The Song of Roland and Christianity - 1483 Words

Song of Roland and Christianity The Song of Roland is indeed a Christian poem. Of this, there is no question. However, it is a medieval version of Christianity that it presents, and not one that would be something familiar to the early Christians or to the actual followers of Jesus of Nazareth. By the time the Song of Roland was written, Christianity had changed drastically from its early days. Instead of being a mild, humble, and peaceful group of persecuted people who were outside the norms of society (Pearson 2009, 221), Christianity had become powerful. It had become accepted as the official religion of most of Europe, and the idea to convert others by force had become an attractive one. The people of the Middle Ages took Jesuss command to go out and become fishers of men (meaning to bring the word of God and the message of Jesus to whoever they could) to mean to go out and forcibly capture those men and make them convert or die. Christianity had become more violent than the religion of peace that it was when it began. The Song of Roland reflects this. If there is one thing the Song of Roland is, it is a product of its times. It was written around the time of the first Crusade, when the Christian people of Europe were eager to go out and reclaim the lands where Jesus had lived and secure them for Christianity. The Middle East, where Jesus had lived, was ruled by Muslims at this time, and that was just not acceptable to European Christians. Armed warfare wasShow MoreRelatedEssay about Christendom and The Song of Roland1119 Words   |  5 PagesThe Song of Roland is the oldest epic poem in French, written by an anonymous poet, composed in between late eleven century to twelfth century. This epic poetry holds an important place in the history of France and invention of Christendom. 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