How we cite our quotes: (Stanza.Line)
Quote #4
Count Roland has no concern for his own safety. (104.1321)
This could be because he knows he's going to die anyway, but Roland is also on fire with his own valiant mission to fight for God and Charlemagne. Compared to these two authorities, his own mortality means nothing to him.
Quote #5
"Count Roland is so fierce,
He shall never be vanquished by any man alive.
Let's throw our spears at him, then let him be."
So they did this with a rain of darts and wigars,
Spears, lances, and feathered mizraks.
They pierced and punctured Roland's shield,
And shattered and broke the metal links of his hauberk,
But not a spear entered his body. (160.2152-59)
Okay, so this is why Roland likes fighting so much. We would too, if we had angel-armor. But the real message here is not that Roland is indestructible (spoiler alert: he dies); it's that he's invaluable. He is so pure and "worthy" (87.1093) that angels put off his death as long as possible, giving him supernatural fighting skillz and deflecting spears.
He is precious to both Charlemagne and God. Plus, he ultimately dies not from any battle wound but from blowing his brains out on the oliphant. He voluntarily suffers death in order to secure revenge for his men.
Quote #6
Roland feels that death is near,
His brain is coming out through his ears. (168.2259-60)
Ew. Despite the promise of heavenly immortality, death when it comes is pretty dang disgusting. The poet does not skimp on the gory details: the knights are sliced in half, their brains boil out, they faint off their horses.
Plus, the main characters all take a really long time to die. They're like opera singers who are stabbed or dying of tuberculosis but still have time to sing a 20-minute aria with three high Cs. Roland, for instance, feels death is near in stanza 168 but doesn't actually give it up until stanza 176. He, Oliver, and Turpin are all hyper-aware of their own deaths approaching but still possess enough strength to kill, give speeches, and attempt to break swords.