Olifant
An olifant , also called oliphant , is a medieval bugle made from ivory . The name Olifant is also the old French word for " elephant ".
In the Middle Ages , horns only played a subordinate role in social life . The elephant horns introduced to Europe from Byzantium in the 10th century were decorated with carvings and decorations. This made the horn one of the insignia of knighthood . However, its signaling effect was rather moderate. There was usually only one, sometimes two and in exceptional cases three tones ( natural tones ). The fabulous range of their sound has been greatly exaggerated in order to heroize the power of the wind instrument.
The olifant appears frequently in French medieval literature . It was still made (from bull horns) during the Renaissance and into the 17th century. For example, in England an olifant was considered a special symbol of dignity and honor (important office, fief) and was awarded by the king instead of a document. If ivory was not used, gold was mostly used .
Probably the most famous Olifant was one in 778 to the Song of Roland unsung hero Roland , Margrave of Brittany Mark and Paladin Emperor Charlemagne , which the forecast for at Roncesvalles in the Pyrenees was surrounded by the Basques and with his horn, the main army to Charlemagne called for help, as described in the Roland song around 1100. Since his defeat was inevitable, he decided to destroy his sword ( durendal ) and horn in order to get them out of the hand of the enemy. Other sources say he blew so hard and forcefully that his signal was heard far away from Karl, but his carotid artery burst and the horn shattered. Nevertheless, both the Treasury of St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague and the Museum of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela claim to have the Horn of Roland in their possession.
Around 80 medieval Olifanten survived, most of them were made by Arab artisans around the 11th century in southern Italy. Similar, mostly smaller horns, which are made of material other than ivory, are hunting horn called.
literature
- Ernst Kühnel : The Islamic ivory sculptures (= corpus of medieval ivory sculptures Volume 7). Deutscher Verlag für Kunstwissenschaft, Berlin 1972, ISBN 3-87157-006-0 .
- Avinoam Shalem : The oliphant. Islamic objects in historical context. Brill, Leiden 2004, ISBN 90-04-13794-7 .