We interrupt this blog for a historical investigation

A lot of people have asked me where the name Roncesvalles comes from. Being a well-read gentleman of leisure I have always assumed that it was named in honor of the courageous last stand of Rolland who was covering Charlemagne's retreat from Spain.

Oh land of France, oh blissful, pleasant land,
Today laid desolate by such cruel waste!
Brave French, I see you die on my account,
And I unable to protect your lives!

But no! Through the magic of the internet I have discovered that the name derives instead from a battle during the Napoleonic Wars. Colonel Walter O'Hara who was one of the original developers of this area fought in Europe during this time and named the street after the Battle of Roncesvalles (1813). O'Hara was also involved in suppressing the Rebellion of 1837 led by William Lyon Mackenzie.

That's a bit of a shame, I liked my own story a bit better, much more romantic really. Anyway, I leave you with another moving quote from the Song of Rolland:

Count Roland lifts the horn up to his mouth,
Then sets his lips and blows it with great force.
The hills are high; the horn's voice loud and long;
They hear it echoing full thirty leagues.
King Charles and his companions hear it sound.
The king declares, "Our men are in a battle."