Tapestry, woven in wool and silk, probably made in Tournai, 1475-1500; The Battle of Roncevaux

Tapestry woven wool and silk on a wool warp. This is a fragment from a larger hanging showing a skirmish in the Battle of Roncevaux. Roland with his sword Durendal is in combat with King Marsile. Oliver brandishes his sword on the left. The Saracen is about to strike a blow with the 'Morningstar' beneath. Inscribed 'roland', 'durendal', 'marsille', 'bau' (duin) and 'olivier' accordingly.

There are Burgundian archaisms in Roland's arms, the fleur de lys showing his relationship with Charlemagne. In style the tapestry shows the extreme limit of a surface filling design. There are three other fragments of the V&A piece in private possession in France.

Historical significance: Crowded compositions with static court scenes interspersed with violent battles became popular in tapestry in the second half of the 15th century.

The source of the story in the tapestries is pseudo-Turpin's version of the Chanson de Roland and especially La Bataille de Rainchevaux, a 13th century account deriving from pseudo-Turpin. The real battle was the last of Charlemagne's first campaign to capture Spain, an attempt that ended in failure. Roland and the rear guard were left behind the main army, and were attacked at the Roncevaux pass in the Pyrenees by the Basques on August 15, 778, when the Franks were completely annihilated. This minor battle was romanticized by oral tradition into a major conflict between Christians and Saracens (both sides were Christians), where Charlemagne comes to the resue of Roland and destroys the Saracens. When The Song of Roland was written down, by an unknown troubadour of the 11th century, it became the first chanson de gest or epic poem of medieval France.

This is a fragment from a large tapestry-woven hanging, probably from a History of Charlemagne series. The story is taken from a later version of the Chanson de Roland and shows a mêlée in the battle of Roncevaux, where Roland, with his sword Durendal, is in combat with the King Marsile. The real battle was the last of Charlemagne's first campaign to capture Spain, an attempt that ended in failure. Roland and the rear guard were left behind by the main army, and were attacked at the Roncevaux pass in the Pyrenees by the Basques on 15 August 778 AD. The Franks were completely annihilated.

The battle was later romanticised into a major conflict between Christians and Saracens, although both sides were Christians, and Charlemagne comes to the rescue of Roland and destroys the Saracens.

T.95-1962