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‪This study presents and analyzes the many versified or rhythmic translations of ‪ ‪The‪‪ ‪ ‪Song of Roland‪‪ produced between the publication of the Oxford manuscript in 1837 and the end of the First World War. These translations attempted to keep in mind the title that had been given to this ‪ ‪chanson de geste‪‪, preserving in one way or another its lyrical character and thus maintaining the link that had been established with the ‪ ‪Cantilena Rolandi‪‪ that was said‪ ‪ ‪‪to have been sung during the Battle of Hastings to encourage soldiers to fight. After having specified what led its first translators to retain the song element of this poem (in a context dominated mainly by the defeat of 1870 and a desire for revenge), it presents the arguments made in 1922 by Joseph Bédier to translate it into prose, rather than verse, and attempts to explain the motives and issues of such a decision.‪