•Why it earns a slot
The Song of Roland is the foundational text of French literature and the oldest surviving major chanson de geste, preserving the ideals of feudal loyalty, Christian holy war, and heroic sacrifice that shaped medieval European culture for centuries.
The Frankish emperor Charlemagne is withdrawing from Spain when his treacherous vassal Ganelon arranges with the Saracen king Marsile to ambush the rearguard at Roncevaux. Roland, commanding that rearguard, refuses to sound his horn for help until it is too late, and he and his companions are slaughtered to the last man. Charlemagne returns, destroys the Saracen and their allied admiral Baligant, and brings Ganelon to trial, where he is condemned and torn apart by horses.
This distillation is written from the freely available original, which is always the better read when you have the time: gutenberg.org.