Prejudice in The Song of RolandUnfortunately, the role of ignorance and jealousy combining to breed fear and hatred is a recurring theme in history that manifests itself ultimately in the form of prejudice. As the alteration of historical events in The Song of Roland demonstrates, the conflict between the Christian and Islamic religions takes precedence over the narrower field of any specific battle and is shaped, at least in part, by the blind perception of a prejudice born from ignorance and the envy that Christian Europe had for the representatives of the non-Christian world. To fully understand this bias and its effects on the participants, it is necessary to recognize the circumstances of the "real" battle as well as the altered characters and settings attributed to its later writing, to understand the character and beliefs of the participants and to 'examine carefully the text itself to see how prejudices come into play. The historic battle described in The Song of Roland took place on August 15, 778 and involved the ambush and massacre of Charlemagne's rearguard by the Basques (Burgess 9). Victims of treason, among those killed were Roland de Breton (Burgess 10). This battle was part of the fights aimed at creating the Spanish March which served as a buffer zone between Spain and the Franks of Charlemagne (Koeller). Although this particular ambush was relatively insignificant, the incident became a rallying cry for the Christian armies of Europe when it was picked up and reworked by a later poet. External evidence indicates that the epic poem was written no earlier than 1060 and no later than the second half. of the 12th century with the generally accepted era begins 1098-1100, which coincides with the time of the First Crusade (Bur...... middle of paper ......tions for them. Just like the Christians were fighting Muslims Fueled by this prejudice and greed, this historical pattern has been shown to repeat itself frequently throughout history - whether it be the slave issue in the United States in the 19th century or the treatment of the Jews by the Nazis in the 20th century - man takes the unknown and twists it into hatred rather than the search for enlightenment This is the true tragedy of The Song of Roland and of man's refusal. to learn from history. Burgess, Glyn trans NY: Penguin Books, 1990. Koeller, David. Lectures on Western Civilization to 1500. Phillips University, Fall 1992. Perry, Marvin et al. Western: Ideas, Politics and Society. 4th ed. Vol. I. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992. Southern, RW The Making of the Middle Ages. London: the Cresset library, 1967.