Abstract

Abstract:

In many epic poems of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, barons consume three blades of grass in lieu of holy communion. Although no member of the rearguard in the Oxford version of the Chanson de Roland performs the rite, the green grass plays a dual figurative role in the poem, representing the Eucharist, on the one hand, and underscoring the loyalty of the Christian warriors on the other. The heroes whom the poet identifies as finding heavenly peace pray and expire on the grass, having fought for their king. Conversely, the villains who conspire against or attack the rearguard fall onto the green grass without a word of prayer or regret, their silence implying damnation. With the glory of the fallen heroes, the poem contrasts the disgrace of the principal villains who reach the grass away from the battlefield.

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