Some composition about Roland was supposedly sung or recited or declaimed by the Norman juggler-bard Talliefer jut before the battle of Hastings in 1066. That was about a generation before the manuscript of the Chanson and, I believe, is the first and only known reference to Roland since he was mentioned by the Frankish chronicler Einhard in the early 9th C.

Almost unquestionably the poet of the _Chanson_ had a long oral tradition to draw upon, but its nature and extent are unknown. Very possibly Roland's fame and reputation were kept alive solely by his descendants - who might have been fairly numerous by 1100!