Ganelon’s Muslim Refashioning in the Paris Chanson de Roland

The Paris version of the Chanson de Roland attests two unique details witnessed by no other texts of the Roland tradition. This article examines these unique aspects-Ganelon’s donning of an Islamicate helmet and Thierry’s amended kinship-and sheds light on their importance. These details and amendments further complicate the Roland tradition’s representation of Christians and Muslims, serve to interrogate the determination of treason, and probe ideological fracture and recuperation. The poem’s racialization of Ganelon and recuperation of his kinship group emphasize how subtly and flexibly premodern texts deploy strategies to mark difference and belonging.