Like the blast of Roland's horn
Preserved but no longer current.
Roland had a wonderful ivory horn, named "Olivant," that he won from the giant Jutmundus. When he was set upon by the Gascons at Roncesvalles he sounded it to give Charlemagne notice of his danger. At the third blast it cracked in two, but it was so loud that birds fell dead and the whole Saracen army was panic-struck. Charle- magne heard the sound at St. Jean Pied de Port, and rushed to the rescue, but arrived too late.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Like the blast of Roland's horn” mean?
Roland had a wonderful ivory horn, named "Olivant," that he won from the giant Jutmundus. When he was set upon by the Gascons at Roncesvalles he sounded it to give Charlemagne notice of his danger. At the third blast it cracked in two, but it was so loud that birds fell dead and the whole Saracen army was panic-struck. Charle- magne heard the sound at St. Jean Pied de Port, and rushed to the rescue, but arrived too late.
Is “Like the blast of Roland's horn” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.