Semi-legendary French knight, hero of the Chanson de Roland (11th-c, Song of Roland). The most celebrated of the Paladins of Charlemagne, he is said to have been the nephew of Charlemagne, and the ideal of a Christian knight. The only evidence for his historical existence is a passage in Einhard's Life of Charlemagne (c.830–3), which refers to Roland as having fallen at Roncesvalle. Boiardo's Orlando Innamorato and Ariosto's Orlando Furioso depart widely from the old traditions.
