|
Olifant is an alternate spelling of the word elephant. A similar spelling, oliphaunt, is used in the Lord of the Rings story to describe a sort of giant, monstrous elephant creature.
Olifant, or Hunting-horn, in Ivory (Fourteenth Century).--From an Original existing in England. Olifant is also the name of Roland's legendary trumpet or horn (probably of ivory) in The Song of Roland.
The Karlamagnus Saga elaborates (V. c.XIV) that Roland's Olifant was a unicorn's horn, hunted in India.
|
