Taillefer (Latin: Incisor ferri, meaning "hewer of iron") was the surname of a Norman ioglere (juggler or jester) whose exact name and place of birth are unknown (sometimes his first name is given as "Ivo"). He travelled to England during the Norman conquest of England of 1066, in the train of William the Conqueror. At the Battle of Hastings, Taillefer recited the Chanson de Roland to the Norman troops while juggling with his sword. An English soldier ran out to challenge him and was killed by Taillefer, who then charged the English lines and was engulfed. Strangely, Taillefer is not depicted, by name at least, on the Bayeux Tapestry.
Wace mentions Taillefer in the Roman de Rou:
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Taillefer, qui mult bien chantout,
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Taillefer, who sang right well, |
The story of Taillefer is told by Geoffrey Gaimar, Henry of Huntingdon, William of Malmesbury and in the Carmen de Hastingae Proelio. The accounts differ, some mentioning only the juggling, some only the song, but have elements in common. The story was the subject of an 1816 ballad by the German poet Ludwig Uhland, set to music for soprano, tenor, baritone, eight-part chorus and orchestra by Richard Strauss in 1903, Op. 52.[1]
A version drawn from all the sources can be found in Winston Churchill's A History of the English-Speaking Peoples.
Near the end of the third volume of his works, Robert Ripley mentions Taillefer under the heading "General Eisenhower," pointing out the coincidences between the Allied general and the Norman knight. Taillefer debarked from the shore of Normandy where the Allies landed on D-Day in World War II. The Battle of Hastings was on 14 October 1066, and Taillefer died on that day; Eisenhower was born on 14 October 1890; and "Eisenhower" can be translated from German as "hewer of iron".