What is "taillefer"

Taillefer (, meaning "hewer of iron") was the surname of a Norman ioglere ( minstrel), 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 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 and was engulfed. Strangely, Taillefer is not depicted, by name at least, on the Bayeux Tapestry.

Wace mentions Taillefer in the Roman de Rou:

:{| |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.

|valign="top" style="padding-left:2em;"|Taillefer, who sang right well, Upon a swift horse Sang before the Duke Of Charlemagne and of Roland And of Oliver and their vassals That died at Roncesvalles. |}

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, named after the protagonist Taillefer. The work received a rare performance on 13 September 2014 at the Last Night of the Proms.

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 embarked 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".

Taillefer is originally an Old French nickname (from the medieval Latin incisor ferri or sector ferri, meaning "hewer of iron"). It may refer to:

• Taillefer, an eleventh-century Norman juggler and singer.
• the Taillefer Rocks, small Tasmanian granite islands
• the Massif du Taillefer in the Dauphiné Alps
• Le Taillefer, highest peak in the Massif du Taillefer
• The House of Taillefer was the first dynasty of Counts of Angoulême (839–1246)
• Taillefer (Strauss), a cantata for choir, soloists and orchestra written by German composer Richard Strauss in 1903.

Taillefer is a cantata for choir and orchestra composed by Richard Strauss in 1903, Op. 52, TrV 207. The text is a rendering of the medieval tale Taillefer by the German poet Ludwig Uhland (1787–1862). The piece was written to celebrate the centenary of Heidelberg University and was premiered on the same day that Strauss received his honorary doctorate from the university, on 26 October 1903 in the newly built Heidelberg Town Hall with Strauss conducting. It is written for a mixed chorus with three soloists, tenor (Taillefer), baritone ( Duke William of Normandy), and soprano (the Duke's daughter and admirer of Taillefer), with a large orchestra. The work was performed at the last night of The Proms in 2014.