The song of Roland was written down in the last years of the 11th century, although the events referenced in the song actually would have occurred around 778 AD. As a result, it is one of the oldest and revered surviving works in French history although it is not often taught. We can assume the epic is true because in 778, the then king of the Franks and the Lombards, Charlemagne 1, otherwise known as Charles the Great, was in a fierce battle with Spain(Basques) for dominance. This is what gave way for the Battle of Roncevalles, otherwise known in French as le Bataille de Ronceveaux. In the main story, King Charlemagne 1 has conquered the majority of the country and is seeking a treaty for the rest of the land. However, as that plan was not successful, in order to gain control, King Charlemagne intended to invade Spain in order to get rid of the standing Emir and replace him with a Muslim. King Charlemagne's plan was for the person he placed to be loyal to the Frankish king, i.e. King Charlemagne. In doing this, King Charlemagne was successful, however in the return back to the Frankish kingdom, now known as France, King Charlemagne's rear guard was attacked. This rear guard was commanded by Roland. Roland was one of the most loyal guards to King Charlemagne and so was bestowed with this great responsibility. The rear guard is the most important to the army because they must always be on the lookout for approaching enemy forces and if they are defeated, it is extremely likely that the rest of the arm will also be slain. So, Roland, who was also speculated to be the nephew of Charlemagne as well as one of the bravest commanders among his force, was in charge of the rear guard but because of his pride and hubris, decided not to call upon the rest of the army, even though he knew the rear guard was outnumbered. Although he finally he called for help, in the twelfth hour, because the rest of the army had gotten so far along and the rear guard was almost completely decimated, the entire rear guard was lost in that battle, including Roland himself. Thus, the story serves as a lesson to others to not let your pride and hubris get in the way of your logical thinking because it is speculated that had he called for help sooner, the rear guard could have been saved. In another story, King Charlemagne had ordered Ganelon, a paladin and also the supposed step father of Roland, to go to Spain and negotiate with the Emir leader in advance of sending Roland out. In Ganelon's jealousy over being forced to play the role of pawn, after Roland and the rear guard had departed and began making their way back to King Charlemagne's kingdom, Ganelon told the leader, the Emir, the route which Roland's army planned to take through the mountains and back to the kingdom. However, regardless of the version or the person telling it, the massacre on the way back to the kingdom of King Charlemagne is always a result of the treason done by Ganelon, a vassal of Charlemagne, as an action of his jealousy against Roland and his anger towards King Charlemagne. According to every story, Ganelon transpired with the Basques and gave them the location of where the Frankish army would be passing in order to rid himself of Roland. The Song of Roland shows a clear distinction between good and evil through Ganelon's character and behavior, but also shows a contrast between rashness, prudence, selfishness and rationality through Roland's character and behavior as well as through the behavior of the best friend of Roland, Oliver, who was also slain, as Oliver had begged Roland to make the call to the rest of the troops ahead so that the rear guard could be saved. This rashness is shown through the behavior of Roland because even after realizing that the rear guard is being attacked, he refuses to blow his horn to call for the rest of the army to return and come to their aid. However, as the Franks (those who are taking part in the rear guard led by Roland) are quickly being defeated, at the urging of Turpin the archbishop, and also his friend Oliver, Roland finally blows the signal to call for help from the leading parts of the army. At that point however, the Franks had become even more greatly outnumbered than they had been from the start. As Charlemagne arrives upon his beaten and slain troops, he realizes the treason which has occurred right under his very nose and upon arriving once again into his Frankish kingdom, he orders for Ganelon to be tried in front of his peers and killed for treason. Ganelon is therefore killed by quartering, i.e. each of his arms is tied to a male horse, and each of his legs is tied to a male horse, then the horses are led in their formation to a paddock which contains a mare and they are urged to each compete for her. It is a gruesome way to die. As a result of this treason however, his family is also punished although the epic makes no mention of by which means they are made to suffer. There is not much information on the time period during which the epopee or epic was written, as the first version of it was discovered in the 1000's but it is noted to have been referenced by those going to war prior to the discovery of its written form. The writer of the epopee is considered to be Turoldus as that is the name mentioned at the end of the verses.