Rolandskvadet | Norwegian ballad of the Song of Roland (lyrics)

A Norwegian retelling of the famous Song of Roland, a medieval French epic or chanson de geste written down around the 12th century AD. The epic poem itself is based on the defeat of Charlemagne’s rear guard as his army returned from Moorish Spain in 778. It has since, however, become unrecognizably embellished as the story continued to grow in popularity. This version is performed by the Mediaeval Trio, and can be found on Amazon, along with a wonderful collection of other Norwegian songs on their album “Folk songs“, whose link I have included below: Vocals: Anna Maria Friman, Linn Andrea Fuglseth, Torunn Østrem Ossum Percussion: Birger Mistereggen The original text is in Norwegian: (English translation by Andrew Smith) ----------------- Seks mine sveinar heime vera Og gjøyme det gullet balde; Dei andre seks på heidningslando Gjøyme dei jarni kalde. Ria