Skip to main content

Taillefer

Today's post is another fun case of truth being stranger than fiction. Taillefer was the jester of William the Conqueror, and the first man to be killed at the Battle of Hastings. He was out in front of the troops, reciting, according to legend, the Chanson de Roland, when a Saxon soldier ran out to challenge him. Taillefer killed the attacker, and was in turn cut down by more Saxons. You'd think this would guarantee him a spot on the Bayeux Tapestry, which famously depicts the story of the conquest, but if he's on it he has not been identified.

The story doesn't end there though. The Battle of Hastings happened on October 14th 1066, which also happened to be the birthday of the American General Eisenhower in 1890. Taillefer left Normandy for England, and Eisenhower embarked from England, landing on the beaches of Normandy in WWII. Lastly, both "Taillefer" and "Eisenhower" can be translated as "hewer of iron". Fun coincidences, no?
Labels:

Comments

  1. Olympe de la Tour D'AuvergneMarch 4, 2012 at 9:03 PM

    I should ammend my post to say that Taillefer beat, but did not kill his opponent, and was himself the first person to die at the hands of others.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Italian Renaissance Hairstyles

In keeping with my last post on Italian Renaissance costume I thought we would take a look at something we didn't touch much on; hairstyles. They were extremely varying; up and down, braided, netted, entwined with silks and ribbons, even pearls, and, of course, dyed, bleached, and curled. The only thing in somewhat short supply seems to be hats, and really who would want to cover up what you had spent so much time constructing? "Do you have any idea how long it took me to get the curls placed?!" 1544 Portrait of Laura da Pola by Lotto Occasionally a small cap, or scuffia, was worn either with side curls, or with most of the hair stuffed up underneathe:- 1490 portrait by Ghirlandaio 1502 Betrothal 1510 Portrait by Araldi Another notable hair decoration was the reta, or hairnet. Some of these were beaded, some woven in decorative patterns, and some left very simple. 1505-1508 Siena 1545 Lavinia Under and around these ornamentations, o
1 comment
Read more

The De Berry Project- The Fabric and shoes

As I mentioned last time I am working on a version of the outfit to the left for an event coming up soon in July. I wanted something with a hat to shade my face, and not too hot since we are going to be outside in the middle of a Virginian summer. The fabric gods were not kind, when I went to my local fabric stores. There was really nothing in the right weight, color, pattern, fiber, or amount; especially the amount since I need about 8 yards for the undergown and 10 yards for the overdress. Part of the problem is that there are no waist seams, so each piece has to be cut from a long continuous length of material. Also, those sleeves are about four yards by themselves. I resigned myself to ordering online, which I hate doing because it's so hard to be sure of the color etc without seeing it in person, and by the time the fabric arrives often there just isn't time to send it back and get something else. I went first to an oldie, but a goodie; Thai silks. I knew they would
Post a Comment
Read more

How Our Ancestors Slept

As someone who wakes up during the night feeling frustratingly refreshed...and then struggles to rise in the morning, I found this article to be a kind of vindication. Apparently the way we sleep has changed. For more information you can visit the link here .
8 comments
Read more