Olifant (an alternate spelling of the word
elephant
Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...
) was the name applied in the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
to
ivory
Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals ...
hunting horns
Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
made from elephants'
tusks. One of the most famous olifants belonged to the legendary Frankish knight
Roland,
protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
of ''
The Song of Roland''.
In ''The Song of Roland'', Roland carries his olifant while serving on the rearguard of
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Em ...
's army. When they are attacked at the
Battle of Roncevaux
The Battle of Roncevaux Pass ( French and English spelling, ''Roncesvalles'' in Spanish, ''Orreaga'' in Basque) in 778 saw a large force of Basques ambush a part of Charlemagne's army in Roncevaux Pass, a high mountain pass in the Pyrenees on t ...
,
Oliver tells Roland to use it to call for aid, but he refuses. Roland finally relents, but the battle is already lost. He tries to destroy the olifant along with his sword
Durendal, lest they fall into enemy hands. In the end, Roland blows the horn, but the force required bursts his temple, resulting in death. The ''
Karlamagnussaga'' elaborates (V. c.XIV) that Roland's olifant was a
unicorn's horn, hunted in
India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
.
Another famous olifant belonged to
Gaston IV, viscount of
Béarn, and is now preserved in the Spanish city of
Saragossa, which he helped conquer from the
Banu Hud.
Salernitan oliphants
The ''Horn'' or ''Oliphant of Ulph'', preserved in the treasury of
York Minster, is one of a group that were carved in
Salerno in the first half of the eleventh century. In one of its bands of low-relief carving, addorsed paired
griffons have tails that terminate in monstrous eared heads.
The horn of Ulph is most likely the very Horn of Tenure given to York Minster by the Viking nobleman Ulph, who resided in Yorkshire before the reign of
Edward the Confessor; thus the Horn of Ulph cannot be dated later than the first half of the eleventh century.
A group of surviving ivory horns carved with bands of low relief have been attributed to the same Salerno workshops as the Oliphant of Ulph: the oliphant of the Chartreuse de Portes, an oliphant in the
Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the horn of
Muri Abbey conserved in Vienna, and oliphants from the treasury of the
Basilica of St. Sernin, Toulouse, and
Saragossa Cathedral
The Cathedral of the Savior ( es, Catedral del Salvador) or La Seo de Zaragoza is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Zaragoza, in Aragon, Spain. It is part of the World Heritage Site ''Mudéjar Architecture of Aragon''.
The cathedral is located ...
.
[Swartzenski 1962:40 and illus.]
Depictions in Fiction
The Horn of Gondor, held by Boromir, from Tolkien's ''Lord of the Rings'' seems to have been based on the Medieval Olifant. There is a connection to the ''Song of Roland'' in the novels and movies, when Boromir blows the horn at the battle of Amon Hen to try to summon help from the other members of the Fellowship of the Ring. For Boromir, like Roland, this action comes too late, as he is mortally wounded with several arrows shot by an Orc archer by the time Aragorn and the others reach him.
The horn was later presented to Denethor, Steward of Gondor as proof of his son's death. In the movie of ''The Return of the King,'' he holds the horn, now split in two, and demands an explanation for what happened from the wizard Gandalf.
Queen Susan's horn in the Chronicles of Narnia series also resembles an Olifant, and it was said that whenever it was blown "help would certainly come" to whomever had blown it. Queen Susan blows it to summon assistance in ''The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe,'' and later uses it as a hunting horn. In ''Prince Caspian'' it magically summons the four Pevensie children back to Narnia when it is blown by the young Caspian.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olifant (Instrument)
Early musical instruments
Ivory works of art
Matter of France
Medieval art
Natural horns and trumpets
The Song of Roland