Taillefer was the surname of a Norman bard, whose exact name and place of birth are unknown. He travelled to England in 1066. After reciting a chanson and rousing the Norman troops, he is believed to have requested, and been granted permission, by Duke William to strike the first blow at the Battle of Hastings, later dying in the battle (Wace's Roman de Rou). Taillefer is depicted on the Bayeux tapestry. The Normans (adapted from the name Northmen or Norsemen) were a mixture of the indigenous Gauls of France and the Viking invaders under the leadership of Rollo (Gange Rolf). ... See Bard (disambiguation). ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Ethnicity... Events January 6 - Harold II is crowned King of England the day after Edward the Confessor dies. ... The Battle of Hastings was the decisive Norman victory in the Norman conquest of England in 1066. ... The Bayeux Tapestry (French: Tapisserie de Bayeux) is not actually a tapestry (that is, a weaving), but is embroidery, and dates from 1077. ...

The surname of the common English surname Taylor is supposed by some to have come from a corruption of Taillefer.

Winston Churchill, in his History of the English-Speaking Peoples writes that Ivo Taillefer rode out alone before the English army at Hastings and tossed his lance and sword into the air, caught them, and charged deeply into the English lines where he was slain. The Right Honourable Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, FRS (November 30, 1874 – January 24, 1965) was a British statesman, best known as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. ... History of the English Speaking Peoples cover A History of the English Speaking Peoples is a four-volume history of Britain and the English speaking nations, written by Winston Churchill, covering the period from the Norman Conquest of Britain (1066) to the beginning of World War I (1914). ...