Marsile is a character in The Song of Roland

The Song of Roland

The Song of Roland is the oldest surviving major work of French literature. It exists in various manuscript versions which testify to its enormous and enduring popularity in the 12th to 14th centuries...

. He is the pagan king of the Saracens. He first appears in Stanza 1 as losing the war against Charlemagne

Charlemagne

Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...

, and asks his barons for counsel. He readily accepts Blancandrin

Blancandrin

In The Song of Roland, Blancandrin is the instigator of the pagan plot against Roland and Charlemagne. He first appears in the final line of the second stanza of the poem as the only pagan who speaks to give King Marsile counsel, and is then described as the wisest of the pagans and a good and...

's proposal of surrender (Stanzas 1-6), and agees to Ganelon

Ganelon

In the Matter of France, Ganelon is the knight who betrayed Charlemagne's army to the Muslims, leading to the Battle of Roncevaux Pass. His name is said to derive from the Italian word inganno, meaning fraud or deception....

's scheme after testing his worth and persuasion from his wife Bramimonde

Bramimonde

Bramimonde is a character in The Song of Roland. Bramimonde is the Queen of Zaragoza, wife of King Marsile and mother of Jurfaleu the Blond....

 and his nobility(32-52). He takes part in the Battle of Roncevaux Pass

Battle of Roncevaux Pass

The Battle of Roncevaux Pass was a battle in 778 in which Roland, prefect of the Breton March and commander of the rear guard of Charlemagne's army, was defeated by the Basques...

, kills Bevon, Lord of Beaune and Dijon, Yvoire, Yvon and Gerald of Roussillon, before Roland

Roland

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. Historically, Roland was military governor of the Breton March, with responsibility for defending the frontier of Francia against the Bretons...

 takes his right hand and his son, Jurfaleu the Blond and is forced to flee (142) to Saragossa (187). Bound to his bed with his injuries, he summons help from Baligant

Baligant

In The Song of Roland, Baligant is the Emir of Babylon , who tries to aid the defense of Zaragoza from Charlemagne. He is sometimes described as a man from ancient times. He is killed in the ensuing battle...

(189), places Spain in Baligant's care (202) before later dying of his wounds.