- Charlemagne arrives on the scene after Roland's death and surveys the field so littered with dead Franks that no grass shows. He calls aloud for Roland and the rest of the peers who fought with him, using a stylized "where is [insert name]" technique called an ubi sunt motif (Latin for "where are they?")
- He is angry he wasn't there for the fighting and his 20,000 knights, agreeing, swoon in sorrow for their lost friends and family.
- Dukes Naimes sees puffs of dust kicked up by the Marsile's retreating army and urges Charlemagne to follow and get revenge.
- 1,000 knights stay behind to guard the Frankish dead and make sure they're not disturbed until Charlemagne returns triumphant.
- Even though the Saracens have a head start, Charlemagne and his army sound the bugles and chase after. It helps that when the light fades Charlemagne prays that the sun will stop and an angel okays it. If he rides hard, God will help him destroy the pagans.
- As the sun stands still, the Frankish army corners the Saracens in the Val Tenebros (or Valley of Darkness), cutting off escape routes and driving them into the Ebro River.
- Crying to their god Tervagant, the Saracens drown in the water. The Franks get booty, the sun finally sets, and Charlemagne, after thanking God, declares that there's no time to ride back to Roncevaux and they'll spend the night where they are.
- The Franks make camp and sleep with no guards. Oh right, the enemy is drowned.
- Charlemagne lies down in his armor, still armed with his sword Joyeuse (French for "joyful"), a magnificent weapon that changes color thirty times a day and has embedded in its hilt the tip of the lance used to wound Christ on the cross.
- Its name is the origin of the Frankish battle cry "Montpelier!"
- As the moon shines, Charlemagne grieves for Roland and all the Frankish deaths. He asks God to save their souls and then falls asleep, tired out from hard riding and enormous sorrow. Even the horses are so exhausted they lie down.
- Charles, watched over by the angel Gabriel, is shown ominous but unclear dreams. First he sees a terrible storm, including a ball of fire that falls from the sky and burns his men in agony down to the ground. Then venomous beasts try to devour them. They cry for his help, but he is detained by a savage lion who wrestles him so fiercely he can't tell who is winning and who is losing.
- In his second dream he is back in France with a bear chained to a pillar. Thirty other bears plead for the chained bear to be given back to them because they are his kinsmen. But a hound from the palace attacks the cohort of bears. He wakes up before he can see who wins.
- Marsile, meanwhile, has made it to Saragossa where he collapses under an olive tree, writhing in pain and blood. His wife Bramimonde and 20,000 Saracens wail against Charlemagne and against their gods, who failed them in this battle. They destroy a number of idols and let pigs trample them.
- Marsile is moved into his nicely decorated room, where Bramimonde continues to weep. She moans over the fate of Saragossa and declares the emir a coward if he doesn't avenge Marsile. Charlemagne is strong and fearsome and it will be terrible for everyone if he's not killed.