The complete poetical works of Thomas Campbell Oxford edition: Edited, with notes by J. Logie Robertson |
 |
 |
|
THE BRAVE ROLAND |
|
|
|
|
 | The complete poetical works of Thomas Campbell |  |
THE BRAVE ROLAND
The tradition which forms the substance of these stanzas is still preserved in Germany. An ancient tower on a height, called the Rolandseck, a few miles above Bonn on the Rhine, is shown as the habitation which Roland built in sight of a nunnery, into which his mistress had retired on having heard an unfounded account of his death. Whatever may be thought of the credibility of the legend, its scenery must be recollected with pleasure by every one who has visited the romantic landscape of the Drachenfels, the Rolandseck, and the beautiful adjacent islet of the Rhine, where a nunnery still stands.
The brave Roland!—the brave Roland!—
False tidings reached the Rhenish strand
That he had fallen in fight;
And thy faithful bosom swooned with pain,
O loveliest maiden of Allémayne!
For the loss of thine own true knight.
False tidings reached the Rhenish strand
That he had fallen in fight;
And thy faithful bosom swooned with pain,
O loveliest maiden of Allémayne!
For the loss of thine own true knight.
176
But why so rash has she ta'en the veil
In yon Nonnenwerder's cloisters pale?
For her vow had scarce been sworn
And the fatal mantle o'er her flung
When the Drachenfels to a trumpet rung—
'Twas her own dear warrior's horn!
In yon Nonnenwerder's cloisters pale?
For her vow had scarce been sworn
And the fatal mantle o'er her flung
When the Drachenfels to a trumpet rung—
'Twas her own dear warrior's horn!
Woe! woe! each heart shall bleed—shall break!
She would have hung upon his neck
Had he come but yester-even;
And he had clasped those peerless charms
That shall never, never fill his arms,
Or meet him but in heaven.
She would have hung upon his neck
Had he come but yester-even;
And he had clasped those peerless charms
That shall never, never fill his arms,
Or meet him but in heaven.
Yet Roland the brave—Roland the true—
He could not bid that spot adieu;
It was dear still 'midst his woes;
For he loved to breathe the neighbouring air,
And to think she blessed him in her prayer
When the Hallelujah rose.
He could not bid that spot adieu;
It was dear still 'midst his woes;
For he loved to breathe the neighbouring air,
And to think she blessed him in her prayer
When the Hallelujah rose.
There's yet one window of that pile
Which he built above the Nun's green isle;
Thence sad and oft looked he
(When the chant and organ sounded slow)
On the mansion of his love below;
For herself he might not see.
Which he built above the Nun's green isle;
Thence sad and oft looked he
(When the chant and organ sounded slow)
On the mansion of his love below;
For herself he might not see.
She died!—He sought the battle-plain;
Her image filled his dying brain
When he fell, and wished to fall:
And her name was in his latest sigh,
When Roland, the flower of chivalry,
Expired at Roncevall.
Her image filled his dying brain
When he fell, and wished to fall:
And her name was in his latest sigh,
When Roland, the flower of chivalry,
Expired at Roncevall.
| The complete poetical works of Thomas Campbell | |