Song of Roland: Difference between revisions

Relevant to the question of dating, the term ''d'oltre mer'' (or ''l'oltremarin'') occurs three times in the text in reference to named Muslims who came to fight in Spain and France. ''Oltre mer'', modern French [[Outremer]] (literally, "oversea, beyond sea, other side of the sea") is a native French term from the classical Latin roots ''ultra'' = "beyond" and ''mare'' = "sea". Chroniclers commonly used the term during or after the First Crusade to refer to the [[Palestine (region)|Latin Levant]].<ref>[[Lambert of Ardres]], for instance, spoke of "ultramarinarum partium gestis" ("deeds done in the lands beyond the sea", Chronicon Ghisnense et Ardense, ed. Denis-Charles Godefroy Ménilglaise, Paris 1855, pp. 215–17) when referring to the Crusades. Likewise, [[Theobald I of Navarre|Thibaut of Champagne]], writing about a century later, also used the "outremer" reference as self-explanatory (''Les chansons de croisade avec leurs mélodies'', ed. Joseph Bédier & Pierre Aubry, Paris 1909, p. 171)</ref>

Those favoring an earlier dating of the poem, however, argue that the occurrence of ''d'oltre mer'' cannot reliably be interpreted as resulting from the [[Crusades]]. They argue the term is used simply to refer to "a Muslim land", consistent with the premise that the author was writing before the Crusades. Still, even if the bulk of the poem dates from before the Crusades, there are a few other terms that may also be late, dating to after the beginning of the First Crusade.