost their lives during that ambush.
According to tradition, Roncesvalles is the site where this event took place in 778, and hence today the battle is called Battle of Roncesvalles. There is a stone monument near the pass commemorating the area where it is traditionally held that Roland died.Nonetheless, the inhabitants of Valcarlos continue to claim that Valcarlos is the historic site where the battle of 778 took place because Charlemagne's troops were on their way back into the Frankish realm.
According to legend, Roland was laid to rest in the basilica at Blaye, near Bordeaux, on the site of the citadel.

[jonathandelong]

Thank you for making a video that did this song justice. A lot of love went into the production and I really appreciate it.

[Siegbert]

That was fantastic! Can't stop replaying it

[FifinatorKlon]

I'm slightly hyperventilating due to the overload of epicness now.

[jeromecollin]

vive la France, vive le Royaume des Francs, merci aux norvégiens qui ont composer cette ballade, en France on gomme nos racines et notre histoire ....

[Velnias]

Roland was 16 when he died. In perspective of history we are only lesser sons of greater sires

[REaSIoM]

This song is a part of my country's history ! It recounts some epic story from the Frankish Kingdom in the actual France ! Long live France ! 🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷

[Skelldr]

Now you know where JRR Tolkien got the inspiration for Boromirs horn :)

[andreascarserides]

Just beutiful....cam hear it over and over again

[PhantomsAngel]

For once, I was shown something awesome in history class! My instructor showed us this after we finished reading the Song of Roland, awesome.

[sethwalker]

The world needs a lot more music like this!

Ahhhh!
Why is this song soooo EPIC!?

It puts all modern songs to shame. 😖