Editing Taillefer (section)

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[[File:Bayeux Tapestry WillelmDux.jpg|300px|thumb|[[Norman conquest of England]] ([[Bayeux Tapestry]])]]
'''Taillefer''' ({{Langx|la|Incisor ferri|links=no}}, meaning "hewer of iron") was the surname of a [[Normans|Norman]] ''jongleur'' ([[minstrel]]),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.myarmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?p=257858|title = Armed musicians}}</ref> 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 sang the ''[[The Song of Roland|Chanson de Roland]]'' at the English 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 alone while singing and was engulfed, killing at least four more English in the process. Taillefer is not depicted, by name at least, on the [[Bayeux Tapestry]] due to this some people do not believe in Taillerfer.

[[Wace]] mentions Taillefer in the ''[[Roman de Rou]]'' (c. 1170):
:{|
|<poem>Taillefer, qui mult bien chantout,
sor un cheval qui tost alout,
devant le duc alout chantant
de Karlemaigne e de Rollant,
e d'Oliver e des vassals
qui morurent en Rencesvals.
:''Roman de Rou'', lines 8013–8019</poem>
|valign="top" style="padding-left:2em;"|<poem>Taillefer, who sang right well,
Upon a swift horse
Sang before the Duke
Of [[Charlemagne]] and of [[Roland]]
And of [[Oliver (paladin)|Oliver]] and their vassals
That died at [[Battle of Roncevaux Pass|Roncesvalles]].</poem>
|}

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.&nbsp;52, named after the protagonist [[Taillefer (Strauss)|Taillefer]].<ref>[http://www.klassika.info/Komponisten/Strauss_R/Ballade/TrV_207/index.html ''Taillefer'' (R. Strauss)], details at Klassika {{in lang|de}}</ref> The work received a rare performance on 13 September 2014 at the [[The Proms|Last Night of the Proms]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04hzpn3|title=BBC Two - BBC Proms, 2014 Season, Last Night of the Proms - Part 1|work=BBC|accessdate=13 September 2014}}</ref>

A version drawn from all of the sources can be found in [[Winston Churchill]]'s ''[[A History of the English-Speaking Peoples]]''.

Near the end of the 3rd volume of his works, [[Robert Ripley]] mentions Taillefer under the heading "General [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower]]", pointing out the coincidences between the [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] general and the Norman [[knight]]. Taillefer embarked from the shore of Normandy where the Allies landed on [[Normandy landings|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 (name)|Eisenhower]]" can be translated from German as "hewer of iron".

It is weakly attested in Burke's 1853 work ''Burke's Landed Gentry for 1853, Vol. IV, p. 237ff'' that the descendants of Taillefer included a local Baron of Oapenge, Kent, named ''Hanger Taylifer'' born circa 1256. Further attestations eventually state his direct descendants include [[Rowland Taylor]] (1510 - 1555), Martyr.