Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: Battle of the Roncevaux Pass

The stele on the pass commemorates the "Battle of the Roncevaux Pass". In the spring of 778, a large Christian army, under the command of Charlemagne, invaded Moorish-controlled Spain. The campaign was not particularly successful. During the retreat, the army attacked Pamplona. Charlemagne had his troops sack it and destroyed the city walls, thereby making the Basques his enemy. On August 15, his army crossed the Pyrenees at the Col de Roncevaux. In this narrow passage, the army was forced to march in a long line. The Basques, significantly outnumbered, waited for the right opportunity to attack. They let the main body of the army pass and then pounced on the rear guard. The Franks were taken completely by surprise. The rear guard was cut off from the rest of the army. A battle broke out in which the Frankish soldiers were slaughtered to the last man. The Basques retreated into the mountains. Among the victims was the governor of the Breton March, Count Roland, who owned the miracoulous sword "Durandal" manufactured by Wayland the Smith (aka "Völund") and given to Charlemagne by an angel. When Roland was about to die he threw his sword (containing a tooth of Saint Peter) over a distance of about 400kms to Rocamadour, where it still sticks in the cliff today.... Pilgrims knew the whole "story" from "The Song of Roland" ("Chanson de Roland"), the oldest surviving major work of French literature.