Ponderable Quote from “The Song of Roland”

I recently (nine days ago, to be exact) dusted off my old, slightly musty copy of The Song of Roland to serve as a kind of novena for the Feast of Bl. Emperor Charlemagne. I did this last year with In Praise of the New Knighthood for the feast of St. Bernard of Clairvaux and found the exercise extremely edifying. Needless to say, I feel the same way about revisiting this masterpiece of medieval literature. If you haven't already read this glorious chanson de geste, I cannot recommend it highly enough. With no shortage of inspirational passages to choose from, I decided to simplify my decision and share the following excerpt solely because it's where I’m currently at in the book. Carolo Magno Imperatore, ora pro nobis.

The emperor has had his trumpets sounded;
then, with his mighty host, the brave lord rides.
The men from Spain have turned their backs to them;
they all ride out together in pursuit.
The king, on seeing dusk begin to fall,
Dismounts upon the green grass in a field,
Prostates himself, and prays Almighty God
that He will make the sun stand still for him,
hold back the night, and let the day go on.
An angel he had spoken with before
came instantly and gave him this command:
“Ride on, Charles, for the light shall not desert you.
God knows that you have lost the flower of France;
you may take vengeance on the guilty race.”
And at these words, the emperor remounts. AOI

* Reprinted from The Song of Roland, author unknown, translated and with an introduction by Robert Harrison, A Signet Classic, 2002, p.131-132