French List: La Chanson de Roland

The important stuff: This is pretty much the oldest known French literature, dating from some time in the 1100s.  There are a few versions of it, but it's probably actually much older and was told as a song before it was finally written down by someone.  So, the format and story has probably changed quite a bit from its first telling to the written version we have. (Translated as The Song of Roland)
What it's about in a nutshell: Basically, there is a battle.  Roland is the famous hero.  Some people think it's based on an actual battle from way back in the day.  It is also told in poem form because as I said above it most likely was once sung.
Why you should read it: It is the definitely of an epic poem.  Seriously.  Plus, it is really detailed with battle scenes and how people die and super entertaining.  Which I was surprised by because it's so old.  So I thought it would have been dryer, or something.  I know for a fact that this can be found translated into English too!  (and for the record, I had to read a "translated" version too!  Because the original text is in old French, which is super different from modern French and thus hard to understand unless you study old French!)