Search

The Song of Roland Pfaffe Konrad Date: About 1170 Original Language: Middle High German Description The Rolandslied by Pfaffe Konrad is a translation (or better, an adaptation) of the Chanson de Roland (q.v.), based on the military defeat of Charlemagne at Roncesvalles in the Pyrenees in 778. None of the extant manuscripts of the Chanson de Roland was Konrad’s direct source. With respect to the plot, the Rolandslied bears the closest affinities to the version attested in the Oxford manuscript, but, with its 9094 verses, the German rendering doubles the length o…

Biography All that is known about this German author must be gathered from his work. In the epilogue (vv. 9017-94), which is preserved only in the Heidelberg manuscript, he says of himself Ich haize der phaffe Chunrât (v. 9079). The term ‘pfaffe’ is equivalent to clericus, which does not necessarily indicate a parish priest or a monk: in fact it is assumed that Konrad was a member of the clergy employed in a ducal chancellery. His clerical education – and therefore his knowledge of Latin – is confirmed both by the numerous biblical quotati…