its rear by a party of Basques. All in the Frankish flank were killed, including Sir Roland, while most of the Basques were able to flee before the rest of the Frankish army could come aid their rear flank (Burgess 10; Lawrence 60). This tale is a few centuries older than Sir Gawain and details have been changed in the historic account, from Basques to Saracens, to create more conflict, although Sir Roland remains the hero (Burgess 10). In addition, its format is much closer to familiarly current rhyming and meter-based poetry (Burgess 19). Although The Song of Roland is a popular epic that seems to transcend borders, it is predominantly considered one of the oldest and greatest patriotic and nationalistic epics of France (Lawrence 59; Burgess 16).
Human Frailty in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight the tale opens with an elaborate description of King Arthur's court "in the most grandiose and laudatory of language" (Abrams, Donaldson, Smith, Adams, Monk, Lipking, Ford, and Daiches 244). The descriptions of the knights and courtiers are so embellished that it seems too fantastic to believe. This sets up the scene for the Green Knight who, when he enters the great hall to voice his challenge of accepting an ax blow from one of Arthur's men, is met with absolute silence, to the point of embarrassment. The Green
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