Olifant

"Oliphant" redirects here. For , see .

A 14th-century olifant, or hunting-horn, in ivory.

Olifant is an alternate spelling of the word elephant. A similar spelling, oliphaunt, is used by J.R.R. Tolkien's hobbits in The Lord of the Rings to describe a monstrous elephant-like creature. The name became applied to ivory hunting horns made from elephants' tusks; in this sense, "Olifant" is used as the name of Roland's legendary horn in The Song of Roland.

In The Song of Roland, Roland carries the Olifant while serving on the rearguard of Charlemagne's army. When they are attacked at the Battle of Roncevaux, Oliver tells him to use it to call for aid, but he refuses until it is too late. Roland finally relents, but the battle is already lost. He tries to destroy the horn along with his sword Durendal, lest they fall into enemy hands. The Karlamagnussaga elaborates (V. c.XIV) that Roland's Olifant was a unicorn's horn, hunted in India.

There is also a vicious, stone pelting giant named "Sir Olifaunt" in "Chaucer's Tale of Sir Topas" in The Canterbury Tales. In Scotland, there is a peerage title, Lord Oliphant.

References

The Song of Roland (Oxford text, trans. Douglas David Roy Owen, 1972. George Allen and Unwin, ISBN 0048410039

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