The Basilica of Saint-Romain, Blaye, was an important

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

, the resting-place of

Charibert II Charibert II (607/617–8 April 632), a son of Clotaire II and his junior wife Sichilde, was briefly King of Aquitaine from 629 to his death, with his capital at Toulouse. There are no direct statements about when Charibert was born exactly, ...

, a son of

Clotaire II Chlothar II, sometime called "the Young" ( French: le Jeune), (May/June 584 – 18 October 629), was king of Neustria and king of the Franks, and the son of Chilperic I and his third wife, Fredegund. He started his reign as an infant under the r ...

who was briefly

king of Aquitaine The Duchy of Aquitaine ( oc, Ducat d'Aquitània, ; french: Duché d'Aquitaine, ) was a historical fiefdom in western, central, and southern areas of present-day France to the south of the river Loire, although its extent, as well as its name, fluc ...

from 629 to his death in 632, and of his son. According to the 12th-century ''

Chanson de Roland ''The Song of Roland'' (french: La Chanson de Roland) is an 11th-century ''chanson de geste'' based on the Frankish military leader Roland at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778 AD, during the reign of the Carolingian king Charlemagne. It is ...

'' contained the body and relics of the

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...

folk-hero

Roland Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...

, who was a seigneur of Blaye in the eighth century, and of his companions Olivier and Turpin, deposited with grand solemnity in white marble sarcophagi. In Bordeaux across the

Gironde Gironde ( US usually, , ; oc, Gironda, ) is the largest department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,62 ...

the ''oliphaunt'', Roland's split ivory horn, was preserved: , "the pilgrim may see it who goes"; ''a Seint Romain; la gisent li baron'', "at Saint-Romain; there lie the barons", a sign interpreted by Gerald Brault to show that the pilgrimage sites at Bordeaux and Blaye had been established before the ''Chanson de Roland'' was composed. Indeed, in 1109

Hugh of Fleury Hugh of Fleury (Hugo Floriacensis, Hugo a Santa Maria) (d. not before 1118) was a French Benedictine monk and ecclesiastical writer. He is known only by his works. *In 1109 he compiled an ecclesiastical history in four volumes, up to the death of ...

concluded his account of the battle of Roncevaux with the words "whence Roland was carried to the citadel of Blaye and buried." The legend was long credited: in 1526

François I Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once ...

commanded the tomb of Roland to be opened. The nominal patron of the basilica, belonging to the

Canons Regular of Saint Augustine Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by a ...

, remained the local 4th-century martyr Saint Romanus of Blaye; here the pilgrims bound for

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of St ...

paused before taking to boats to cross to

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

. In 848, the fort and its surrounding habitations were laid waste by the

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

chief Hasting.Michel Dillange, ''Les Comtes de Poitou, Ducs d'Aquitaine (778-1204)'', (Geste éditions) 1995:56 Some vestiges of the structure remain within the Vauban fortress at

Blaye Blaye (; oc, Blaia ) is a commune and subprefecture in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. For centuries, Blaye was a particularly convenient crossing point for those who came from the north and went to Bordeau ...

, which formed part of the traditional defenses of the

Gironde estuary The Gironde estuary ( , US usually ; french: estuaire de la Gironde, ; oc, estuari de aGironda, ) is a navigable estuary (though often referred to as a river) in southwest France and is formed from the meeting of the rivers Dordogne and Gar ...

Burials

Chilperic of Aquitaine Chilperic (sometimes ''Childeric'' in the chronicles of the time) was the infant son of Charibert II, and briefly king of Aquitaine in 632. He was killed shortly after his father in 632, under orders by Dagobert I Dagobert I ( la, Dagobertus; ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Romain, Basilica of Churches in Gironde Ruins in Nouvelle-Aquitaine Roland