In ''

The Song of Roland The ''Song of Roland'' () is an 11th-century based on the deeds of the Frankish military leader Roland at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in AD 778, during the reign of the Emperor Charlemagne. It is the oldest surviving major work of French li ...

'', Blancandrin is the instigator of the pagan plot against

Roland Roland (; ; or ''Rotholandus''; or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. The historical Roland was mil ...

and

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

. He first appears in the final line of the second stanza of the poem as the only pagan who speaks to give

King Marsile Marsile (variously spelled Marsilie, Marsilius, Marsilio, Marsilion, Marsiglio, Marcilie, Marsille, Marsilies, Marsilun, or Marsiluns) is a character in the French heroic poem '' The Song of Roland''. He is the Muslim king of Arabs, conquering Sa ...

counsel, and is then described as the wisest of the pagans and a good and worthy knight, which are uncommon sentiments when describing the 'Saracens' throughout the poem. He suggests that Marsile accept the Christian faith and become a vassal of Charlemagne, as well as offering many gifts and the nobles' sons as hostages for execution if the Frank leaves Spain for Aix. He then acts as messenger to Charlemagne. Blancandrin escorts

Ganelon In the 11th century Matter of France, Ganelon (, ) is the knight who betrayed Charlemagne's army to the Saracens, leading to the 778 Battle of Roncevaux Pass. His name is said to derive from the Italian word , meaning fraud or deception.Boiardo, ...

to Marsile (stanzas 28-32) and acts as go-between for the two men (35 and 38). He is not subsequently mentioned.

References

* La Chanson de Roland Characters in The Song of Roland Fictional knights Male characters in literature Legendary Arab people {{lit-char-stub