At the heart of the poem is the account of the warrior Roland, Charlemagne's nephew and captain of his rearguard, who valiantly leads his men into battle against a vast pagan host and dies, defiant and triumphant, on a hill facing the enemy. The scene that recounts his death is one of the greatest in world literature.

The oldest epic poem in French, The Song of Roland is a celebration of the crusading and feudal values of the twelfth century; it skillful structure and poetic intensity make it the most famous of the chansons de geste