Roland was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. The historical Roland was military governor of the Breton March, responsible for defending Francia's frontier against the Bretons. His only historical attestation is in Einhard's Vita Karoli Magni, which notes he was part of the Frankish rearguard killed in retribution by the Basques in Iberia at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass.
The eight phases of The Song of Roland in one picture
Composed in 1098, the first page of the Chanson de Roland (Song of Roland)
The Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778 saw a large force of Basques ambush a part of Charlemagne's army in Roncevaux Pass, a high mountain pass in the Pyrenees on the present border between France and Spain, after his invasion of the Iberian Peninsula.
15th-century anonymous painting of the Battle of Roncevaux Pass
Ibaneta (Roncevaux) pass
The death of Roland and his men
Monument of the Battle of Roncesvalles Pass. Note that Roland's name is spelled in its Spanish version "Roldan".